Popular regional hangover soups and popular menus in Korea

 

There are many different types of hangover soup in Korea, and the most popular menu items among Koreans vary depending on the time and subject of the survey, but bean  sprout soup and bone soup often rank high in popularity.

1. Regional Haejangguk and its characteristics

1-1) Seoul: Seonji haejangguk (seonji hangover soup ), made by boiling seonji, burdock, and bean sprouts in bone broth, is a famous dish. In particular, places like Cheongjinok in Jongno are renowned for their haejangguk.

1-2) Jeonju, Jeollabuk-do: Bean sprout hangover soup is a representative example. Bean sprout roots are rich in aspartic acid, which helps relieve hangovers. There are many ways to make this dish, such as boiling rice in a hot earthenware pot (Nambu Market style) or pouring boiling water over it (Sam Baek Jib style).

1-3) Chungcheong Province (South Chungcheong/North Chungcheong): "Olgangi-guk," made with dasulgi (dried sea squirts), is a popular hangover cure. There's a theory that the origin of seonji haejangguk originated at a cattle market in Eumseong County, Chungcheongbuk-do.

1-4) Gyeongsang-do (Busan/Gyeongju):

Busan: Clear fish soups like 'Agutang' and 'Daegu Bbaelguk' are popular hangover soups, and Jaecheopguk is also a popular dish.

Gyeongju: "Muk Haejangguk" is famous. This refreshing soup is made with thinly sliced buckwheat jelly and topped with kimchi, bean sprouts, and other ingredients.

1-5) Jeju Island: Representative hangover foods include ‘Momguk’, which is made by boiling pork broth with seaweed, and ‘Obunjagi Ttukbaegi’ (or Jeonbok Ttukbaegi).

1-6) Gangwon-do: Refreshing and spicy hangover soups such as 'Gomchi Guk' and 'Hwangtae Haejangguk' were developed using gomchi and hwangtae.

1-7) Muan, Jeollanam-do: Octopus stew is also considered a hangover cure.

2. Koreans' favorite menu regardless of region

According to several surveys, the most popular hangover cures for office workers (multiple responses allowed) are as follows:

2-1) Bean sprout soup:

It showed the highest preference with a response rate of around 33%.

2-3) Spicy soup dishes such as Jjamppong/Ramen: 31-45%, slightly more popular than bean sprout soup.

2-3) Bone haejangguk/sundaeguk: Hearty soups such as bone haejangguk (27%) and sundaeguk (23.9%) are also popular.

Bean sprout soup, rich in aspartic acid and scientifically proven to help relieve hangovers, and spicy and hearty bone soup are gaining popularity nationwide.