Dongbaek, Yongin noodle restaurant: half kalguksu, half mandu jeongol

Baekcheongu Kalguksu Dongbaek Branch, a neighborhood regular across from Dongbaek Elementary

A kalguksu and mandu jeongol place near Dongbaek E-mart in Yongin.

There are a few restaurants in my neighborhood that have quietly held their spot for years. Some I've watched since I first moved to Dongbaek, and after 10 years living abroad, coming back and finding Baekcheongu Kalguksu still here nearly made me cry — it's my true go-to kalguksu place in Dongbaek, Yongin.

It's right across from Dongbaek Elementary's main gate, a 2-minute walk away, so on top of being delicious it's genuinely convenient — the kind of place you can pop into for an easy meal.

E-mart is nearby too, so a lot of people come from out of the neighborhood for it. It's on the main road in front of the school, but you can actually park out front during weekday lunch and dinner hours. Lately they seem to also serve seoritae kongguksu (black soybean noodle soup) and bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles).

Kalguksu and mandu jeongol are the main dishes here. Walk in and you'll see these huge sacks of flour — that's the special thing about this Dongbaek kalguksu spot, they pull the noodles by hand. Apparently if you come around 11am you can watch them making the dough.

• 🚩19 Pyeongchon 2-ro 1beon-gil, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, 1F
• 🎈11am–9pm

Inside Baekcheongu Kalguksu Dongbaek Branch: tables and group seating

The space splits roughly into two halves, and you can eat while looking out the window, which gives it an open, breezy feel. Baekcheongu Kalguksu Dongbaek Branch actually looks much bigger inside than it appears from outside.

The largest table seats 12 for group meals, and it can also be split for smaller parties — good for both casual get-togethers and bigger gatherings, a real all-purpose kalguksu spot in Dongbaek.

What's on the menu at this Dongbaek, Yongin kalguksu restaurant

• 🥢Seafood kalguksu
• 🥣Seafood mandu jeongol
• 🥢Kongguksu
• 🥠Steamed dumplings

The menu is short, which tells you right away this is a proper kalguksu specialist. It's busy with customers whether it's lunch or dinner — a genuinely popular spot.

I wanted a window view while eating, so I picked a seat near the window. Turns out those seats are surprisingly nice and comfortable for a meal.

The order: half seafood kalguksu, half mandu jeongol in one pot

Today I wanted to try both dishes, so I ordered one mandu jeongol and one seafood kalguksu. Honestly we always agonize over what to order, and when you want both but can only get one serving of each, it's such a dilemma. Here you can have both dishes at once, which felt like such a great deal.

The barley rice starter served before the meal

While the broth was already simmering in the hot pot, barley rice came out first, before the noodles and dumplings. My kids genuinely love this pre-meal appetizer — mix in yeolmu kimchi and bean sprouts with a couple drops of sesame oil and some gochujang, and it's honey-sweet. If you want more, they'll bring extra rice and kimchi too. I kept mine light since I was saving room for the kalguksu and dumplings — now let's get into the main event.

Oh my, so good!! I wanted more but held back — gotta save room for the main dish, right?

Seafood mandu jeongol, ready after 3 minutes of simmering

Once the broth is boiling away noisily, they add the noodles, dumplings, and seafood all at once. Let it simmer about 3 minutes before eating — careful, it's hot!! The bubbling sound is almost rhythmic.

The seafood aroma hit me and I started drooling — I couldn't wait to dig in. Blowing on the hot broth in the middle of summer, that refreshing kalguksu flavor is something else. Apparently when you've been eating only cold food in this heat, having something hot once in a while keeps your stomach from getting shocked. This place is famous as a go-to spot near Dongbaek E-mart, drawing customers in every season — let's dive into the warmth.

Simmering it half kalguksu, half mandu jeongol looked great visually and let us taste everything — such a win for the tastebuds too. Why did I never think to order it this way before now? Haha.

Kimchi and meat dumplings half-and-half in the seafood broth

Ordering the dumplings half-and-half too meant we got to try both kimchi mandu and meat mandu, which was great. My husband isn't big on spice so he mostly ate the meat dumplings, while I mostly had the kimchi ones. They say it's only right eaten with kimchi — and the kalguksu noodles paired with the freshly tossed geotjeori (fresh kimchi) were so good they disappeared instantly.

The seafood kept coming and there was so much variety — baby octopus, shrimp, mideodeok (sea squirt), kabocha squash, two kinds of shellfish, all packed in generously, and the broth flavor was out of this world. My husband said it was so good he nearly scraped every last drop of broth clean.

We got so hooked on the deep, authentic flavor of the kalguksu and mandu jeongol that we cleaned the pot to the very last drop — this is one I'd wholeheartedly recommend as a go-to spot near Dongbaek E-mart in Yongin. Great for lunch, great for dinner, our neighborhood's mandu jeongol favorite — I'll definitely be back.