Three Soy Food Restaurants That Changed Everything — Episode 324 with Yoo Sun
Handmade Tofu Set
Rice-Straw Cheonggukjang
Tofu Omakase Course
Korean TV audiences tuned in on November 30, 2025 to watch actress Yoo Sun — known for her role as Korea's "horror queen" — abandon the dramatic and embrace the deeply nourishing. On this episode of Siksaek Heo Yeong-man's Baekban Gihaeng (TV Joseon), the theme was deceptively simple: soy. What unfolded across three restaurants was anything but ordinary — a quiet revelation about one of Korea's oldest ingredients.
From a countryside tofu farmhouse near the Imjin River to a 40-year neighborhood staple in northern Seoul and a design-forward course restaurant in the trendiest part of the city, this episode made a compelling case: soy food in Korea is having a serious moment.
📺 Episode at a Glance
Baekban Gihaeng is hosted by legendary cartoonist Heo Yeong-man, creator of the food manga Siksaek. Each episode, he invites a celebrity guest to uncover Korea's hidden culinary gems — the kind of restaurants that rarely make it onto food delivery apps or social media, but have been quietly packing in loyal regulars for decades.
🫘 Why Soy? Why Now?
Across Korea, a wellness movement is quietly reshaping how people eat. Terms like jeosok nohwa ("slow aging diet") and "plant-based protein" have entered everyday conversation. Tofu — long dismissed as the food of temples and hospitals — is getting a long-overdue reappraisal. And cheonggukjang (Korean fermented soybean paste stew), which many younger Koreans avoided due to its sharp smell, is making a comeback in refined, approachable forms.
Research on nattokinase, the enzyme produced during soybean fermentation, continues to point toward benefits for cardiovascular and gut health. It's a food story that connects tradition, science, and flavor — and this episode explored exactly that intersection.
📊 The Three Restaurants — Quick Comparison
| Restaurant | Signature Dish | Location | Reservation | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saemnae Sonduboo | Tofu Set Meal | Paju, Gyeonggi | Walk-in OK | Day trip, families |
| Jeil Kongjip | Rice-Straw Cheonggukjang | Nowon, Seoul | Walk-in OK | Nostalgia, solo or couple |
| Food Gallery Bean | Tofu Omakase Course | Seongsu, Seoul | Booking Required | Special occasion, foodies |
📍 Restaurant Deep Dives
① Saemnae Sonduboo — A Tofu Farmhouse Near the Imjin River
Tucked into the countryside of Paju's Papyeong township, Saemnae Sonduboo feels like a discovery rather than a destination. The restaurant makes its tofu from scratch daily, and when the platter arrived in front of Heo Yeong-man and Yoo Sun, it carried the quiet confidence of something that doesn't need to try hard. The set includes kongbiji (soybean pulp porridge), soondubu (silken tofu), modubu (firm tofu), tofu namul, biji jjigae, and tofu jeongol (hot pot).
Heo Yeong-man described the meal as "unpretentious food that somehow overpowers everything." Yoo Sun, usually associated with intense drama roles, found herself quietly moved by the simplicity of fresh silken tofu dipped in nothing but a touch of soy sauce.
② Jeil Kongjip — 40 Years of Seoul's Best Fermented Soybean Stew
Head north to Nowon-gu in Seoul and you'll find Jeil Kongjip, a restaurant that's been doing exactly one thing — and doing it extraordinarily well — for four decades. The Blue Ribbon Survey (Korea's respected restaurant guide) has recognized this place, and regulars have been returning since before most of us were born.
The star here is the byeotjjip cheonggukjang — fermented soybean paste stew made from soybean curd fermented using actual rice straw. That traditional method produces a stew with a rounder, earthier flavor and notably less of the aggressive pungency that turns off first-timers. Heo Yeong-man said it came closest to the taste he remembered from childhood. The kongtang (soybean broth stew made with pork back bones and blended soybeans) is equally worth ordering — rich, creamy, and restorative.
③ Food Gallery Bean — Tofu as a Fine Dining Experience in Seongsu
If Saemnae Sonduboo represents tofu's pastoral roots and Jeil Kongjip its neighborhood soul, then Food Gallery Bean in Seongsu-dong is its future. Housed in a converted standalone home on a quiet residential lane, this restaurant has built something genuinely unusual: a multi-course omakase entirely centered on tofu.
Each course in the tasting menu showcases a different texture, preparation, and pairing — from chilled silken to lightly seared, from herb-infused to seaweed-wrapped. The aesthetic is spare and gallery-like (hence the name), and the menu skews heavily vegan-friendly, drawing both Korean health-conscious diners and international visitors. The episode framed it within the jeosok nohwa (slow-aging) wellness trend, and it fits that world perfectly — clean, considered, and quietly impressive.
🌿 The Bigger Picture: Soy's Quiet Comeback
There's a reason this episode felt culturally resonant rather than simply informative. Korea is in the middle of a quiet food identity moment. As global plant-based diets gain traction and aging-focused wellness culture grows, traditional Korean soy foods — doenjang, cheonggukjang, dubu — are being rediscovered not just by older generations but by younger Koreans and international visitors who previously wrote them off.
What these three restaurants share isn't geography or price point — it's philosophy. Each one takes soy seriously as an ingredient, not just a background player. Whether it's the farmhouse precision of Saemnae Sonduboo, the 40-year institutional memory of Jeil Kongjip, or the gallery-level intentionality of Food Gallery Bean, the message is consistent: this humble bean has more to say than most people realized.
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