Giheung kalguksu spot with flying fish roe wrap: Yubok Kalguksu

Today I visited Yubok Kalguksu, a famous kalguksu (knife-cut noodle) restaurant near the Korean Folk Village and in Bora-dong! True to its name, it's known for kalguksu simmered in a rich pufferfish broth. The buchu jjukkumi (chive octopus), great to eat alongside it, was also a real treat — here's my review!

• ⏰ Hours: 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:30)
• 🚗 Parking: Available

Where Yubok Kalguksu is in Giheung, and what the restaurant feels like

Yubok Kalguksu, a well-known spot in Bora-dong and among Yongin kalguksu restaurants, sits right across from the Korean Folk Village, so it's a great stop if you're visiting the folk village. It's also close to Giheung Premium Outlets and Giheung IKEA, so it works well after some shopping too.

What's really special is that Yubok Kalguksu uses pufferfish broth — high in protein and low in fat, it's said to help with weight management, fatigue relief, blood circulation, and vascular health in many ways!

Even though it's a cook-at-the-table kalguksu place, the interior was clean and pleasant. The layout was mostly tables for 2–4, but there's also separate group seating, so it looked good for company dinners too.

Yubok Kalguksu menu and prices

• Kalguksu jjukkumi set - ₩15,000
• Buchu jjukkumi (chive octopus) - ₩16,000
• Jjukkumi haemul buchujeon (octopus seafood chive pancake) - ₩15,000
• Bok haemul kalguksu (pufferfish seafood noodle) - ₩11,000
• Wang gogi mandu (large meat dumplings) - ₩7,000
• Jikhwa jjukkumi bokkeum (grilled stir-fried octopus) - ₩16,000

For just ₩4,000 more on the basic kalguksu set, you can also get jjukkumi barley rice, so of course I added it! They even have instructions for the tastiest way to eat it, so check those out.

The self-serve bar has kimchi and tableware, and each table has hot pepper, pepper, and soy sauce ready to go, so it was easy to use. There's also a review event where you can get extra clams or one pack of pufferfish broth.

Pufferfish broth to take home: 5,000 won a pack

The pufferfish broth is sold at ₩5,000 for one pack or ₩13,000 for three, and I saw a lot of people picking some up on their way out at that reasonable price!

Adding the 2,000 won flying fish roe wrap to the kalguksu jjukkumi set

Kalguksu jjukkumi set - ₩15,000, flying fish roe wrap - ₩2,000. I felt like just the kalguksu jjukkumi set alone wasn't quite enough, so when I saw they sell a flying fish roe wrap on the side that's great with the octopus, I added it right away!

For side dishes we got geotjeori (fresh cabbage kimchi) and yuja mu saengchae (spicy radish salad with citron), and both kimchi were so tasty they went perfectly with the kalguksu!

How much sea squirt and clams come in the broth?

I thought there was really a lot of enoki mushroom, shredded green onion, sea squirt, oysters, and clams! No matter how much we ate, more sea squirt and clams kept coming, so in the end we had to leave some — almost a shame. All the toppings were neatly added by the staff, so it was easy to just relax and eat.

The broth at Yubok Kalguksu, a Bora-dong favorite, is the kind of thing where one sip instantly explains why they sell it separately. Skimming off a little foam while it simmers brings out an even cleaner, deeper pufferfish broth flavor!

The chewy kalguksu noodles are tasty on their own, and even better with the geotjeori and yuja mu saengchae mixed in! Adding hot pepper or pepper partway through the meal would be great too.

Is the 4,000 won jjukkumi barley rice add-on worth it?

For just ₩4,000 per person, the stir-fried octopus came in a generous portion! It arrived stir-fried together with plump octopus, cabbage, and bean sprouts.

I wrapped the spicy octopus in the flying fish roe wrap and also mixed it into the barley rice with the yuja mu saengchae! The citron radish salad added a bright, tangy touch to the spicy octopus — the combination was really great.

Free dessert at Yubok Kalguksu: puffed rice snacks and iced americano

On the way out, there's puffed rice snacks and coffee for dessert, so it was easy to enjoy something sweet before leaving! Having the option of an iced Americano was personally a nice touch haha.

If you're looking for a Korean Folk Village restaurant, a Bora-dong kalguksu spot, Yongin pufferfish kalguksu, or a Giheung jjukkumi restaurant, Yubok Kalguksu is one I'd definitely recommend!