Naver-booked seafood kalguksu in Oido, Siheung: 52 Degree Kalguksu

Oido's must-visit restaurant, 52 Degree Kalguksu

I visited 52 Degree Kalguksu, right in front of Baedari Pier by the Oido sea 😋 It feels like half Oido, half Jeju — you get an ocean view while enjoying refreshing, spicy-tangy seafood kalguksu 🦀🐟🐙

The seafood spread was rich and obviously fresh, and I came away having stuffed myself with both kalguksu and dumpling soup, so let's get into the review!

Where 52 Degree Kalguksu Oido Main Branch is and when it opens

📍113 Oido-ro, Siheung, Gyeonggi, South Korea

✔️Hours: 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:10)

Skip the wait with Naver Reservation: 10 white clams free

I'd read beforehand that the waits here can be huge, so I timed my visit to avoid the noon-ish peak.

Even though it was well past lunch hour, quite a few people were still eating, and more kept coming in.

For reference, a lot of people walk in without a reservation here, so booking through Naver Reservation gets you seated without any wait. You also get a free serving of 10 mussels as a bonus — definitely make a Naver reservation before you go!!

Parking at 52 Degree Kalguksu: free lot plus 1 hour at the public lot

Parking is free in front of and behind the restaurant, and you also get 1 hour supported at the public parking lot, so you can eat without worrying about your car.

Jeju stone walls, dol hareubang and second-floor ocean-view seats

They'd recreated a Jeju stone wall out front, and I thought, wait, this feels very Jeju-ish — then I spotted a dol hareubang (traditional Jeju stone grandfather statue) right at the entrance and knew for sure!

Luckily there was a table open on the second floor when I visited, so I went up.

There's a real reason to insist on the second floor if you can — this is an Oido must-visit precisely because you get to eat while looking out at the wide-open sea view right in front of you.

Menu, prices and the Jeju drinks lineup

The menu ranges across dishes like whole seafood kalguksu, whole seafood ramyeon, and 52 Degree Clam Kalguksu, among others.

For reference, the best-value option is the 52 Degree Clam Kalguksu, which comes to ₩24,000 for two — a simple, easy way to enjoy this gorgeous ocean view without spending much. We'd already set our hearts on the whole seafood kalguksu before arriving, so we quickly ordered on the kiosk!! Seeing the basalt stone wall reminded me so much of Jeju that I also ordered a bottle of hallabong (tangerine) makgeolli. Looking at the drinks lineup, it's basically all Jeju soju, makgeolli, and beer — genuinely fun to pick from.

Making bibimbap with the barley rice and young radish kimchi

As a basic table setting, they simply provide kimchi that pairs well with the kalguksu, plus a sample bowl of barley rice and young radish greens kimchi.

Since the main course takes a bit of time to prepare, this was the perfect little something to take the edge off my hunger.

Pile the crisp young radish kimchi onto the fluffy barley rice, drizzle on the chojang (vinegar-chili sauce) set on the table, give it a good shake-mix, and you've got a fantastic barley-radish bibimbap 🙌

We also cracked open the Jeju hallabong makgeolli 🍊 That tangy-sweet tangerine flavor in a yellow, milky-hued rice wine is truly excellent 🙌 Between eating, drinking, and soaking in the ocean view, the main dish finally arrives!

What's inside the whole-seafood kalguksu pot

Octopus, red crab, abalone, shrimp, scallops, mussels, dongjuk (surf clams), clams, beef brisket, mandu (dumplings), enoki mushrooms, bean sprouts, and more — an absurdly generous whole seafood kalguksu arrived.

The freshness is no joke, right? Seafood is sourced fresh every day from Noryangjin Fisheries Wholesale Market, and the vegetables come straight from the produce market, so the freshness is obvious just by looking.

The broth uses no store-bought concentrate — just stock they make fresh every dawn — so unlike places loaded with seasoning, the broth here is clean and refreshing.

Once it's boiled enough, staff came by to prep it for easy eating and kept checking in on how we were doing with the broth and the eating method, which made things really convenient — we basically just had to eat.

There's an eating guide posted at every table, so it helps to reference that while you go.

Eat in order: whole octopus, then beef brisket, then red crab

Start with the whole octopus first, since it can get tough if boiled too long! Some places use frozen octopus that's so chewy it's basically inedible, but this one is clearly tender and soft — the freshness really shows. Dip it in chojang and it's basically its own dish of boiled octopus.

There's also beef brisket, so eating it with the vegetables felt like a seafood shabu-shabu of sorts, with a whole range of flavors.

The red crab that staff prepped for us was packed full inside and delicious to eat, with a savory, deep flavor distinct from regular blue crab that steeped into the broth and made it even richer.

Beyond that, the seafood just keeps coming — abalone, scallops, surf clams, shrimp, mussels, clams, and more!

Finishing with kalguksu noodles and hand-torn dough flakes

Kalguksu & sujebi (hand-torn dumpling soup)

Nothing beats finishing a meal with kalguksu noodles, right?

This place is popular enough that they even sell the noodles as a separate meal kit — and here's the thing: it's included as standard even without ordering it separately!

Just drop it straight into the leftover seafood broth. The chewy, plump noodles were nothing like store-bought kalguksu noodle bundles. Even after long boiling, they didn't get mushy — the chewy texture was appealing enough that I wanted to buy the noodles separately just on their own.

We got a little greedy and added dumpling soup on top of that. Sujebi torn by hand and cooked fresh on the spot was fun to eat too. It's wide and thick, so it needs a bit longer boiling than the kalguksu, but the chewy dumpling soup comes together quickly.

All the staff were kind too, and they thoughtfully set out mouthwash for after the meal — a real Oido must-visit, 52 Degree Kalguksu! I'll be back again next time. Thanks for the great meal.