Dakjinmi Gangwonjip, Namdaemun Market: Chicken Soup Since 1962, and My Go-To Since 2015

If you see a line of people in a Namdaemun Market alley, there is a good chance this sign is at the end of it.

SINCE 1962. 닭곰탕 (dakgomtang).

I first found this place in 2015. Since then, whenever I have anything to do near Namdaemun, I invent an excuse to stop by. Trendy restaurants come and go within a few years, but this one has been simmering the same broth in the same alley for more than sixty years. Eleven years of visits have taught me one thing: the broth here never changes.

An orange sign in the hairtail alley

Walk into Namdaemun Market's narrow galchi jorim (braised hairtail) alley and, between the red fish signs, you will spot one orange sign. In big letters, 닭곰탕, chicken soup. Underneath, in small letters, 닭진미 (舊 강원집): Dakjinmi, formerly Gangwonjip. That is why people still call it Gangwonjip; the old name is right there on the sign.

The alley is narrow enough that you brush shoulders with strangers. Around lunchtime, a line for chicken soup forms right in it. First-timers are surprised. Regulars know: queuing here is part of the deal.

A mountain of chicken

By the entrance, boiled chicken pulled apart by hand is piled up like a small mountain. A gloved hand keeps tearing meat, filling aluminum pots and ladling broth over it. Picture that motion repeated for more than sixty years and the bowl in front of you starts to look a little different.

The table

The setup is simple. Broth in an aluminum pot, a bowl of rice and chicken on its own plate. The sides are kimchi, kkakdugi (radish kimchi), soy sauce with scallion and chili, raw garlic and a dab of red chili paste. Nothing flashy, and that simplicity is exactly why you trust it.

First spoonful: clear, yet deep

The broth is clear rather than milky, with sliced scallions floating on top and no slick of grease. Taste the first spoonful plain. It is clear but not thin, rich but not heavy, the kind of clean savory depth that only comes from chicken simmered for a long time. Salt and pepper come after, to your taste.

Chicken in soy sauce, and a piece of skin on the side

The chicken on the plate comes in big pieces: a drumstick plus a generous heap of meat pulled along the grain. If you expect dry chicken, you are wrong. It keeps its texture and has a pleasant chew. Dip it in the soy sauce with scallion and chili, and that is the right answer here.

Then there is the skin. Some people come here just for these chewy, savory pieces. A bit of skin, a cube of kkakdugi, a spoonful of broth. Once that loop starts, it is hard to stop.

Finish by tipping in the rice

Halfway through, tip the whole bowl of rice into the broth. A shake of black pepper, a piece of kimchi on top, one spoonful. The broth soaks into every grain. This is the real reason I keep coming back to this alley, eleven years on.

The result is the same every time: a pot emptied to the bottom.

Menu and prices

Menu	Price
Dakgomtang (signature chicken soup)	10,000 won
Gogi baekban (chicken set meal)	12,000 won
Dakgogi (chicken plate)	11,000 won
Whole chicken (Korean-raised)	23,000 won
Soju · Beer	5,000 won
Chungha	6,000 won
Baekseju	8,000 won
Makgeolli	4,000 won

There are picture menus on the wall in English, Japanese and Chinese, so it is an easy place to bring friends who don't read Korean. Above them hangs a framed photo from an SBS TV food show (맛있는 집 멋있는 집), proof of how long this place has been loved.

Queue tips: early is the answer

A lunchtime wait is standard here. If you show up around noon, just assume there is a line in the alley. So my advice is simple.

• ⏰ Arrive before 11:30. Dodge the lunch peak and the wait drops dramatically.
• 🌅 It opens at 8 a.m. A breakfast bowl or an early lunch is the most relaxed way to go.
• 🗓️ Closed on Sundays. For a weekend market trip, go on Saturday.

Visitor info

📍 Dakjinmi (formerly Gangwonjip) · 22-20 Namdaemunsijang-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul (inside the hairtail alley of Namdaemun Market)

• 🚇 Getting there: about a 5-minute walk from Exit 5 of Hoehyeon Station (Line 4) toward Namdaemun Market, deep in the hairtail alley.
• 🕐 Hours: 08:00–20:30, closed Sundays
• 💰 Prices: dakgomtang 10,000 won, gogi baekban 12,000 won
• 💳 Payment: cards accepted
• ☎️ Phone: 02-753-9063
• 🗺️ Map: Open in Google Maps

Jayden's verdict

Trends pass; the broth stays. The same taste in 2015 and in 2026.

• Broth: ★★★★★
• Chicken & skin: ★★★★★
• Value: ★★★★★ (all this for 10,000 won)
• Would I go back?: I have been going back for eleven years. Next time, early again.