GyeongGi Cultural Foundation
Suwon_Maehyang Tongdak
traditional fried chicken
Origin of Suwon’s Chicken Street where you can taste traditional fried chicken
Today, chicken restaurants can be found wherever we go in Korea. Truly, the most popular dish in Korea today is fried chicken. Nonetheless, Chicken Street is still one of the main tourist destinations of Suwon. What we find here is not the usual western style fried chicken but the Korean traditional fried chicken, which is called "tongdak." The street is full of chicken restaurants including two long-established restaurants, Jinmi Tongdak and Yongseong Tongdak, as well as Chicken Town and Nammun Tongdak, which have recently become popular with young people. It is not easy to tell which restaurant is the best. It depends on everyone’s taste. No matter what, we can never reach an agreement.
Maehyang Tongdak, located across Hwaseong Museum, is the origin of this chicken street. The restaurant completed its business registration in 1970, which is officially the first one in Korea. In most chicken restaurants, chicken is dipped in batter and fried to cater to the taste of the people of today. But Maehyang Tongdak still fries chicken without batter in a traditional cauldron. So, on the menu board, there are no options like “seasoned fried chicken” or "half and half." "A whole fried chicken" is the only available menu option. You can taste this fried chicken only in this restaurant.
As the sun begins to set, people line up in front of the cauldron where chicken is being fried in boiling oil. They are those who love Maehyang Tongdak's recipe that the owner has held onto for about 50 years.
+ Yongseong Tongdak ( Yongseong fried chicken)
Crispy and sweet flavored fried chicken
+Jinmi Tongdak (Jinmi fried chicken)
Delicious fried chicken gizzard offered as a lagniappe
+ seolreda
Ice-cream made from organic milk
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Maehyang Tongdak
Address/ 31, Suwoncheon-ro, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do
Contact/ 031-255-3584
Open hours/ 11:30-01:00
Closed/ Wednesdays
Information/ Whole fried chicken KRW 14,000
Jinmi Tongdak
Address/ 800-21, Jeongjo-ro, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Contact/ 031–255–3401
Open hours/ 12:00~24:00
Closed/ Every Monday
Yongseong Tongdak
Address/ 800-15, Jeongjo-ro, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Contact/ 031–242–8226
Open hours/ 11:30~00:30
Closed/ Every Tuesday
Seolreda
Address/ 3-38, Paldalmun-ro, Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Open hours/ 12:00~22:30
Instagram/ @seolreda