Korean restaurant near Buyeo Lotte Outlet: Baekje Dakgaejang

First trip to Buyeo: where to eat after Busosanseong Fortress?

Since it was my very first trip to Buyeo, I wondered where to eat somewhere that would make this first trip memorable. Rather than something too touristy, I looked for a place locals actually go to, and found Baekje Dakgaejang & Chogyeguksu Buyeo, which is registered on Blue Ribbon Survey. The name alone tells you exactly what's on the menu, haha.

That day I ordered both dakgaejang and chogyeguksu, so I got to try a hot dish and a cold dish side by side. Go for chogyeguksu in hot summer, and for chilly fall/winter there's warming dakgaejang and dakgomtang — this is a Buyeo restaurant worth visiting whatever season you come. And the location is especially convenient if you're near Buyeo Outlet or downtown.

Baekje Dakgaejang & Chogyeguksu Buyeo: location, hours and parking

• Address: 378 Seongwang-ro, Buyeo-eup, Buyeo-gun
• Hours: 10:30–20:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Closed every Sunday
• Parking: lot in front of the store / nearby roadside

Baekje Dakgaejang & Chogyeguksu is fairly well known in Buyeo, so there's usually a wait at lunchtime — I went after the lunch rush and it was still nearly full. As befits a signature Buyeo restaurant, the entrance has little extras for travelers, like a receipt photo booth for keeping trip memories.

The dining room had a clean, no-frills feel that made it obvious the place is well kept. Even with lots of customers, the food came out fast and the menu has high turnover, so I didn't have to spend a long stretch of my trip on a meal — I liked that too.

What's on the menu, from dakgaejang to chogyeguksu

The signature dishes at Baekje Dakgaejang & Chogyeguksu Buyeo are, true to the name, dakgaejang and chogyeguksu. Beyond those, there's dakgomtang (chicken soup), bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles), king mandu (dumplings), and other good side options, plus seasonal dishes. After some deliberation I ordered the two signature items — dakgaejang and chogyeguksu.

One dish is warm and spicy, the other cold and refreshing, so sharing the two made for a great combo. Dakgaejang on cold or rainy days, chogyeguksu on hot ones! I'd recommend ordering one of each and alternating like I did.

The refreshing diced radish kimchi (kkakdugi) and kimchi were set on every table, so it was easy to serve yourself just as much as you wanted. The kimchi's cool, clean flavor really went well with the dakgaejang!

Icy chogyeguksu, made for late-summer heat

After walking Busosanseong Fortress for over an hour in nearly 30-degree late-summer heat, a cold dish sounded so tempting! The moment the chogyeguksu arrived, I was thrilled just by the look of it. The chilled broth came piled generously with noodles and chicken, topped with a layer of icy slush that seemed to cool the heat down just by looking at it.

I'd assumed it would be similar to naengmyeon, but it's actually a different experience once you taste it. The savory depth of the chicken broth is layered with a tangy, refreshing edge, and the noodles keep their bite without going soft, so it went down easily even with no appetite. Especially after all that walking, one sip of that cold broth really brought me back to life.

Spicy dakgaejang, the first bowl we tried

Compared to the dakgaejang I'm used to back home in Jeonnam and Gyeongbuk, this one came out a bit clearer. It's generously loaded with chicken, plus bean sprouts, green onion, and bracken fern, so even one bowl was spicy, savory, and quite filling.

From now through winter, I imagine this kind of warm, hearty bowl will be really popular :) And at around ₩10,000 a bowl, it's an easy, affordable meal. If you're doing a fall Buyeo trip or shopping at Buyeo Outlet in the colder months and looking for somewhere warm to eat, I'd recommend ordering the dakgaejang.

Self-serve side dish bar: take as much as you need

Even the basic side dishes are a good match for the soups and noodles here. Anything extra you want, you can grab from the self-serve bar in whatever amount you like — very convenient.

Oh, and they even offer free Buyeo traditional liquor and plum tea — a genuinely touching little extra from this Buyeo restaurant near Lotte Outlet.