Gangneung makguksu restaurant with free beach parking: Samgyori

A review after trying makguksu (buckwheat noodles), boiled pork, and buckwheat pancake at Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch, a well-known makguksu spot in Gangneung. It's also a great view spot, just a 10-minute drive from St. John's Hotel and Shilla Monogram in Gangneung.

• Makguksu ₩11,000
• Boiled pork (small) ₩29,000
• Buckwheat pancake ₩8,000

How long is the drive from St. John's Hotel?

Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch sits on Namhangjin Beach, 5km (about 10 minutes by car) from St. John's Hotel and Shilla Monogram Gangneung.

Where to park at Samgyori in Namhangjin

Parking right in front of the restaurant isn't spacious (only about 4-5 spots). But don't worry — just park at the free public lot that runs along Namhangjin Beach across the street. (Plenty of spots even on a weekday during peak season.)

Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu first opened in Jumunjin, Gangneung, in 1976. This Namhangjin branch, its first offshoot, opened in 1998 and was rebuilt and relocated to its current spot in 2023.

Fitting for such a long-running spot, there are plenty of celebrity autographs on display.

They also sell all sorts of snacks to keep hunger at bay while you're out and about — buckwheat jjondeugi (chewy snack), black rice nurungji (scorched rice) chips, Gangneung coffee yakgwa (honey cookie), and Gangneung coffee gangjeong (rice puff snack).

There's also frozen Samgyori buckwheat mandu (dumplings) — 20 pieces for ₩13,000. Worth grabbing a bag if your accommodation is nearby.

Seating and baby chairs inside Samgyori

The restaurant is huge, and unsurprisingly, the window seats with ocean views are the most popular.

Baby chairs are available too.

• Makguksu ₩11,000
• Boiled pork (small) ₩29,000
• Buckwheat pancake ₩8,000

We ordered a good spread of everything. Noodles for kids under 36 months seemed to be free. A great Gangneung restaurant to visit with a baby.

Leaving a Naver receipt review lets you enter a no-lose raffle. First prize is a ₩50,000 Shinsegae gift card, which won't be easy to win haha, but even a random mini cookie would be nice!

The side dishes are all clean and unassuming in flavor. Radish salad, baek-kimchi (white kimchi), yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi) for the makguksu / garlic, chili, salted shrimp, ssamjang (dipping sauce), lettuce for the boiled pork / soy sauce for the buckwheat pancake.

Makguksu ₩11,000: no choice between broth and bibim

The makguksu at Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch is ₩11,000 — buckwheat noodles served with dongchimi (radish water kimchi) broth made from radish aged over six months at low temperature and fresh vegetables. Dongchimi is served as a default.

Samgyori makguksu doesn't separate broth-style and mixed-style. You control how much dongchimi broth to add and season it yourself with bibim sauce, perilla oil, mustard, vinegar, and sugar — your own custom bowl!

Three ways to eat one bowl of makguksu

Dongchimi makguksu 1. Three ladles of dongchimi broth 2. Mustard, vinegar, sugar to taste 3. Add perilla oil for extra nuttiness! Sashimi / bibim makguksu 1. One ladle of dongchimi broth + bibim sauce + perilla oil 2. Mustard, vinegar, sugar to taste How to enjoy both broth and bibim style! Order matters! 1. Add perilla oil first for perilla oil makguksu 2. Add bibim sauce for bibim makguksu 3. Add dongchimi broth for broth-style makguksu

Personal taste, but method 3 was the best! Start with perilla oil makguksu > move to bibim makguksu > finish with dongchimi makguksu!

The buckwheat aroma is so good it's fine to just mix it as served, too.

When you add the dongchimi broth, definitely add perilla oil too! Dongchimi broth has a faint, funky fermented note (not too strong at Samgyori), but the perilla oil mellows it out and boosts the aroma and savory depth. Tastes so much better! (Personal preference, of course.)

Broth full of slushy ice! A crunchy bite of dongchimi radish! It wipes away the summer heat completely!

Boiled pork (small) ₩29,000: enough for two?

The boiled pork (small) is ₩29,000, made from Korean pork belly boiled the same day. Even though it's the small size, we were surprised by the portion — plenty for 2-3 people to share. Tender, with a perfect ratio of fat to lean meat!

Good with salted shrimp

Good with kimchi

And wrapped in lettuce with garlic and chili — pure bliss! No gamey smell at all, this nutty boiled pork is a must-order at Samgyori!

Buckwheat pancake ₩8,000: crisp right off the pan

The buckwheat pancake is ₩8,000, fried crispy and filled with kimchi, minced meat, and vegetables. Scraping the crispy surface with a fork is practically ASMR-worthy — pure crunch on the outside, packed inside with spicy-tangy kimchi and savory minced meat, giving it a subtly spicy kick.

It practically demands makgeolli (rice wine)!! (They seemed to sell Bongpyeong buckwheat makgeolli haha.)

And of course, we finished with mix coffee!

What I loved, what disappointed me

* What I liked * With no separation between broth-style and bibim-style, ordering one bowl of Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu lets you enjoy perilla oil makguksu, bibim makguksu, and dongchimi makguksu all in one sitting! The tender boiled pork is a must!

* What I didn't * Thinking back on it now, if we'd ordered the pollack sashimi makguksu (₩2,000 more than plain makguksu, ₩13,000), we could've had perilla-oil, bibim, broth, AND sashimi style — the full makguksu marathon!

Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch: hours, address, parking

• 42 Gonghang-gil 127beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea, 1st floor, Samgyori Dongchimi Makguksu Namhangjin branch (Namhangjin-dong 2, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do)
• Hours: 10:30–20:00
• Break time 15:20–17:00 / Last order 19:20
• Closed every Monday
• Separate restrooms, takeout, baby chairs, wifi, mobile payment, parking