The Best Choice for Lunch, Songtan Budae Jjigae & Cheolpangui in Front of Konkuk University

In summer, hot food is not welcomed. 

Cold food beats the heat, and hot food has difficulty beating summer.

However, in addition to Samgyetang(Ginseng Chicken Soup), Budae Jjigae (Army Base Stew) - the representative of hot food - is popular for lunch among the workers. 

Budae Jjigae is especially the Korean style menu. 

There are many kinds of Korean food; Budae Jjigae may be the only food that is 50~60 years old and widely known. 

Budae Jjigae is the rare food that implies the modern history of Korea properly.

As known, it is true that Budae Jjigae originated around the American Army base in order to help Korea after the Korean War.

Ham and sausage, the representative ingredients of Budae Jjigae, are the ones the American soldiers have usually eaten.

Before the Korean War, that kind of ingredients was not usual and there were not such food in Korea. 

The food, which was called Kkulkkulijuk (meaning “pig’s gruel”), made with the leftover from U.S. Army restaurants and has directly shown the moment of Korea.

At that time, Korea was poorer than Philippines and Malaysia; eating three meals was regarded as the luxurious thing. 

In Uijeongbu or Pocheon where U.S. Army stayed, some people started to sell Kkulkkulijuk combined with Kimchi and vegetables. Recently, extra ramen noodles have been added to it. 

The ingredients were not legally authorized but the leftover originally for pigs or stock. They were filtered out and eaten.

The country, Korea, has been developed as a global economic power taking rank with other developed countries, including the U.S. during the half-century. The rocky history makes us so surprised.

Nevertheless, Korean people still enjoy Budae Jjigae.

The blood that makes people like Budae Jjigae runs in Koreans as if Koreans have the will to overcome the sorrow at that time. 

Take exit 2 of Konkuk University Station and you can find Songtan Budae Jjigae & Cheolpangui on the side. 

In hot weather, the restaurant that was cool by the air conditioner was full of the workers working nearby. 

Judging by its location that is near the school, Budae Jjigae does not seem to match the region. However, the restaurant was full of the workers coming from the neighborhood. 

There were some side dishes after ordering Haesanmul Budae Jjigae. 

They were Napa Cabbage Kimchi, Pickled Onions, Seasoned Leeks, and Salted Squids.

Napa Cabbage Kimchi was crispy, and Seasoned Leeks were well seasoned. 

Songtan Budae Jjigae has been stayed in business here over for 10 years. 

Now, the restaurant is on the first floor of the tall building, but it has been here even before the tall building was built.

This restaurant has a tradition compared to the many restaurants that want to try conclusion with the ephemeral items. 

One extra ramen noodle was served. 

I can recommend the service that the small octopus is cut into small pieces. 

The cooked glutinous rice followed by it was mixed with black rice and looks purple; it was too precious to eat. 

In Budae Jjigae, there were lots of mussels, tofu, ham, and sausage.

Whenever I visit this kind of restaurant, it may be asked MSG is safe. 

Of course, I could not taste of MSG in this restaurant. 

When you visit Buk Chang Dong Soon Tofu, which is the well-known Korean restaurant in LA, you can see the menu especially adding MSG. 

Its name is 'ORIGINAL', it means that it is made with some amounts of MSG by the original recipe.

To try the dish made by the original recipe, when I visited the restaurant, I always ordered the menu. 

The soup became thick and I tried the soup. 

It was simple and I could never taste MSG.

In addition, there were lots of sea food in it, and its flavor made me feel the sea. 

For lunch menu, there are the noodles in cold bean soup, the noodles with Kimchi, Mul Naengmyeon(Cold Noodles with Water), and Bibim Naengmyeon (Spicy Buckwheat Noodles with Vegetables) served with 5,000 won as the temporary promotion event for this summer. 

They were good for the simple lunch menu. 

The special event of this restaurant is that you can refill rice and ramen noodles as much as you can. 

This event is for the University students who are not satisfied with just one bowl of rice, considering that the restaurant is located near the university. 

Hamul(Sea Food) Budae Jeongol, including lots of mushrooms, shrimps, and musels, is 7,500 won per one portion, and Songtan Budae Jjigae is 7,000 won. 

The restaurant has the waiters and waitresses who serve customers with smile as well as the cool space.

If you do not have the idea for special food, visit this restaurant. It has Budae Jjiage, the bland menu, and Noodles of 5,000 won that have made the restaurant stay there for a long time. 

Get off Konkuk University Station of Seoul Subway Line No. 2, take exit 2, and look back. Then, you can find the restaurant that is on the first floor of the big building. 

Address : 6-10 Hwayang-dong Gwangjin-gu, Seoul

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