In the regions where the US troops were stationed in the past, life has entirely changed and this includes Dongducheon, Songtan, and Pyeongtaek. The budae-jjigae (Sausage Stew) made with ham and sausage is a dish that would not have been created without the U.S. military base. The dominant view is that at first, how the food supplies flowing out from the U.S. military base could be used was considered carefully, and as a result, a stew was made by adding Kimchi to it and the initial form was not a stew but a stir-fried food. Odeng Sikdang was opened as the first budae-jjigae restaurant around Uijeongbu, Seoul in 1968, but many restaurants located around the army base would competitively develop the dish and include it in their primary menu.

Since then, there have been several nationally renowned budae-jjigae restaurants. Particular, Gimnejip and Choenejip (Songtan) in the southern area of Seoul and Odeng Sikdang (Uijeongbu) and Hosu Sikdang (Dongducheon) in the northern area are the great places to eat the dish. While the budae-jjigae in Songtan is marked by the addition of cheese and canned beans and a thick, rich soup, the budae-jjigae in Uijeongbu and Dongducheon tastes light though it is abundant in ham and sausage. At Hosu Sikdang (Dongducheon), you can eat the budae-bokkeum that is the initial stir-fried version of the budae-jjigae. It involves eight types of ham and sausage.

Odeng Sikdang and Hosu Sikdang are the representative budae-jjigae restaurants in Uijeongbu and Dongducheon, respectively, but the two restaurants do not use "budae-jjigae" as their restaurant name. The name "budae-jjigae" spread from mouth to mouth, and in fact, there was no reason to use it as a restaurant name at first. In addition, it was viewed as a disgrace to use the name "budae-jjigae" or "Johnson Tang" for a long while. Eventually, it is now an era when people do not associate budae-jjigae with the U.S. military base.

When choosing budae-jjigae from an extensive menu, no one longer wonders about the origin of the name. It should be noted that the original budae-jjigae restaurants are always included in the list of gourmet restaurants.

Uijeongbu Odeng Sikdang

First budae-jjigae restaurant opened in 1968, the light taste from a clean soup

ADDRESS 7, Hoguk-ro 1309 beon-gil, Uijeongbu-si, Gyeonggi-do

TEL 031-842-0423

Delivery service 010-3747-0016

OPEN 08:30-20:30

WEBSITE www.odengsikdang.com

INFO Budae-jjigae KRW 8,000

Dongducheon Hosu Sikdang

The taste of the olden day budae-jjigae blending eight kinds of ham and budae-bokkeum

ADDRESS 312, Jungang-ro, Dongducheon-si, Gyeonggi-do

TEL 031-865-3324

OPEN 10:00~22:00

INFO Budae-jjigae KRW 7,000, budae-bokkeum KRW 8,000

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