Imun Seolnongtang () is a historic restaurant in

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, South Korea. It is the oldest operating restaurant in South Korea, having been founded in , during the

Korean Empire The Korean Empire, officially the Empire of Korea or Imperial Korea, was a Korean monarchical state proclaimed in October 1897 by King Gojong of the Joseon dynasty. The empire lasted until the Japanese annexation of Korea in August 1910. Dur ...

period. It specializes in the ox bone soup dish ''

seolleongtang ''Seolleongtang'' * () or ox bone soup is a Korean ''tang'' (soup) made from ox bones (mostly leg bones), brisket and other cuts. Seasoning is generally done at the table according to personal taste by adding salt, ground black pepper, red pepp ...

''. The restaurant is one of relatively few to have survived the tumultuous 1910–1945 Japanese colonial period and 1950–1953

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

. It has reportedly used the same cooking methods and recipes since its founding. It used the same building, dating to the colonial period, until 2011, when the area it was in was redeveloped. It is now a popular tourist attraction, and is listed on the

Michelin Guide The ''Michelin Guides'' ( ; ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The ''Guide'' awards up to three Michelin star (classification), stars for excellence to a select few restaurants ...

. In 2013, it was made a Seoul Future Heritage.

Name

The restaurant's original name is believed to have been Imun Sikdang (). "Imun" refers to Imun-gol (), an archaic name for a nearby hill. "Seolnongtang" is a spelling variation of ''seolleongtang'' that is considered archaic.

Description

The restaurant specializes in ''

''. It is reportedly transparent about its simple cooking techniques and ingredients. It boils its broth for 16 to 17 hours before serving. According to a 2004 interview, the owner of the restaurant chose to not expand the restaurant further, in order to focus on maintaining the quality, consistency, and low cost of the food. It is reportedly now a popular tourist attraction. It has been featured on television shows like '' Wednesday Food Talk''.

History

It is not known with certainty when the restaurant was founded; years ranging from 1902 to 1907 have been given by various people who remembered the restaurant's early history. After an investigation, in 2011, the

Seoul Metropolitan Government The Seoul Metropolitan Government () is a local government of Seoul, South Korea. The mayor is elected to a four-year term by the citizens of Seoul and is responsible for the administration of the city government. The Seoul Metropolitan Governmen ...

gave the founding year as 1904, and affirmed that it was the oldest restaurant. Its founder is also not known with certainty; a man with the surname Hong (full name unknown) is believed to have been the founder. During the colonial period, a man named Hong Jong-hwan () has been attested to being an owner of the restaurant. At some point, the restaurant was taken over by someone with the surname Yang. In 1960, a woman named Yu Won-seok () acquired the restaurant from Yang. In 1981, her son Jeon Seong-geun () became the owner. During the colonial period, the restaurant was reportedly seen as a premiere location for ''seolleongtang'', and the dish was seen as the representative food of Seoul (then

Keijō , or Gyeongseong (), was an administrative district of Korea under Japanese rule that corresponds to the present Seoul, the capital of South Korea. History When the Empire of Japan annexed the Korean Empire, it made Seoul the colonial capita ...

). The restaurant featured in a number of news articles, and employed numerous delivery people. As it opened early in the morning, it became a favorite location for people who worked night shifts. It counted among its regular customers a number of famous people in Korean history, including the first ethnic Korean Olympic gold medalist

Sohn Kee-chung Sohn Kee-chung (; ; August 29, 1912 – November 15, 2002) was a Korean Olympic athlete and long-distance runner. He became the first Korean to win a medal at the Olympic Games, winning gold in the Marathon (sport), marathon at the Berlin Oly ...

, first Vice President of South Korea

Yi Si-yeong Yi Si-yeong (; December 3, 1868 – April 19, 1953) was a Korean politician, independence activist, educator and neo-Confucianist scholar. He was the first vice president of South Korea from 1948 to 1951.''Hanguksa daesajeon'' (한국사 ...

, Korean labor activist

Pak Hon-yong Pak Hon-yong (; 28 May 1900 – 18 December 1955), courtesy name Togyong (), was a Korean independence activist, politician, philosopher, communist activist and one of the main leaders of the Communist Party of Korea, Korean communist movement ...

, and politician and " political gangster" Kim Du-han. In his teens, Kim Du-han reportedly worked as an employee at the restaurant. A number of South Korean athletes frequented the restaurant, including boxers Moon Sung-kil and Kim Kwang-sun and

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

Ha Hyung-joo. Some athletes who visited it were reportedly so devoted to the restaurant that they jokingly founded a "Imun Society" (). Around 1:45 pm on October 16, 2023, it experienced a fire that was caused by grease in the kitchen exhaust vents igniting. The restaurant was temporarily closed for repairs.

Notes

References

External links