Old-school Suwon kalguksu restaurant with geotjeori refills: Daseon

Daseon Kalguksu near Suwon Station: hours and parking

Daseon Kalguksu Main Branch is an old-school kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) and kal-nakji (noodle and octopus soup) restaurant on Hyanggyo-ro in Paldal-gu, Suwon. It's open daily from 10:30am to 10pm, with a break time from 3:30pm to 5pm.

• 🕰️ Hours: Daily 10:30am–10pm (Break time 3:30pm–5pm)
• 🅿️ Parking: No lot on site, paid parking nearby

Even though I went in right when break time ended at 5, several tables were already eating ☺️ This is one of the few old-school gems left near Suwon Station, so honestly I'd recommend going in ready to line up before opening!!!

Free side dishes: geotjeori and barley rice

Daseon Kalguksu Main Branch serves radish salad and geotjeori (spicy fresh cabbage salad) as basic side dishes, and gives you plain barley rice before the food comes out. The geotjeori was so good I refilled it and ate it again.

They bring out radish salad and delicious geotjeori as basic sides, and it's total magic for helping the noodles go down smoothly — it was so good I refilled it and ate it all again,, ☺️

At first they bring out barley rice topped with radish salad, and mixing that with a spoonful of gochujang (red chili paste) — it's such a simple thing, why is it so good?

Look at that color ♥️ Piling crunchy radish salad generously over the barley rice and mixing it all up really wakes up your appetite, right?

A place that gives you plain barley rice before the food even arrives — I love it,, ♥️

Daseon Kalguksu menu, prices and tavern-style sets

The signature dish at Daseon Kalguksu Main Branch is dasun kal-nakji (₩16,000, for 2), and a plate of bossam (boiled pork) is ₩15,000. Besides kalguksu, you can also order tavern-style table sets.

Let me show you the menu! The signature dish is dasun kal-nakji, which I'd never seen before, so I decided right away that was what I had to order.

• 📍Soju table set: Plate bossam + stir-fried spicy octopus + spicy clam soup ₩67,000
• 📍Makgeolli table set: Plate bossam + stir-fried spicy octopus + seafood pancake ₩65,000
• 📍Plate bossam ₩15,000
• 📍Dasun kal-nakji ₩16,000 (for 2)

For lunch or dinner, just ordering the noodles is great, and if you're drinking, the table sets seem like a good call too 😊

Suyuk plate, 15,000 won: the lean-to-fat ratio

The plate bossam (₩15,000) at Daseon Kalguksu Main Branch is served over chives, with salted shrimp and geotjeori on the side. It was the perfect partner to tone down the spice of the kal-nakji.

Wow, what a spread 👅 The perfect partner to cool down the spice of the kal-nakji,, the bossam has arrived!!! Golden ratio of lean meat and fat, it melts the second it hits your mouth 😋 Zero dryness, none at all ㅠㅠㅠ Put a piece of pork on the chives underneath, wrap it with some salty salted shrimp or spicy geotjeori, and eat it in one bite — that's true happiness, nothing more to it,,, ♥️

Bossam alongside spicy kal-nakji ✨ Slurp a bite of the fiery kal-nakji broth, then cleanse your palate with the savory bossam — this cycle 🥹 I absolutely cannot escape it, I can't put my spoon down ㅠㅠ

Daseon kal-nakji: spice level, broth choice and portion for two

For dasun kal-nakji, you can choose the flavor (basic is Shin Ramyun-style, and the spicy option is not for the weak-hearted) and whether you want broth (with broth / thick). We went with the most classic combo: basic flavor with broth.

Absolute jackpot visual,,, ♥️ The first thing that shocked me when it arrived was the portion — it came in such a huge bowl I had to double-check this was really for 2 people, and the presentation alone was overwhelming👅

A signature kal-nakji that overwhelms from the visual alone 🍜 First shock from seeing the huge bowl, second shock from tasting the broth. Spicy, fiery broth with chewy noodles, plus savory dried seaweed flakes and chives — the flavor makes you want a drink even though you came for a hangover cure ㅋㅋ

Plump, chewy octopus plus a generous amount of clams make the broth deeply refreshing 🐚👍 The octopus is plumper than most dedicated octopus stir-fry restaurants — legendary,,

Kal-nakji with suyuk: how the combination tasted

Ordering dasun kal-nakji together with plate bossam at Daseon Kalguksu Main Branch meant the spicy broth and the mild meat filled in each other's gaps. I thought I'd picked a great combination.

Piling bossam on top of spicy kal-nakji is truly a legendary combo. Above all, alternating between the hot, spicy kal-nakji broth and the mild bossam felt like each was filling in what the other lacked, so I thought I'd chosen the perfect menu combination! 👅

The broth was spicy yet had that refreshing taste that comes from seafood, and eating the noodles inside made it even more filling 🍜 If you love hot noodle-soup dishes like kalguksu or kal-nakji, you'll be 100% satisfied!!! Adding bossam on top makes it a truly filling meal 🥟

• ✔️ Bossam — moist and mild, great as a side dish. Perfect ratio of lean meat to fat with a subtle herbal note!
• ✔️ Kal-nakji — spicy, fiery broth with chewy octopus 🐙

There's a wide variety of menu items so it's great to order according to your taste, and it's perfect for a group ordering a bunch of dishes to share! Sleek, pretty restaurants are nice these days, but sometimes it's nice to eat a hearty meal at a place that feels like it's stood the test of time 😋 If you want to enjoy the warm, nostalgic vibe of an old-school restaurant along with a generous menu, this is one I'd recommend.

Highly recommend Daseon Kalguksu near Suwon Station 🤍