Difference Between Bibim Naengmyun and Bibim Guksu

Published June 3rd, 2007 in Food Culture and Korean Food F.A.Q. 14 Comments
If you started to wonder what is different between bibim naengmyun and bibim guksu when you read my bibim guksu post the other day, I wouldn’t be surprised. I wasn’t quite sure which one is more accurate as the title either.
Here is a beautiful picture of bibim naengmyun taken by Evil jungle prince and compare it with my bibim guksu picture. Have a close look. Can you tell what the difference is? Not including the toppings?

(Bibim Naengmyun)

(Bibim Guksu)

As far as I know, the main difference is “the noodles”. Naemyun noodles are usually made of buckwheat flour, sweet potato starch or potato starch. They are very resilient and relatively harder to cut with your teeth.
On the other hand, guksu noodles are usually made of wheat flour and sometimes something else added like the soba noodles I used for my bibim guksu (The noodles had 69% wheat flour and 29% buckwheat flour).
I prefer guksu noodles over naengmyun noodles because they are easier to chew, therefore less messy to eat and feels easy on my stomach. What about you?
Here is some information on naengmyun if you are interested.
(Mul naengmyun, photo from hankooki.com)
Types of Korean Naengmyun
Pyongyang naengmyun - Mul naengmyun, served in cold watery radish kimchi broth, the noodles are usually 70% buckwheat flour and 30% starch powder
Hamhung naengmyun - Bibim naengmyun, served in spicy seasoning without the broth, the noodles are usually 100% potato starch.
Busan style Milmyun - the noodles are are usually 70% wheat flour and 30% starch powder
(Type of Milmyun, photo from Gaya milmyun)

Kimbab Places in Korea

Published November 18th, 2006 in Tips for Living in Korea and Restaurants (In Korea). 5 Comments
I remember buying some rolls of Kimbab couple of years ago.
There was a shop called “Kimbap Nara” and they sold Kimbap for 1000 won. (About US $1 that time) It was so sensational because it was so cheap. Kimbap used to be 2000 won for the cheapest one. So everyone lined up to get some Kimbap at Kimbap Nara, sometimes I had to wait for about 10 minutes or more. But still everyone was so happy that they could get some Kimbap so cheaply, so it became more popular as a simple meal or snack. Before that time, it was only a picnic meal.
Anyhow, as the shop got popular, lots of other similar shops opened near the Kimbap Nara. In the town where I live, we have 3 Kimbap shops on the same street about 25m away from each other.
These three franchises are what we have in this town and are the most common franchises.
Kimbap Nara (means Kimbap country)

Kimbap Cheonguk (means Kimbap heaven)
Kim-ga-ne (means Mr.Kim’s households) Kim/gim also means sea weed sheets in Korean.
They all have similar menus, especially the first and second one. But Kim-ga-ne is a little more expensive than the other two shops, though its food quality is better. Since I first went to Kim-ga-ne I haven’t been to Kimbap Nara nor Kimbap Cheonguk. I like tuna Kimbap best from Kim-ga-ne.
I wanted to talk about these cheap Korean style fast food shops for a long time, but I just couldn’t dare to mention them. Because, simply, their menus are just too much. There are about 70 items on each menu. However, yesterday, Mary from maryeats pulled the trigger. She named all the menus from Kimbap Nara in Korean and English, the prices, and also simple but descriptive descriptions. I was simply amazed with her effort. It will be very useful if you are living in Korea, if you are not, just be jealous.
Related Post
Vegetable kimbap
Tuna Rolls (Chamchi Kimbap in Korean)