Cheongchun Namwon Chueotang

About

A bustling Nowon restaurant serving hearty, cauldren-boiled mudfish soup made with 100% domestic ingredients and freshly made kimchi.

Tucked into the ground-floor arcade of the Sanggye Jugong Complex 3 in Nowon, Cheongchun Namwon Chueotang turns out uncompromising bowls of mudfish soup with energy that matches its name. The operation is steered by a youthful crew who inherited their techniques from parents running a long-standing chueotang shop in Ssangmun-dong. Inside the visibly scrubbed open kitchen, domestic mudfish and dried radish greens (siregi) simmer down in traditional cast-iron cauldrons until the broth turns rich, earthy, and deep, stripped entirely of muddiness or fishy funk. At midday, the spacious dining room packs tightly with neighborhood elders, multi-generational families, and local workers. Service runs briskly, landing bubbling earthenware pots alongside glossy white rice, house-cured radish kkakdugi, and freshly seasoned geotjeori kimchi—a vibrant, crisp side dish so well-regarded that patrons frequently buy extra to carry home. The tabletop ritual is essential: while the broth is still boiling violently, diners heap in raw garlic chives, minced fresh garlic, and sliced cheongyang peppers, then adjust the soup’s texture and aromatic punch with spoonfuls of toasted perilla seed powder (deulkkae) and tingling Korean pepper (jepi or sancho). The result is hearty and restorative, leaving diners sweat-slicked and refreshed. To round out the meal, tables often split an order of chueo-twigim, featuring whole mudfish fried crisp in a light batter and served alongside a dipping soy sauce. Whole-mudfish soup (tong-chueotang) is also available for traditionalists, alongside jars of pickled garlic cloves stacked by the counter. Portions run generous, but the kitchen also packs oversized two-serving containers for takeout, keeping locals fueled through midsummer heat waves and winter chills alike.