Hyangnam kalguksu restaurant: seafood pajeon and ₩3,000 makgeolli

There was no rain in the forecast, but the sky stayed gloomy and overcast all day. I don't know why, but weather like this always makes me crave hot broth and pajeon (savory pancake) haha.

Around sunset I asked my husband, "Should we have pajeon with makgeolli (rice wine) tonight?" Our son loves seafood kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) too, so dinner was decided without much thought.

Today's spot was ✨ Jedam Kalguksu Hyangnam Branch. My husband and I would have king seafood pajeon with makgeolli, and our son would get his favorite seafood-loaded kalguksu. Each of us got exactly what we wanted — let the family dinner begin. :)

Where is Jedam Kalguksu Hyangnam Branch? Parking and hours

Jedam Kalguksu Hyangnam Branch is on the 2nd floor at 10 Pyeong6-gil, Hyangnam-eup, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do. The building has a big sign up top reading "Seafood Hand-Cut Kalguksu, Sujebi," so it was easy to spot. We drove and found space to park right in front of the restaurant.

📍 Business info

• Daily 10:30–21:00
• Last order 20:30
• Parking available in front
• Open every day
• No break time

Inside Jedam Kalguksu: table seats and floor seats

The restaurant is on the 2nd floor. Once inside, the space is bigger than expected. Jedam Kalguksu has even been featured on the TV show Live Today, and looking around, you can see its media appearances noted in the space.

Both table seating and floor seating are available, so it's easy to find a comfortable spot depending on your group size or preference. Rather than a flashy interior, it has that familiar, comfortable feel of a neighborhood spot where families come for a relaxed meal.

Menu and prices, plus extra seafood add-ons

I liked that the menu wasn't overly complicated. Seafood kalguksu is ₩15,000 per person, seafood sujebi ₩15,000 per person, clam kalguksu ₩10,000 per person. For sides there's king seafood pajeon at ₩17,000, king shrimp tempura at ₩12,000, plus king mandu (dumplings) and pork cutlet.

There are also sets for two or three combining seafood kalguksu with seafood pajeon, shrimp tempura, and mandu, which looked convenient for a Hyangnam lunch or family dinner depending on group size.

You can also add extra seafood: whole octopus ₩16,000, mixed seafood ₩11,000, octopus (nakji) ₩10,000, squid ₩7,000, baby octopus (jjukkumi) ₩6,000, shrimp ₩6,000. Adding a whole squid or jjukkumi on top of the base seafood makes for an even more loaded pot.

Drink discounts: ₩3,000 makgeolli and ₩3,000 soju

And one more welcome surprise: drink discounts! 🍾 The posted prices show soju at ₩3,000, beer at ₩4,000, makgeolli at ₩3,000. "Wow, when's the last time drinks were this cheap?" We were both grinning just ordering the makgeolli haha.

Ordering seafood kalguksu for two and a king seafood pajeon

Today we ordered exactly what we were craving 🦑🐚: seafood kalguksu ₩15,000 × 2, king seafood pajeon ₩17,000, makgeolli ₩3,000. When the food arrived, what caught my eye first wasn't the noodles — it was the seafood.

Seafood kalguksu is ₩15,000 per person. The pot was packed with squid, octopus, shrimp, and clams, along with big chunks of green onion, so the broth had me excited even before it started boiling. It came with fresh cut kimchi (geotjeori), aged kimchi, and pickled radish — and I'm firmly a fresh-kimchi-with-kalguksu person.

How to eat it: seafood first, kalguksu noodles after

There's a specific way to eat at Jedam Kalguksu Hyangnam Branch. Instead of adding the noodles from the start, you boil and eat the seafood first, then once you've eaten a good amount, you add the hand-cut kalguksu noodles and boil them in.

Once the seafood boils, you cut it up with scissors for easier eating and turn the heat down low. After finishing the seafood, you call a staff member over to add the noodles, then let them boil without stirring until they float to the top before eating — that's how it was explained to us. Keeping the heat too high the whole time can make the broth too salty, so managing the flame matters too.

Now for the main event. As it boiled, the clams opened one by one, and the squid, octopus, and shrimp cooked through — the pot looked completely full. Eating the seafood piece by piece, each ingredient had a different texture — chewy, springy, tender — which made it fun to pick through.

And the broth that came from simmering all that seafood together had a clean, savory flavor rather than a heavily seasoned one. It felt like it deepened the more we ate, so my spoon kept going back in.

Why the freshly cut hand-made noodles stand out

After eating a good amount of the seafood, it's finally time for the noodles. I understood then why they don't add the noodles from the start — there was so much seafood that adding the noodles right away would've overflowed the pot.

We could actually see the noodles being cut fresh, which made "hand-cut kalguksu" feel very real. Noodles cut fresh like this look different from the neat, uniform strands of machine-made noodles.

We dropped them into the seafood broth, let them simmer, and waited for them to cook before lifting up a bite. The noodles were chewy and moist.

Since the noodles had soaked up the seafood broth, they didn't feel separate from the soup at all — slurping them down, they were soft yet still had a satisfying bite.

Top it with a bit of fresh kimchi and that's my favorite combo complete! Eating the noodles with kimchi made me suddenly crave plain white rice, so we ended up ordering a bowl of rice too haha. Warm rice topped with fresh kimchi, then a spoonful of seafood kalguksu broth.

Not only were the noodles delicious that day — we ate through the broth to the very end too. We scraped the pot until we could see the bottom, and the discarded shells filled an entire brass pot. We really did eat our fill of seafood that day.

King seafood pajeon with a glass of makgeolli

The king seafood pajeon at ₩17,000 came out nearly filling a huge plate. It was generously packed with green onion and vegetables, with bits of seafood peeking through, making it fun to tear off piece by piece.

What I loved was how generous the vegetables were. The outside had a nice crispy, fried texture while the inside stayed moist thanks to all the ingredients mixed in, never too dry.

A bite of pajeon, then a cold sip of makgeolli. The smooth, refreshing makgeolli paired with the savory, crispy seafood pajeon — this combo needs no explanation haha. It suited the gloomy weather even better. With all the seafood kalguksu we'd already eaten, though, there was so much food that we couldn't finish the whole pajeon.

Packing up leftovers, and adding squid and jjukkumi next time

We could pack up the leftovers ourselves, which was convenient. With the makgeolli too, the three of us ended up completely full. So we reluctantly saved the squid and jjukkumi add-ons for next time. Squid is ₩7,000 and jjukkumi is ₩6,000, so next time I'd love to add one of each for an even more loaded pot.

Even the basic order came with plenty of seafood, so adding extras would make for a truly serious pot for a seafood-loving family like ours.

Also, don't just pay and leave — grab the ₩2,000 discount coupon for your next visit! The store notices mentioned regular business hours during Chuseok holiday and a new meal kit release, so check with the restaurant for the latest info when you visit. The meal kit sounds like it'd be perfect to take camping and boil up hot there too.

Is Jedam Kalguksu Hyangnam Branch worth a visit?

It never actually rained, but it was an evening that felt like it might, gloomy the whole way through.

• 🎉 My husband and I had pajeon with cold makgeolli
• 🎉 Our son picked out all his favorite seafood
• 🎉 And we finished with chewy hand-cut noodles and fresh kimchi

When I think of Hyangnam kalguksu, I'll remember this pot — seafood first, then the hand-cut noodles boiled in at the end. Our family finished every last drop of broth, so tonight's dinner choice was a clear win ♥️