Ramen restaurant near Samyuk Univ. back gate in Byeollae: Torikokoro

A Byeollae favorite with three straight years on the Blue Ribbon Survey! Torikokoro is an authentic Japanese ramen restaurant near the back gate of Sahmyook University.

How to find Torikokoro near the Sahmyook University back gate

Heading toward the back gate of Sahmyook University, you'll pass an Ediya Coffee — don't walk past it, turn left there and you'll find Torikokoro at the very end of the building.

Even from a distance, the clean signage, cute yellow awning, and a yellow flag with 'ramen' written in Japanese make it easy to spot.

An atmosphere that works fine for solo diners

Inside, Torikokoro Byeollae was clean, and the solo seating ran in a long bar along the wall, which looked great for eating alone,

and while there were plenty of 2- and 4-person tables too, the place itself was a cozy, compact space — smaller than I expected.

On one side, bottles of Japanese ramune soda topped with a Shin-chan figurine were cutely displayed, giving off that particular cute Japanese vibe. Participate in Torikokoro Byeollae's review event and you get a free ramune 🌟

An authentic ramen restaurant that's held its ground since 2019

As it turns out, this place has been standing its ground in Byeollae-dong, Namyangju since 2019, apparently the only genuinely authentic Japanese ramen restaurant in Namyangju. It's run by two brothers, and rather than juggling a bunch of menu items and cranking out simple dishes, they pour their care into each bowl. You really shouldn't skip a specialty shop when it comes to ramen.

They make their own broth and noodles in-house, and it's the only restaurant in Namyangju taking part in Together Ramen Day. It's also been listed in the Blue Ribbon Survey, Korea's answer to the Michelin Guide, for three straight years — 2024, 2025, and 2026 — a genuinely respected ramen spot in Namyangju.

We ordered the full-topping shoyu ramen and full-topping mazesoba

We ordered the full-topping shoyu ramen and full-topping mazesoba. You can order via the QR code at your table too!! I wanted to order the tantanmen, but that's only available after 5 PM. If you're hoping to try the tantanmen, keep that in mind!

A little while later the food arrived, and it looked really clean and tidy.

The chicken-broth shoyu ramen and its chashu

I noticed this place uses chicken broth rather than pork bone, and the topping is chicken meat too, so I tried the broth first.

Hmm, it was genuinely light yet somehow seemed strongly seasoned — but not overpowering at all, just a really clean-tasting broth.

Dipped in seaweed and eaten with the meat and noodles, it's really delicious. The meat had zero dryness — actually it felt like eating a very tender chicken steak... The chashu at this Byeollae ramen shop was genuinely impressive.

Mazesoba with egg yolk and kelp vinegar

Next I tried the mazesoba. This Byeollae ramen shop apparently uses 1+ grade beef and a special mazesoba sauce, and unlike other places the sauce didn't seem loaded with oil, so it wasn't greasy at all — and being a sauce, the umami was strong!

The noodles were well-kneaded and chewy, and once I burst the egg yolk in for extra chewiness and wrapped it up with seaweed, it was truly delicious.

And once you're about halfway through, you're supposed to douse it with kelp vinegar to boost the umami even further — it wasn't so much sour as it was addictively flavorful, and I loved that even more!! Finishing it off by mixing in a bowl of rice is supposedly the perfect ending... but I was way too full, so I'll definitely have to try that next time.

Recommended for a Byeollae lunch or date spot

Overall, this felt like a Byeollae ramen shop that put real care into its food and really brought out the umami.

It's a great spot near Sahmyook University and a Namyangju ramen restaurant worth visiting whenever you're craving a proper bowl of ramen. Parking is easy too, so it's great for a Byeollae date or a Namyangju date course, and hearty enough for lunch — recommended as a Byeollae lunch option too!