Jinju naengmyeon restaurant for a weekday lunch with a kid: Songgiwon

Jinju naengmyeon we picked on a Sacheon–Jinju day trip

We were on a day trip around Sacheon and Jinju with our kid, and it was so hot that we decided to eat Jinju's famous naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles). Songgiwon Jinju Naengmyeon (송기원진주냉면) even appeared on the TV show Jeon Hyun-moo Plan, but it was famous long before that! It's even rumored that someone once stole the broth in a crime case, just to learn the secret recipe. That's how legendary this Jinju naengmyeon place is.

Heading toward its 100th year, Songgiwon Jinju Naengmyeon runs a main store and a direct store. We visited the direct store, which has a big parking lot, so eating there was easy.

• Hours: 11:00–21:00
• Break time: 16:00–17:00
• Closed every Tuesday
• Parking: dedicated lot for the restaurant

Tabling remote waitlist: how was the wait at 1pm on a weekday?

It's so popular that even on a weekday there was a wait at lunchtime. They use the Tabling service, with both on-site and remote waitlisting. If you go on a weekend or at peak time, I'd definitely recommend joining the remote waitlist.

We arrived a little after 1pm on a weekday and got in with no wait. There's a waiting zone for people in line, and they even had umbrellas ready.

For hot days, there's also a waiting area inside by the entrance, not just outdoors, so keep that in mind.

Atmosphere and seating

With no wait, I assumed it would be quiet inside... but the place was full, haha. Sorry, I didn't get many photos of the interior;; People of every age were eating, a really, really lot of them.

The restaurant is spacious and pleasant, so it doesn't feel daunting to come with a group, and with so many seats the turnover seems quick. I noticed the wood tones and Korean-style decorations. The interior is traditional yet in line with current trends, and felt comfortable.

Menu, side dishes and the self-serve bar

The menu is simple: mul-naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth), bibim-naengmyeon (spicy mixed noodles), mul-bibim (noodles with both broth and sauce), ujeon (beef jeon, pan-fried beef patties) and galbitang (short rib soup). Names like Sunjo and Nongae sound unfamiliar, but if you read the descriptions you can tell right away what each dish is.

They're also running a Naver receipt review event, so feel free to join in~

What impressed me was that kimchi comes as the basic side dish. At most naengmyeon places it ends with pickled radish, so kimchi was a surprise. Extra sides are available at the self-serve bar. There was also warm broth there, but we were with a kid and so frazzled that we missed it. I love warm broth so much I'll go eat naengmyeon just to get it... so missing the broth at a truly great place was a real shame ㅠㅠ

Large Jinju mul-naengmyeon: icy broth in a brass bowl

We ordered a Jinju mul-naengmyeon (large), a Jinju mixed naengmyeon and ujeon.

The large Jinju naengmyeon came in a bowl almost the size of a washbasin. The food is served in yugi (traditional brass) bowls, which makes you feel treated like a guest, so it put me in a good mood. The cold broth with ice floating in it seems to blow the heat away just by looking at it.

One sip of the clear, transparent broth and you instantly understand why Jinju naengmyeon is famous. They say it's a rich meat broth made from domestic Korean beef bones, combined with seafood and medicinal herbs, simmered over 24 hours into a refreshing broth. There's nothing harsh about it at all; it's clean and mild, with the savory depth in harmony, and the finish was really refreshing.

The house-made buckwheat noodles felt even chewier meeting the cold broth. The more you chew, the nuttier they get, and they paired well with the broth. The toppings of pear, egg and yukjeon (beef jeon) added flavor, which was nice.

Jinju mixed naengmyeon: what does the mul-bibim taste like?

Think of Jinju mixed naengmyeon as mul-bibim. It comes with the naengmyeon seafood broth and a bibim seasoning sauce. The sauce is one of two special sauces developed by Songgiwon's head chef, so it's a flavor you can't get just anywhere.

The mixed naengmyeon also comes piled with ujeon, which adds much more richness to the noodles.

Because the bibim sauce goes into the cool mul-naengmyeon, the flavor felt richer than the basic mul-naengmyeon. The sauce isn't harsh, with sweetness and savory depth coming through, and it isn't spicy, so I think kids could enjoy it too. The sauce coats the chewy noodles evenly, and every bite was satisfying.

Ujeon: Korean beef jeon that's easy to share with a kid

Ujeon is a must with naengmyeon! I wondered if the price was steep, but it comes with three huge pieces. It's also aged 1++ Korean beef, pan-fried in 100% domestic buckwheat flour, a health-minded dish, so it wasn't expensive at all. The meat is sliced thin, so the texture is really tender. It's fried with an egg wash, adding nuttiness, and it's delicious even on its own. Especially, the taste is easy for a kid, so with a bowl of rice we could cover our child's meal too.

Final thoughts

Songgiwon Jinju Naengmyeon had a nice atmosphere, and I got to taste a mild yet deep broth and the special bibim sauce. Personally I prefer bolder flavors, so I think I enjoyed the mixed naengmyeon more. The ujeon especially is a flavor nobody will dislike, so I'd say definitely try it. Let's beat the sweltering summer heat with the cool taste of Songgiwon Jinju naengmyeon!!!!!