Kid's birthday trip first meal: naengmyeon at Song Giwon Jinju

It was my kid's birthday this time, so we went on a two-day trip haha! We headed to Jinju first on day one. Before going, I looked up Jinju restaurants and found a handful of famous spots. We decided to try a few of them, and the first one we visited was a famous Jinju naengmyeon place!

Song Giwon Jinju Naengmyeon Main Branch address and hours

• Address: 모덕로47번길 1-2, 진주시, 경상남도
• Monday–Sunday 10:30–20:00
• Break time 16:00–17:00
• Last order 15:40, 19:40

Where to park

We arrived at weekday lunchtime and parked right in front of the restaurant. There aren't many spots, so if it's full, the Yeonam Library public parking lot works well.

This place has held a Blue Ribbon award for three years running! I first found out about Song Giwon Jinju Naengmyeon from watching Jeon Hyun-moo's Plan, haha. They said the broth was so good people wanted to steal it, so I got even more curious! Hahahaha.

Any wait for weekday lunch?

There was no wait at weekday lunch, so we could go straight in. On weekends there's a good chance of a wait, so it might be worth booking ahead with the Tabling app. The waiting app can only be used once 2 or more parties are already waiting.

There are tons of autographs at the entrance. Since it's such a well-known Jinju naengmyeon spot, it looks like a lot of celebrities have stopped by.

Interior and seating

The interior is set up like this. There are 4-person tables on both sides, with a long communal-style table in the middle. We came a bit before lunch peak, but by the time we were eating the place was completely full, ㄷㄷ. On weekends there's probably almost always a wait. It seemed like a real local favorite too, with a lot of neighborhood regulars.

The self-serve corner has hot broth, geotjeori, and pickled radish. There are also small plates.

Menu and order

There's water naengmyeon, mixed naengmyeon, and half-and-half naengmyeon. The year next to each naengmyeon seems to mark when that version was created, haha. For sides there was yukjeon, and galbitang (short rib soup) as a seasonal menu item. We ordered one water naengmyeon, one mixed naengmyeon, and one yukjeon!

The hot broth was warm and delicious, with a slightly spicy edge. While waiting for the noodles we also tried the geotjeori, and it was seriously good, haha. It had exactly the kind of taste that's perfect over rice.

Water naengmyeon

It's packed with shaved ice, and the yukjeon on top is made with pork. This is the famous broth people supposedly tried to steal!

The broth itself wasn't strongly seasoned. It was different from Pyongyang naengmyeon, with a faintly sweet taste—kind of surprising, haha. Since the seasoning wasn't strong, it seemed good for older folks to eat too. Depending on your palate, it might taste a little plain.

Mixed naengmyeon

This is naengmyeon topped with a specialty sauce they developed in-house using seafood soy sauce from a clean coastal area. The water naengmyeon is good, but the mixed one was tasty too. After trying both, I got curious about the half-and-half version too, haha.

Yukjeon

Beef yukjeon! Made with 1++ grade Korean beef. They said the batter is made with domestic buckwheat flour and egg. The pieces were sizeable, thinly pan-fried. Again, not strongly seasoned. No dipping sauce came with it, so we just put it on top of the naengmyeon, haha. It was also good with the geotjeori that came alongside.

What I thought after eating

We went out to try Jinju naengmyeon, one of the three famous naengmyeon styles. We visited 'Song Giwon Jinju Naengmyeon Main Branch,' and even though it was near the end of summer, it was still great! It's a well-known spot, and the broth flavor in particular was surprising, haha. If you're in Jinju before summer fully ends, it's worth trying!