Lunch-only handmade noodle shop in Maetan-dong, Suwon: Gogo Kalguksu

Bringing you some great-value new restaurant news. I visited Gogo Kalguksu, a knife-cut noodle place behind Samsung Electro-Mechanics in Maetan-dong where you can enjoy noodle soup, boiled pork, and rice all with a single ₩10,000 note haha.

Gogo Kalguksu hours, closing day and prices

Gogo Kalguksu only opens from 11am to 3pm, and it's closed every Monday. Parking is available, they accept the high oil price relief voucher, you can reserve and bring groups, there's wifi, separate restrooms for men and women, but no pets allowed.

Two minutes from the Samsung Electro-Mechanics back gate — where do you park?

Gogo Kalguksu is a 2-minute walk from the Samsung Electro-Mechanics back gate, right on the restaurant row, so it was easy to get to. There's no dedicated parking lot, but you can park roadside in front of the restaurant until 2pm, so keep that in mind.

At the entrance there's a standing sign radiating craftsman vibes — this is a handmade noodle place. In these high-inflation times, being able to try handmade knife-cut noodles for under 10,000 won felt like really good value too.

Inside Gogo Kalguksu and the lunch rush

The inside of Gogo Kalguksu was clean too. It was bigger than I expected, so the table layout was good.

I came in before 2pm, and it looked like one wave of customers had already come and gone. Being near offices, lunchtime is apparently their peak. The hours only go until 3pm anyway, and there's no dinner service. Gogo Kalguksu only operates until 3pm.

Noodles made in-house and kimchi tossed fresh daily

Gogo Kalguksu's noodles are handmade in-house — kneaded and aged themselves — and the geotjeori (fresh-tossed cabbage kimchi) is also made fresh every day. Since good kimchi is the lifeblood of kalguksu, having a place with delicious kimchi is really great.

The basic side dishes were geotjeori kimchi, seasoned danmuji (pickled radish), and jalapeños, plus a chili paste mix so you could adjust to your taste. Water is self-serve. Rice is served with unlimited refills for free. There's also a review event going on, so write a receipt review and grab a free drink haha.

What the ₩9,000 set includes, from gimbap to bossam

Gogo Kalguksu has just one menu item, priced at ₩9,000. For that price you get kalguksu + gimbap + rice, all together — such great value. And as good as this deal already is, starting next week the gimbap will be swapped out for bossam instead. Not sure how they're making a profit giving this much, but wow, impressive 👏👏

The tables were spotless and everything about Gogo Kalguksu felt clean.

I plated a little of each side dish. Brought the chili paste over too.

Gimbap was still on the menu through this week. I loved this combo, but from next week it'll be kalguksu + bossam instead. Just imagining it, that sounds like truly great value.

How does the kalguksu at Gogo Kalguksu taste?

Gogo Kalguksu's noodle soup was totally my type. You can tell right away the broth is rich, deep, and generous in portion.

The soul of kalguksu is chewy noodles, right? Being handmade, the noodles had exceptional bounce. Chewy yet soft, and the broth flavor soaked in so well that it was clean and mellow without any heaviness.

It paired perfectly with the handmade geotjeori kimchi too.

The broth was also refreshing and clean, so I kept sipping it.

Having enjoyed the clean version, let's try the spicy version too. I should've mixed in rice too, but I decided to save room for the gimbap haha.

The Gogo gimbap, which looks more like a rice ball than gimbap, was surprisingly filling too, and I enjoyed it a lot. Next time I'll definitely have to come back and demolish the boiled pork combo. In these high-inflation times, this is a handmade kalguksu spot where you can eat generously for under 10,000 won — for lunch in Maetan-dong, gogo to Gogo Kalguksu~