Haengju Fortress baeksuk restaurant with porridge finish: Guil Baeksuk

The restaurant near Haengju Fortress that made me happiest lately. It's just outside Seoul, with a quiet, old-fashioned atmosphere — perfect for a duck baeksuk (whole duck stewed with herbs) to build up your strength. Everything from the side dishes to the main course was delicious at Guil Baeksuk in Goyang Ilsan near Haengju Fortress. Here's the honest review from dinner out with my husband, let's go!

Where is Guil Baeksuk, and what does it look like?

Guil Baeksuk is a baeksuk specialty restaurant on Haengju-ro 15beon-gil in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, Gyeonggi. There are quite a few restaurants around Haengju Fortress in Deogyang-gu, but it was easy to find with navigation.

Guil Baeksuk sits quietly off to one side — a good spot for a family gathering or a date course too.

A warm, homely standalone building. Shall we go inside?

Inside Guil Baeksuk after the lunch rush

I had an appointment so I arrived after lunchtime, and it was actually nicer being quiet. It's summer season, so baeksuk as a health food must be popular — the reservation list had plenty of names on it.

We were shown to a window seat and sat down haha. My first impression of Guil Baeksuk near Haengju Fortress was that on top of the coziness you'd expect from a baeksuk place, it felt clean and pleasant. And the young owner was so friendly. My satisfaction was already going up before I'd even eaten anything!

Guil Baeksuk menu and prices

Let's take a look at the Guil Baeksuk menu lineup. It's broadly split into two categories: baeksuk dishes and set meals.

• [Baeksuk menu] Hwangchil duck baeksuk (for 2, half bird) ₩45,000
• Hwangchil duck baeksuk (for 4, whole bird) ₩73,000
• Hwangchil chicken baeksuk (for 2–3) ₩59,000
• *All baeksuk dishes include glutinous rice and basic side dishes
• [Set menu] Soy-marinated crab ₩43,000
• Dried yellow corvina ₩28,000
• Stir-fried baby octopus ₩18,000

Some other tables were eating the dried yellow corvina and it looked tasty. I hesitated a bit, but since my husband and I came to build up our strength with duck baeksuk, we picked the best-seller — hwangchil duck baeksuk, half bird!

• [Add-ons] Extra yakbap for hwangchil baeksuk ₩5,000
• Acorn jelly ₩15,000

How to eat hwangchil duck baeksuk the right way

And here's how to enjoy hwangchil duck baeksuk best! When you order it, the duck comes deboned as suyuk (sliced boiled meat), which makes it easy to eat. Eat it with the seasoned chives and side dishes, pair it with the bone broth that comes with the baeksuk, and at the end, stir in the yakbap to make porridge — so good.

How many side dishes come with it, and are refills free?

Even though it's a baeksuk specialty place, there's a wide variety of side dishes and every single one is delicious. Cool cucumber and radish dongchimi (watery radish kimchi) as a refreshing starter... pickled cucumber, eggplant salad, deodeok (mountain herb root) salad, zucchini salad, cucumber salad, cabbage kimchi, pickled perilla leaves — not a single miss ♥︎

Doesn't it look neat even just from the photo? These carefully made side dishes are also refillable.

Deboned duck suyuk and the herbal bone broth

Right after the basic side dishes were set, they filled our duck bone broth. The duck meat comes fully deboned into suyuk form. Pouring the herbal broth over the bones with a bit of meat still on them, just the visuals gave me energy haha.

Main event: the duck suyuk and chive salad arrive. Paired with the yakbap on the side, it's the best combination. Unlike chicken, duck meat has a bit more chew to it. Since it comes pre-deboned and ready to eat, it somehow felt even more tender haha. There are still a few small bones left, so debone carefully as you eat!

The yakbap was so good I just ate it alongside the meat, but stirring it into the broth to make porridge is the best, seriously so tasty haha.

As we ate, I kept thinking over and over, I have to bring my parents here... Guil Baeksuk near Haengju Fortress! The overall menu lineup was great, and there was soft background music playing too, making the atmosphere even better — it'd be a great choice for treating someone to a meal.

There's a chogochujang sauce sprinkled with perilla seeds, and dipping the meat in it is delicious, and wrapping the meat with chive salad in pickled perilla leaves and eating it that way is a total summer health-food delicacy. Every single side dish was tasty so we refilled a few of them... I don't usually like deodeok but why was this one so good?! My husband and I aren't exactly light eaters, but between the half-bird duck baeksuk and the generous side dishes, we ended up really, really full haha.

Finishing with porridge after two broth refills

The highlight of Guil Baeksuk — we asked for the duck baeksuk broth to be refilled twice more. The broth was so deep and delicious that just sipping it felt like it settled your stomach haha. I liked it even plain, without adding salt.

Finally, making the K-dessert porridge haha. We deboned everything, added in the leftover yakbap, threw in some duck suyuk too, and made it deliciously. They gave us plenty of broth so I thought there might be too much, but it reduced down quickly and got even more delicious — magic 🥹

We finished all the side dishes, all the meat, and all the broth, no leftovers! The male owner checked in partway through to ask if the food was good, and kept the broth topped up ahead of time — the attentive service really stood out at this place.

The verdict on Guil Baeksuk in one line

That's my review of Guil Baeksuk near Haengju Fortress just outside Seoul, from a date course with my husband. I'd 100% return — a genuinely great restaurant, and I'd recommend it whether you want a hearty health-food meal or a good spot to take your parents haha.