Korean soups and stews explained: guk, tang, jjigae and jeongol

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Korean meals almost always include something hot in a bowl, and the menu words for these dishes confuse nearly everyone at first. Guk, tang, jjigae and jeongol all mean some kind of soup or stew, but they differ in thickness, seasoning, how they are cooked and how you eat them. Here is how to tell them apart and what to order.

The four words

Guk (국): a lighter, thinner soup, served in an individual bowl alongside rice. It is the everyday soup of a home meal and is usually not very salty, because you eat a lot of broth.
Tang (탕): also a soup, often a richer one made by long simmering of bones or meat. The line between guk and tang is blurry: tang is the more formal, Sino-Korean word, and many tang dishes are simply a heartier guk.
Jjigae (찌개): a stew, thicker and more strongly seasoned, with more solid ingredients and less broth. It is often served in a pot or stone bowl to share, and eaten with rice to balance the salt.
Jeongol (전골): a hot pot. Ingredients are arranged in a wide, shallow pan, broth poured over, and it is cooked at the table, usually for a group.

A rough rule: the thicker and saltier it is, the further you are from guk and the closer to jjigae.

Common guk and tang

Miyeokguk (미역국): seaweed soup, often with beef or mussels. Koreans eat it on their birthday and mothers eat it after giving birth, because it is traditionally thought to help recovery.
Galbitang (갈비탕): a clear beef short-rib soup with glass noodles, a mild and comforting choice for anyone wary of spice.
Seolleongtang (설렁탕): a milky ox-bone soup. It comes unseasoned on purpose: add salt and chopped green onion at the table to your taste.
Samgyetang (삼계탕): a whole young chicken stuffed with rice, garlic, jujube and ginseng. It is the classic dish for the hottest days of summer, on the traditional boknal days, when restaurants have long queues.
Haejangguk (해장국): "hangover soup", a family of hearty soups eaten the morning after drinking.
Gamjatang (감자탕): pork-spine stew with potato, despite the name; often served in a big pot to share.

Common jjigae

Kimchi jjigae (김치찌개): probably the most loved Korean stew. Sour, well-fermented kimchi with pork or tuna, and tofu. Many restaurants specialise in it.
Doenjang jjigae (된장찌개): soybean paste stew with tofu, courgette, onion and sometimes clams. It often arrives as a side to Korean barbecue.
Sundubu jjigae (순두부찌개): silken tofu in a spicy broth, served bubbling in a stone pot, often with a raw egg to crack in. Usually ordered as a single portion with rice.
Budae jjigae (부대찌개): "army base stew" with ham, sausage, beans, kimchi and instant noodles, usually for sharing.

Jeongol and hot pots

Jeongol is a sociable meal. Common types include mushroom jeongol, beef bulgogi jeongol and dumpling (mandu) jeongol. Order by the number of people, wait for the server to bring it to the boil, and eat from the pot as it cooks. Many hot-pot meals end with noodles or rice cooked in the remaining broth.

How they are served and eaten

Spoon for broth, chopsticks for the rest. Koreans eat rice with a spoon too; picking up the rice bowl is not customary.
Putting rice in the soup is completely normal, especially with gukbap (국밥) dishes, where the rice already comes in the soup.
Season at the table. Salt, pepper and chopped green onions are often provided for bone soups. Taste before adding.
Stone bowls (ttukbaegi) stay very hot for a long time. Wait, and do not touch the bowl.
Sharing. Jjigae and jeongol are often for the table. Use the ladle or your spoon to put some in your own small bowl.
Side dishes (banchan) come free and can usually be refilled.

Ordering tips

If you do not eat spicy food, start with galbitang, seolleongtang, miyeokguk or a gom-tang (beef bone soup).
A red colour or 얼큰 (eolkeun) on the menu means spicy.
Soup restaurants are some of the best value meals in Korea, and many open early for breakfast.

The guide to Korean dishes to try first covers ordering in more general terms. What is your favourite Korean soup or stew? Share it, or ask about a dish on a menu, in the comments.