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.** **In three lines**: **Dakjinmi** (formerly Gangwonjip), a Namdaemun Market chicken soup institution since 1962. Clear, deep broth and hand-pulled chicken, **10,000 won a bowl**. A lunchtime queue is standard, so **go early.** ## An orange sign in the hairtail alley

An orange dakgomtang sign in a narrow Namdaemun Market alley, reading SINCE 1962 with the restaurant name and phone number — An alley lined with hairtail-stew signs, and an orange dakgomtang sign among them.

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.**

The inside of the restaurant seen through a patterned glass door, with diners seated side by side — The dining room through the glass door. Tables fill up fast.

## A mountain of chicken

A pile of hand-pulled boiled chicken on the counter, with aluminum pots in front — Hand-pulled chicken piled up like a small mountain on the counter.

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

A table with a pot of chicken soup, rice, a plate of chicken, kimchi, kkakdugi, soy dipping sauce and garlic — Broth, rice, a plate of chicken, kimchi and kkakdugi. Nothing extra.

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.

Kimchi, kkakdugi, raw garlic, a small dish of soy dipping sauce and a bowl of rice — Kimchi, kkakdugi, raw garlic and soy dipping sauce: the standard dakgomtang lineup.

## First spoonful: clear, yet deep

Clear chicken broth topped with sliced scallions in an aluminum pot — Clear broth with sliced scallions. Taste the first spoonful plain.

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

A drumstick and large pieces of pulled chicken on a white plate — A drumstick and generous pulled meat. On its own plate, it is made for dipping.

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.

A piece of chicken skin held up with chopsticks, with a dish of kkakdugi behind it — A piece of chicken skin. Chewy, and a treat of its own.

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

Rice stirred into the chicken broth with black pepper, a drumstick bone visible — Rice in, a shake of pepper. The happiest moment in this restaurant.

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.

An aluminum pot emptied to the bottom and empty side dishes — The result never changes: a pot emptied to the bottom.

The result is the same every time: **a pot emptied to the bottom.** ## Menu and prices

The menu board on the wall, picture menus in English, Japanese and Chinese, and a framed SBS TV appearance above — The menu board, picture menus in other languages, and a framed SBS TV appearance above.

| 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

The opening hours notice: AM 8:00 to PM 8:30, closed on Sundays — 8 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Closed on Sundays.

**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](https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=%EB%8B%AD%EC%A7%84%EB%AF%B8%20%EA%B0%95%EC%9B%90%EC%A7%91%20%EB%82%A8%EB%8C%80%EB%AC%B8%EC%8B%9C%EC%9E%A5)

Crowds filling a Namdaemun Market street under a WELCOME NAMDAEMUN MARKET banner — After the soup, the rest of Namdaemun Market is right outside.

Prices and hours are from the menu board and the notice on the door during my visit in October 2026. They may change over Korean holidays, so check before you go. ## 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.

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

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