The ultra-comforting Incheon Potato Pork Rib Soup — tender meat that melts in your mouth

Text & Photos /A Newlywed in Korea

Juksik Sikdang is a well-known Korean chain specializing in Potato Pork Rib Soup (also referred to as Pork Rib Soup). This popular eatery has locations across various tourist areas in Korea, such as Myeongdong, Dongdaemun, Sinsa-dong… and even has branches in Busan. Travelers need not worry about finding it in just specific spots.
Official Website

▲ Restaurant Ambience (Photo sourced from the internet)

▲ The restaurant has been featured on many food programs and even served as a filming location for several Korean dramas, so you can enjoy great food and do some light celebrity spotting.

▲ Appetizers

▲ Potato Pork Rib Soup is a stew made with pork spine ribs, a spicy broth base, potatoes, vegetables, green onions, chili peppers, and sesame to enhance the soup’s sweetness, along with rice cakes and other ingredients.

▲ The Korean name for Potato Pork Rib Soup is 감자탕 (Gamjatang), where 감자 (Gamja) means potato in Korean—so many assume it's a potato soup. But in fact, there's much more pork rib than potato. Technically, the name is derived phonetically from the Korean word for pork spine bone, 감자볶 (Gamjabian).

▲ Potato Pork Rib Soup originated in South Jeolla Province in southern Korea and can be traced back to the Three Kingdoms period. Agriculture was the main industry in South Jeolla, where cows were raised for milk while bulls were used for farming—making cows more valuable than pigs, hence pork became widely used in cooking.
When Incheon Port opened, people from all over moved to Seoul, and many laborers from South Jeolla also came to work in Incheon, bringing the dish with them. Because it was affordable, nutritious, and high in fat—providing the energy workers needed—it became very popular in Incheon. Over time, it gradually evolved into one of the city’s iconic dishes.

▲(Photo sourced from the internet)

▲ The pork ribs, boiled at high temperature, allow the meat to easily separate from the bone with chopsticks—the meat is soft and tender.

▲ The small dish on the left is a dipping sauce made with soy sauce and wasabi for the meat.

▲ The pork melts in your mouth the moment you take a bite—no effort needed to chew. (Photo sourced from the internet)

▲ The rice cakes are Q-textured and elastic. (Photo sourced from the internet)

▲ After finishing the solid ingredients, you can also add ramen to cook in the soup.

▲ Noodles soaked in the rich, spicy soup.

▲ Another option besides ramen—you can ask the staff to make fried rice, which is also a great choice. (Photo sourced from the internet)

How to get there: Exit 4 of Jonggak Station on Subway Line 1, or refer to maps of other branches below.
Map Link

After work, Koreans often go out for drinks in groups. Typically, the first stop is for grilled meat or sashimi, the second for fried chicken and beer as lighter fare, and the third—after plenty of drinking—for something warm to soothe the stomach. Spicy and flavorful Potato Pork Rib Soup becomes the perfect choice for the after-party.

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