Cheonan yukgaejang restaurant with ham and chicken add-ons: Yukdaejang

I came to Cheonan craving something hot and hearty, so I stopped by Yukdaejang Cheonan Baekseok Branch, a yukgaejang (spicy beef soup) restaurant. You know those days when the weather turns chilly, or you just feel a bit empty inside and crave something spicy and hot — a bowl of yukgaejang fills you right up from the inside. It's one of the menus my husband and I both love.

Yukdaejang is known for using quality beef and plenty of green onion to recreate the taste of old-fashioned traditional yukgaejang. This time, we each added our own sarie (extra ingredient) to the basic traditional yukgaejang — my husband went with ham, and I went with chicken breast — so we could each enjoy it our own way.

Is parking easy at Yukdaejang Cheonan Baekseok Branch?

Yukdaejang Cheonan Baekseok Branch has a spacious parking area right outside the restaurant, which made it easy to visit by car. When you're hunting down a good restaurant, parking matters just as much as the food. Especially since we came in from another region that day, not having to circle around looking for a spot made a great first impression.

• 📍 Address: 46-5 Handeul 2-ro, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do
• ⏰ Hours: Daily 10:00 – 21:00
• 🚗 Parking: Available in front of the restaurant

Inside Yukdaejang Cheonan Baekseok Branch: spacious and clean

Right at the entrance, actor In Kyo-jin was the model featured — his friendly image made me feel oddly welcomed, haha.

Inside, the restaurant has a long rectangular layout with tables arranged throughout. It was clean and comfortable overall, making it a good fit for a family meal, or a relaxed solo lunch for office workers. Old, bustling soup restaurants have their own charm, but eating comfortably in a space this clean was nice too.

Three basic side dishes and a self-serve side dish corner

At Yukdaejang Cheonan Baekseok Branch, once we sat down, three side dishes came out: chive salad, nabak kimchi, and fish cake stir-fry. Since yukgaejang is pretty spicy by nature, having a refreshing bite of nabak kimchi in between was perfect.

And here's what I liked — if you run out of side dishes, you don't need to keep calling a staff member over. You can just grab more from the self-serve side dish corner as needed.

Yukgaejang 12,000 won, or 15,000 won with a topping added

We ordered the traditional yukgaejang for ₩12,000. Adding our favorite sarie brought each bowl to ₩15,000. Looking at the menu, there were way more options than I expected. I wanted to try them all, but since it was our first visit, I figured we should start with the basics.

My husband loves ham, so he added ham sarie, while I wanted something lighter, so I added chicken breast. It's fun that even ordering the same menu, changing just the sarie gives you a completely different experience — that's part of the charm of Yukdaejang.

What does the yukgaejang broth taste like at Yukdaejang?

The traditional yukgaejang broth at Yukdaejang Cheonan Baekseok Branch was quite rich and deep. When the bubbling hot bowl finally arrived, I took a spoonful of broth first — oh, the red broth wasn't just aggressively spicy for no reason. The heavy, deep flavor of the beef-bone broth blended with the spicy kick of yukgaejang, making me instantly crave a bowl of rice.

My idea of good yukgaejang is broth that's neither too light nor too heavy, and Yukdaejang seemed to hit that balance just right.

Plenty of beef brisket and green onion in the bowl

What I especially liked was the meat and green onion. The beef in the yukgaejang wasn't tough at all, and it had absorbed the broth nicely. The green onion was cut into thick chunks, so there was no need to pick it out — I just ate it together with the meat.

Green onion in yukgaejang gets a slight sweetness once it's fully cooked. With a piece of meat, plenty of green onion on top, and a spoonful of broth all together — I thought, 'yes, this is exactly what yukgaejang should taste like!' haha.

Soft glass noodles in the yukgaejang

There were also glass noodles in the yukgaejang, and having soaked up the broth, they turned wonderfully soft and tender — a real treat. Eating the meat, then the green onion, then slurping up the noodles — there's quite a lot of variety of enjoyment even within one bowl.

What is the chicken breast topping like?

The chicken breast sarie I added went better with the yukgaejang than I expected. The soup already has beef in it, but adding chicken breast made it feel like an extra boost of protein, and the flavor didn't clash with the broth at all.

You might think chicken breast would be dry, but soaked in the spicy broth, it became much softer and easier to eat.

Next time I want to try a different sarie. If it were you, which would you pick — ham sarie or chicken breast sarie?

Stirring rice into the yukgaejang for a filling meal

And of course, rice at the end. Mixing a bit of rice into the rich yukgaejang broth, piled with meat and green onion, made for a truly satisfying bowl. With soup dishes, you never quite realize how full you are while eating, but the moment you put down your spoon, you go, 'ah, now that was a proper meal!' That's exactly how this yukgaejang felt.

If you're craving a warm bowl of soup in Cheonan, or looking for a comfortable spot to eat with family in Baekseok-dong, Yukdaejang Cheonan Baekseok Branch is worth a visit. Parking was easy, the restaurant was clean, and best of all, we could each add the sarie we wanted to a rich bowl of yukgaejang — my husband and I left fully satisfied.

Rich yukgaejang broth loaded with thick green onion and meat, plus a sarie of your choice — a properly hearty bowl at this Baekseok-dong, Cheonan restaurant!