Yongin Korean restaurant: dumplings at Baekcheongu Kalguksu

On days like these, when I crave a bowl of warm broth, I somehow find myself wanting kalguksu (knife-cut noodles). Especially when there is refreshing seafood broth, chewy noodles, and even dumplings to enjoy alongside it—it makes for such a hearty meal, doesn't it? This time, while looking for somewhere to eat around Dongbaek, I visited Baekcheongu Kalguksu Yongin Dongbaek Branch (백청우칼국수).

It is close to Dongbaek E-Mart and Dongbaek Elementary School, so it was easy to find. More than anything, I liked that I could have dumplings as well as kalguksu. We ordered half-and-half mandu (dumplings)—meat and kimchi—and seafood kalguksu that day.

We also added a bottle of cold Terra beer. I thought we would be eating only the main dishes, but they even brought out barley rice before the meal, so we ended up enjoying a much more generous spread than expected.

Location and basic information

It is on the first floor at 19 Pyeongchon 2-ro 1beon-gil, Giheung-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do.

It is not difficult to reach from Dongbaek E-Mart. Exit through the main entrance, turn right, and go straight for about 200 m; the restaurant is on the right.

• Hours: 11:00–21:00
• Parking: Street parking available in front of the restaurant

A cozy space where you take off your shoes

The atmosphere lets you take off your shoes and eat comfortably, making it a nice place to visit when looking for kalguksu in Yongin Dongbaek.

These days, so many restaurants have you walk straight in with your shoes on, so coming across a place like this felt a little old-fashioned in the nicest, most familiar way.

Once I took off my shoes and settled in, it somehow felt as comfortable as sitting down to a warm meal at home.

Choosing from the kalguksu and dumpling menu

The menu had plenty centered on kalguksu, including dumpling hot pot, dumplings, and steamed dumplings, so it looked easy to choose whether you love noodles or dumplings. Since there were two of us and we wanted to try a bit of everything, we chose the seafood kalguksu and half-and-half dumplings.

Barley rice before the kalguksu

As we waited for the food after sitting down, boribap (barley rice) arrived first with the side dishes. It was such a welcome little surprise.

Along with the barley rice came seasoned bean sprouts, kimchi, and vegetable side dishes. Rather than simply eating the rice as is, you can add whichever sides you like and mix it yourself.

I added a generous amount of seasoned bean sprouts to the barley rice, topped it with a little kimchi and vegetable sides, and mixed it all together.

The nutty aroma and pleasantly popping texture of the barley rice went surprisingly well with crisp bean sprouts and spicy kimchi. It was especially nice for taking the edge off our hunger before the kalguksu arrived.

Half-and-half dumplings with meat and kimchi

Then the half-and-half dumplings we had been waiting for arrived: ₩11,000. If you love dumplings, it can be hard to choose just one between meat dumplings and kimchi dumplings, right?

Here, though, you can enjoy half meat dumplings and half kimchi dumplings, so we got both flavors at once.

I started with a meat dumpling. I picked up a hot one with my chopsticks and took a bite, and it felt as though the soft wrapper was packed full of mild, savory filling.

The meat dumpling had a subtle nutty, mild flavor, and the wrapper and filling came together softly, making it easy to eat. It was fine with just a light dip in soy sauce, but I also really liked having it with the seafood kalguksu broth. After a bite of meat dumpling and a spoonful of hot broth, the seafood umami followed its mild flavor and left my palate feeling nicely refreshed.

And then, the kimchi dumpling! It definitely had a stronger presence than the meat dumpling. Its spicy, sharp kimchi flavor made my appetite come alive with one bite, if that makes sense.

Going from the mild meat dumpling to the kimchi dumpling completely changed the mood of the flavors, so it was fun to alternate between them. The meat dumplings were mild, the kimchi dumplings had a light kick, and sipping kalguksu broth in between let each one stand out even more. If two people are visiting and sharing dishes, I think the half-and-half dumplings are a very good choice.

Seafood kalguksu with an inviting hot broth

Now it was time for the main event: kalguksu in Yongin Dongbaek. Our seafood kalguksu, ₩11,000 per serving, arrived.

Warm steam drifted up from the pot, and just looking at it made me feel warmed from the inside.

With kalguksu, it is best not to eat it the very moment it arrives, but to let it boil a little so the broth can come together fully, right? I gently loosened the noodles with my chopsticks, and once the broth began bubbling away, I lifted up a generous bundle.

A full tangle of springy, chewy noodles came up, and I could not wait to eat them.

As I slurped them up, the broth had soaked into every strand, and the more I chewed, the more gently the seafood umami came through. And of course, broth is so important with kalguksu.

Maybe because of the flavor drawn from the seafood, the broth was refreshing and clean—after one spoonful, I wanted another. Rather than feeling overly heavy or leaving a murky finish, it felt like it was warmly filling me up, so I kept spooning it up.

In particular, having a spoonful of broth after the noodles was lovely: the mildness left by the noodles and the seafood broth's umami came together beautifully in my mouth.

A filling meal from barley rice to kalguksu

Baekcheongu Kalguksu Yongin Dongbaek Branch was a place where we could enjoy hot broth, chewy noodles, and dumplings for a truly filling meal.

Most of all, I was impressed that barley rice and side dishes came out before the meal, letting us mix our own bowl. We lightly whetted our appetites with the barley rice, enjoyed half meat and half kimchi dumplings, then finished with the refreshing broth and chewy noodles of the seafood kalguksu. It left nothing lacking as a meal.