Iksan Chinese restaurant with spicy gochu-jjajang: Hwangbihong

2026.9.6

Today's daily restaurant pick! Located in Busong-dong, Iksan, Jeonbuk — an old-school Chinese restaurant that wins on the basics! Crispy-yet-tender tangsuyuk (sweet and sour pork), gochu-jjajang (chili black bean noodles) with great chili aroma and flavor, and jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup) made with 24-hour beef bone broth — I visited Hwangbihong, a Chinese restaurant in Iksan!

Where is Hwangbihong in Iksan, and what are its hours?

Hwangbihong is a Chinese restaurant at 43 Busong-ro 6-gil, Iksan-si, Jeonbuk-do. It's open daily from 11:00 to 20:00, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00.

Inside Hwangbihong: is it comfortable for eating alone?

The inside of Hwangbihong was clean and pleasant, an overall comfortable atmosphere for a meal. It looked great for solo dining too, and I saw plenty of families coming in as well.

Hwangbihong's menu board and what we ordered

Here's the menu board! It was just the fundamentals — jjajang, jjamppong, tangsuyuk, and fried rice, more or less, just in different styles depending on preference. The cooked-dish menu was basically tangsuyuk and mandu (fried dumplings), so it really seemed like a place that only sells the classics.

<What I ordered> Gochu-jjajang / Samseon jjamppong / Mini tangsuyuk

24-hour Korean beef bone broth and chive noodles made fresh each morning

There was something unusual compared to a typical Chinese restaurant — the jjamppong is made with broth simmered for 24 hours from Korean beef bones! I was already looking forward to how deep and rich the jjamppong would taste. Also, the noodles are hand-cut every morning from dough made with chives mixed in for extra nutrition!

Side dishes, tableware and water are self-service at Hwangbihong

On one side there was water, basic side dishes, and all sorts of tableware, all self-service. It's a hassle to keep asking staff for plates and utensils, so being able to just grab what you need was really convenient.

Mini tangsuyuk: crisp outside, tender inside, with a tangy old-school ketchup sauce

First up was the mini tangsuyuk! It came with freshly fried pork in a nostalgic ketchup-based sauce.

Being freshly fried, the outside was cloud-light and crispy while the white pork inside was well-cooked, with no gamey smell — clean and pleasant. The ketchup sauce leaned tangy rather than sweet — you just have to order tangsuyuk at a Chinese restaurant, it wouldn't feel complete otherwise!

How spicy is the samseon jjamppong, and how is the bone broth?

Hwangbihong's samseon jjamppong (seafood jjamppong) came loaded with clams, squid, whelk, shrimp and various vegetables! The spice level was about that of Shin Ramyun or just a notch above — a spicy, savory kick.

And above all, the broth carried a deep flavor from the 24-hour beef bone simmer, so even though I was eating jjamppong, it felt like a genuinely nourishing meal. Because that beef bone richness was so present, I personally think it might pair even better as a chadol (thin-sliced brisket) jjamppong rather than samseon — the heaviness of the bone broth meeting the savory brisket fat sounds like a great match.

Gochu-jjajang: the best dish of the day at Hwangbihong

Hwangbihong's gochu-jjajang is chili, pork and onion stir-fried over high heat and served in a ganjajang (thick black bean sauce) style! This ended up being the best dish of the day.

With so much chili in it, I expected it to be really spicy, but surprisingly the heat was just right for enjoyable eating. Since it's stir-fried ganjajang-style, the flavor of the black bean paste fried in oil comes through intensely, and the noodles cling to the sauce perfectly — the kind of dish you immediately want to eat again. There's a well-known gochu-jjajang restaurant people associate with Gunsan, but honestly, you don't need to wait in that line — Hwangbihong lets you enjoy a genuinely delicious, moderately spicy gochu-jjajang without the hassle.

Who is Hwangbihong right for?

So! Located in Busong-dong, Iksan, Jeonbuk — an old-school Chinese restaurant that wins on the basics! Crispy-yet-tender tangsuyuk, gochu-jjajang with great chili aroma and flavor, and jjamppong made with 24-hour beef bone broth — that's Hwangbihong, the Iksan Chinese restaurant I visited!

Because the noodles are hand-cut from dough with chives mixed in, I didn't feel bloated afterward. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves that deep beef bone flavor or is looking for a great gochu-jjajang spot — worth a visit at least once!