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Today on the Korean Atlas and History: Korean Food. 해장국.

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해장국, also known as hangover soup, is, as the name says, traditionally eaten

when one has a hangover. 해장국 is most often made from Nappa cabbage, which is also

known as celery cabbage or Chinese cabbage. Along with Nappa cabbage, 해장국 is usually

made with vegetables and meat.

해장국 first appears in Korean history in a manual for learning spoken Chinese. This

manual, called the 조걸대, was first published in the late 고려 dynasty, in around the 14th

century. The word 성주탕 appears, which means “soup to get sober,” and scholars assume

that it is the origin of 해장국. According to the 조걸대, the soup contains thinly sliced meat,

noodles, scallions, and powder from Zanthoxylum trees, or in Korean 천초, all mixed

together in a broth. This recipe is quite similar to modern 해장국.

Documents and paintings from the late 조선 dynasty depict people eating 해장국. In

a 1758 painting by 신윤복, titled “Painting of the Tavern,” or 주막도, it seems clear that

some people are eating 해장국. A group of adult children of the rich, who have yet to get a

job, are eating 해장국 while a female owner of the tavern ladles soup out of a cauldron.

Another mention of the soup is in a poetry collection by 최영년 called 해동 죽지. In

one poem, 해장국 is referred to as 효종갱, which means “dawn bell soup.” It mentions that
you can get the best 해장국 from 남한산성, southeast of Seoul. The ingredients include

Napa cabbage, 콩나물 or soybean sprouts, mushrooms, 갈비 or beef ribs, sea cucumber and

abalone. All the ingredients are mixed together with fermented bean paste, or 토장, and

simmered throughout the day. Then, the soup is put in an earthenware crock pot and

covered with a pad of cotton. The soup is sent to Seoul at night, and when the dawn bell

rings, the soup is delivered to high-ranking officials. The crock pot and its contents are still

warm and ready to relieve the hangovers from the night before.

해장국 comes in various forms depending on the region and the ingredients used to

make it. The 해장국 found in the area of Seoul is known as 전짓국. It is a kind of soybean

paste soup, made with 콩나물 or soybean sprouts, radish, napa cabbage, scallions,

coagulated ox blood, and fermented bean paste, all mixed together in a special broth. The

broth is made by simmering ox bones in a pot for hours. The neighborhood of 청진동 is

famous for Seoul style 해장국.

In the city of 전주, people eat 쿵나물 국밥 as a form of 해장국. 콩나물, or soybean

sprouts are poached in water diluted with salt. Other ingredients are added to an

earthenware crock pot including with steamed rice, sliced kimchi, scallions, garlic, beef broth,

and a small amount of meat, and then the 콩나물 broth is poured over the mixture. It is

heated until boiling, and a raw egg is cracked over the soup. After serving it, people add

sesame seeds, salt, scallions, garlic, chili peppers, chili pepper powder, and 새우젓,

depending on what they like. People say that you should drink 모주 when you eat 해장국, if

you want the best results of the hangover cure. 모주 is made by adding sugar and wheat

flower to boiled 막걸리, a type of rice wine. 막걸리 is an off white rice wine that is slightly
sweet, tangy, bitter, and astringent. Thus, 막걸리 made into 모주 is often drunken with

해장국.

There are also cold versions of 해장국. On the eastern coast of Korea, especially in

the county of 울진군, people eat 오징어물회국수, or cold raw squid soup. Raw squid is finely

sliced to the point that they appear much like noodles. They are mixed with sauce and cold

water is poured over it, along with ice cubes.

Some other variations of 해장국 are as follows.

우거지국: a kind of 해장국 made with 우거지, or the outer leaves of napa cabbage

콩나물국: this 해장국 focuses on bean sprouts

재첩국: this 해장국 is made with 재첩, a species of freshwater clam. It is also made

with 부추, or garlic chives.

굴국밥: this 해장국 is made with oyster and garlic chives.

해장국 is well known throughout Korea. Even though the name means hangover

soup, you can eat it without a hangover. It is a highly recommend soup to try if you are

visiting or living in Korea. Or, even if you can’t make the journey, look up a recipe online,

and make your own. You won’t regret it!

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Thank You for listening to this episode of the Korean Atlas and History. Most

of today’s information was taken from the 나무 Wiki and Wikipedia. Thank you for

listening and we’ll see you next time.