North Korean food restaurant in Cheonan: 7 king mandu at Geuni Sikdang

Pyeongyang naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) is the dish I crave not on days when I want something bold and spicy, but when I just want a clean, light meal, haha.

This time I visited Geuni Sikdang, known for pyeongyang naengmyeon, in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan. I felt like noodles alone might leave me wanting more, so I ordered king mandu (large dumplings) alongside — and it ended up being exactly the North Korean-style meal I had in mind, haha.

Where is Geuni Sikdang in Cheonan, and what does it look like?

Geuni Sikdang sits at 34 Dujeongjung7-gil, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do. The sign has the name 'Geuni Sikdang' in big letters with a line below noting it's a pyeongyang naengmyeon and North Korean food specialist, so it wasn't hard to find, haha.

Besides pyeongyang naengmyeon, they also serve North Korean dishes like eobokjaengban (assorted beef platter) and mandu. The exterior uses dark gray tones with warm lighting, giving it an overall calm feel. Rather than a flashy design, it felt more like a specialty restaurant focused on the food itself, haha.

Inside Geuni Sikdang: calm, tidy and fine for solo diners

Inside Geuni Sikdang, wood-toned tables and brown chairs are arranged, keeping the same calm mood as the exterior, haha.

There are larger tables for groups, and on one side, some more separated seating that looked good for eating alone or quietly. Each table has a tablet installed, so you can browse the menu at your own pace and order directly.

Since photos and descriptions appear together, picking a menu item shouldn't be difficult even if you're not familiar with pyeongyang naengmyeon.

Geuni Sikdang menu and prices

Looking at the menu, there was the 50-bowls-a-day pyeongyang naengmyeon at ₩12,000, perilla oil bibim naengmyeon at ₩12,000, siraegi (dried radish greens) perilla oil naengmyeon at ₩12,000, and more, haha.

There was also the meat-heavy hanwoo beef soup and minari hanwoo soup, each ₩15,000, and buckwheat onmyeon and Hwanghae-do mandu soup, each ₩11,000. Looking closer at the pyeongyang naengmyeon description, it said the noodles are made with a 7:3 ratio of buckwheat to sweet potato starch.

There was also a note that they use 1++ grade hanwoo on average daily to make fresh broth every day, which made me even more curious about the broth, haha. I ordered the most basic 50-bowls-a-day pyeongyang naengmyeon at ₩12,000 along with king mandu. Since king mandu can be ordered one at a time, I ordered 7 pieces that day for a total of ₩14,000, haha.

What the 50-bowls-a-day pyeongyang naengmyeon tastes like

First, the pyeongyang naengmyeon arrived in a brass bowl with plenty of broth. The noodles were topped with meat and pear, and the whole thing looked very neat, haha. Taking a sip of the broth first, it wasn't the kind of style that hits you with strong seasoning right away. It had a light, subtle style where the aroma and umami of the beef broth slowly come through in your mouth, giving it that classic pyeongyang naengmyeon charm, haha.

The noodles weren't too chewy but still had that distinct buckwheat texture when you bit into them. Mixing in the crisp pear and meat here and there added little shifts in texture within the otherwise light noodles, which I liked, haha. Paired with the pickled radish that came alongside, it added a refreshing touch, making the whole bowl easy to finish without feeling heavy.

King mandu at Geuni Sikdang, eaten with the cold noodles

And the king mandu had a bigger presence than I expected, haha. They came lined up on a long plate, noticeably larger than regular mandu, so next to the noodles it looked quite hearty, haha.

The dumpling skin wasn't too thick, and the filling inside was packed full, so even one piece was fairly filling. Dipping lightly in soy sauce was nice too, but personally, I preferred alternating between a sip of the pyeongyang naengmyeon broth and a bite of mandu, haha.

Since the noodles themselves are so light, eating the mandu alongside them didn't make the overall meal feel too heavy. Geuni Sikdang in Cheonan is worth a visit if you like the subtle, unseasoned flavor that's characteristic of pyeongyang naengmyeon. It's more about slowly enjoying the light combination of beef broth and buckwheat noodles rather than a bold, spicy cold noodle dish, and adding king mandu makes for a quite filling meal, haha.

Next time I visit again, I'd love to try the eobokjaengban or the perilla oil bibim naengmyeon I noticed on the menu, haha. If pyeongyang naengmyeon or North Korean-style mandu come to mind while you're in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan, keep this place in mind 😊