Naju Gomtang Hayanjip — The Beef Soup a Whole City Is Named For
| Restaurant | Naju Gomtang Hayanjip, main branch (나주곰탕 하얀집) |
|---|---|
| Location | 6-1 Geumseonggwan-gil, Naju, Jeonnam |
| Phone | 061-333-4292 |
| Opens | 8:00 AM (may change on public holidays) |
| Budget | ₩10,000–20,000 per person |
| Google rating | 4.2 (5,790 reviews) |
| Queue | changes often — please verify — bookable via the CatchTable app |
| Map | Open in Google Maps ↗ |
Naju gomtang is one of the few Korean dishes named after the town that makes it. Hayanjip is the restaurant most associated with it.
Clean, not heavy
Gomtang is a long-simmered beef broth, and the risk with the style is that it turns cloudy, fatty or dull.
This one is on the clean side. It doesn't sit heavily. That's why it works as breakfast, which is how a lot of Koreans eat it.
If you have tried seolleongtang (the milky-white ox bone soup) and found it too rich or bland, gomtang is the clearer, beefier cousin — worth trying even if that one didn't land.
Order the suyuk
The boiled brisket was tender — the thing I remember most clearly here.
It isn't chewy; it pulls apart along the grain. If you only order the soup you're missing the better half of the meal. Get the suyuk alongside it.
The kkakdugi is part of the dish
Across 5,790 Google reviews, the single most-mentioned word is kkakdugi — 189 times. That's the cubed radish kimchi, and it outranks everything else people talk about.
There's a reason. A clean broth needs something sharp against it. Treat the soup and the radish kimchi as one thing, not a main and a side.
Expect a queue — and work around it
5,790 reviews tells you this is a fixed stop for anyone visiting Naju. At meal times, there is a line.
Two ways around it:
- Come at opening. Service starts at 8:00 AM.
- Book through the CatchTable app, which the restaurant uses for waitlisting.
Takeaway is also available.
Practical notes
- Where — right beside Geumseonggwan, the old Joseon-era guest hall in Naju's historic centre. Easy to combine with a walk around the old town.
- 8:00 AM opening is the simplest way to skip the wait.
- Language — a traditional restaurant. Gomtang and suyuk are essentially the whole menu, so ordering is simple.
Who this suits
- ✅ You're in Naju — this is the dish the city is known for
- ✅ You prefer a clear broth to a rich one
- ✅ You'll order the suyuk as well
- ⚠️ Meal times mean queuing — go early or book
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