Water, spicy, and mixed naengmyeon compared: Songgiwon Jinju

I was in Jinju and finally went out for Jinju naengmyeon again after a while~ This time I visited Songgiwon Jinju Naengmyeon Direct Store! I'd always wanted to try Jinju-style naengmyeon, and a good opportunity came up this time so I went and checked it out myself :)

Songgiwon Jinju Naengmyeon Direct Store info

• Name: Songgiwon Jinju Naengmyeon Direct Store
• Address: 49 Cheonsu-ro, 1st floor, Jinju-si, Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00 AM – 9:00 PM
• Break time: 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM
• Closed: Every Tuesday
• Parking: On-site parking available
• Menu: Water naengmyeon / Bibim naengmyeon / Mixed naengmyeon / Woojeon and more

Today I brought my mom and aunt along haha. The restaurant is located on Cheonsu-ro in Jinju!

What about parking and the waiting area?

I drove there, and there was a parking space set up so I didn't have to worry about parking! Super spacious

When I arrived there was exactly one seat left so I didn't have to wait at all haha. Lucky~~

This is the waiting area! It's pretty spacious indoors so waiting here wouldn't be bad at all!!

Once inside, everything was neatly arranged overall, and the tables were spaced out generously. I saw families having a meal together, and it also seemed like a good spot for a group of several people to eat.

In the back there's also a self-serve broth bar and side dish corner!! (Warm broth under the full-blast AC tastes great lol)

What we ordered

After sitting down and looking over the menu, we went full send with all three types of naengmyeon plus woojeon! Water naengmyeon / bibim naengmyeon / mixed naengmyeon / woojeon. Going with a group really is nice because you get to try everything the restaurant is known for, hehe.

Here's the basic side dish setup! And they even gave us broth on the bibim naengmyeon side!

After a short wait, our order came out! Everyone was hungry so we dug into the woojeon first haha, but I did manage to snap an overall shot — with all the different naengmyeon laid out, it made for a colorful, satisfying spread.

Now let me break each one down ☺️

Water naengmyeon — generous toppings, clean broth

First I tried the most basic option, water naengmyeon! Compared to standard naengmyeon, Jinju-style naengmyeon is known for having a wide variety of toppings, and here they were piled on generously. The broth wasn't overly sharp or strong-flavored — it was on the cleaner side — and eating the noodles together with the toppings gave a nice mix of textures.

First try the broth and noodles plain, then add a little vinegar or mustard depending on your taste! Personally, I preferred tasting the plain broth first and adding seasoning little by little rather than dumping it all in at once. (I had to grab my mom's wrist before she dumped in the mustard and vinegar right away...)

Bibim naengmyeon — spicy-tangy sauce, chewy noodles

Next up, bibim naengmyeon! I mixed the sauce thoroughly into the noodles before eating. It had a totally different feel from the water naengmyeon, so ordering both and sharing made for a fun comparison haha.

The sauce was moderately spicy and tangy, and it paired nicely with the chewy noodles. If you like the clean flavor of water naengmyeon, go with that; if you like a seasoned noodle dish, bibim naengmyeon is the pick!! I'm normally a bibim person, so I'm voting for bibim!

Mixed naengmyeon — between water and bibim, the winner of the day

And here's mixed naengmyeon, which I tried for the first time that day. It's easier to understand if you think of it as somewhere between water and bibim naengmyeon! It has the seasoned flavor of bibim naengmyeon but also comes with broth mixed in, so it felt a bit more moist than the bibim version. Personally, if you have trouble choosing between water and bibim naengmyeon, I think mixed naengmyeon is a solid option haha.

Oh? This is better than I expected?? I'm changing my answer — mixed was my favorite!

Woojeon — savory outside, soft inside

It felt like a waste to order just naengmyeon, so we added woojeon too~~ The golden-fried woojeon was savory on the outside and soft on the inside. Eating it in between bites of naengmyeon turned out to be a great combo! Even my picky moms approved^^

Especially compared to just eating naengmyeon on its own, adding woojeon made the meal feel a lot more filling...(okay, stop eating...) If you're visiting with two or more people, I'd recommend ordering different types of naengmyeon each and sharing one woojeon together!

Which naengmyeon should you pick?

This time we tried water, bibim, and mixed naengmyeon plus woojeon!! If you like a clean, mild flavor, go with water naengmyeon; if you like something seasoned, go with bibim naengmyeon; if you want to enjoy both at once, I'd recommend mixed naengmyeon 👍🏻 Adding woojeon on top made the meal feel much more satisfying than naengmyeon alone. Honestly, in my heart, woojeon is number one!! lol

If you're visiting with a group, I'd also recommend ordering a variety of menu items so you can compare the flavors :) If you're looking for a great Jinju naengmyeon spot and want to try different types of naengmyeon, give Songgiwon Jinju Naengmyeon a visit!