Gukbap 국밥

A bowl of pork gukbap with chives, served with kimchi, pickled radish and other side dishes

Gukbap (국밥) is a hot soup served with rice, a one-bowl meal that Koreans eat all year round. Guk (국) means soup and bap (밥) means cooked rice. The rice is either already in the soup or served beside it, and you add it yourself.

Most gukbap restaurants serve it in a heavy stone or metal bowl that keeps the soup boiling at the table. Side dishes such as kimchi (김치) and kkakdugi (깍두기), diced radish kimchi, come with it, and you season the soup yourself with salt, pepper and a few extras on the table.

"Korean soup" covers many quite different dishes. The meat, the broth and how spicy it is change a lot, so it helps to know the kinds before you order.

Kinds of gukbap and Korean soups

Sundae-guk 순대국

A bowl of sundae-guk with blood sausage slices and pork in a pale broth

Sundae (순대) is Korean sausage, often blood sausage stuffed with noodles or rice. Sundae-guk is a pork-bone soup with slices of sundae and cuts of pork, sometimes offal as well. The broth is mild and cloudy, and it is usually seasoned at the table with salted shrimp (saeujeot, 새우젓), chopped chives or a spoonful of chili paste.

Pork gukbap 돼지국밥

A pot of pork gukbap with a milky broth

Dwaeji (돼지) means pig. Dwaeji-gukbap is sliced pork in a milky broth made by simmering pork bones for a long time, with rice served in or beside the bowl. It is strongly associated with Busan, but you can find it in Seoul. The broth is mild until you season it, and chives, salted shrimp and kimchi are the usual add-ins.

Seolleongtang and gomtang 설렁탕·곰탕

Seolleongtang, a milky beef bone soup, with a spoon holding a slice of beef

Seolleongtang (설렁탕) is a milky white soup made from long-simmered ox bones and beef cuts, served unseasoned. You add salt, pepper and chopped scallions (pa, 파) yourself. Gomtang (곰탕) is a similar beef soup with a clearer broth. Both come with rice and kkakdugi on the side, and are an easy, mild choice for a first Korean soup.

Haejang-guk 해장국

A bowl of spicy haejang-guk with beef offal, ox blood curd and scallions

Haejang (해장) means curing a hangover, and haejang-guk is the soup people eat for it, usually the morning after drinking. It is not one recipe. The best-known kind is a spicy beef bone broth with ox blood curd (seonji, 선지), cabbage and radish, and there are also versions with soybean sprouts. It is served with rice and kimchi like other gukbap.

Gamjatang 감자탕

Gamjatang, a red pork bone stew with a potato on top and scallions

Gamjatang is a spicy stew of pork neck or spine bones, vegetables and potatoes, flavored with chili and perilla seed powder. It is eaten from a shared pot, and you pull the meat off the bones with chopsticks. It is a good dish to share with friends. Many places also stir-fry rice in the leftover broth at the end.

Samgyetang 삼계탕

Samgyetang, a whole young chicken in broth with ginseng and jujubes in a white bowl

Samgyetang (삼계탕) is a whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice, ginseng (insam, 인삼), garlic and jujubes (Korean dates), and simmered in a clear broth. It is served in a hot stone pot, one chicken per person. Koreans traditionally eat it in the hottest days of summer, as a way to restore energy, but it is served all year. Salt and pepper are on the table to season the broth.

How to eat and order

Order by the name of the soup and pay at the counter or table. Most gukbap places serve one bowl per person, with side dishes included. Gamjatang is the exception: it comes in a pot meant for two or more people.

Taste the soup first, then season it. Add salt, chopped scallions, chives or salted shrimp a little at a time. Most places have a bowl of kimchi and radish you can refill.

Use the spoon for soup and rice, and chopsticks for the side dishes. If rice and soup come separately, many people put the rice into the soup. The bowl is very hot, so wait a moment before you eat.

Where to find it

Photo credits