Blood Sausage Soup With Rice — A Korean Winter Comfort Food Guide
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Korean sundae gukbap is one of those hearty winter soups that locals queue up for the moment the temperature drops. Whether you're in Seoul, Busan, Daejeon, or Daegu, there'll be a sign for sundae gukbap tucked away in some alley somewhere — and if you wander into any local eatery during a trip to Korea, there's a solid chance you'll spot it on the menu. If you ever need a quick solo meal in Korea, a gukbap restaurant is honestly one of the most convenient options going, and sundae gukbap in particular is the sort of blood sausage soup that fills you right up in a single bowl.
I'm Korean, living in Korea, and this is the story of a day in January 2026 when I was walking through Daejeon, a major city about an hour and a half south of Seoul, and ducked into a sundae gukbap place on a whim. It was properly below freezing, the wind was cutting into my face, and then from somewhere in the alley came the smell of pork broth simmering away. That smell alone pulled me through the door. It was a modest little restaurant, still early evening so no other customers yet — but the moment the door opened and that wave of warm air hit me, I knew I'd made the right call.
This isn't a review of one particular restaurant. It's a guide to sundae gukbap as a Korean winter comfort food that you can find virtually anywhere in the country — what goes into it, what it looks like up close, and how you're actually meant to eat it. On this day, one bowl of sundae gukbap cost ₩10,000 (about £5) and a separate plate of sundae was ₩8,000 (roughly £4), coming to ₩18,000 (around £9) altogether. More than enough food for one person.
What actually is sundae gukbap?
It's a Korean rice soup built on a milky-white pork bone broth, loaded with sundae (Korean blood sausage), pork offal, and sliced pork head meat. Sundae itself is pig intestine stuffed with glass noodles, vegetables, and pork blood, then steamed — think of it as a cousin to British black pudding or French boudin noir. The key difference is that Korean sundae contains glass noodles, which give it a distinctly chewy texture, and the offal flavour is quite pronounced.
I'll be honest: this is a genuinely challenging dish for most visitors. You've got the offal smell, blood sausage made from pig's blood, and various bits and bobs floating in the broth that might not look immediately appetising. Even some Koreans can't stomach it. But I'm covering it here because you simply cannot understand Korean soup culture without sundae gukbap. Alongside seolleongtang (ox bone soup) and dwaeji gukbap (pork rice soup), it's one of the quintessential Korean winter soul foods — and on a cold day walking through any Korean neighbourhood, it's the sign you'll see most often.
The side dish set-up at a sundae gukbap restaurant
When you order sundae gukbap, the side dishes land on the table before the soup does. This spread isn't unique to sundae gukbap shops, either — if you go to any Korean pork bone soup or hangover soup restaurant, the set-up looks virtually identical.
Kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) and baechu kimchi (cabbage kimchi) — these two appear at every single gukbap restaurant in the entire country, no exceptions. The raw onion and green chillies are for biting into between spoonfuls, and the silver jug contains extra broth for refills. Every side dish is free to top up as many times as you like.
Cabbage kimchi — well-fermented and deeply aged
See how dark the colour is? This is cabbage kimchi that's been fermented for a good while — verging on mugeunji, which is the properly aged stuff. The longer it ferments, the darker it gets and the more sour it becomes. When you're eating it alongside a rich pork broth soup, this well-aged, tangy sort of kimchi works far better than the fresh kind. There's no crunch left — it's gone soft and almost melty — but that salty-sour hit cutting through the hot broth is genuinely lovely.
Kkakdugi — crisp and fresh
Kkakdugi — cubed radish kimchi. Compared to the cabbage kimchi, the colour is noticeably brighter and more translucent, because this batch hasn't been fermenting as long. Younger kkakdugi like this leads with a satisfying crunch rather than sourness, and you can still taste the natural, cool sweetness of the radish. Older kkakdugi, by contrast, goes soft and tangy, much like the cabbage version. Lots of gukbap restaurants serve their cabbage kimchi well-aged and their kkakdugi relatively fresh, and this place was no different. The deep sourness of the aged kimchi and the crisp bite of the fresh kkakdugi — you really do need both to make a bowl of gukbap feel complete.
Raw onion and green chillies
Onion and cheongyang chillies. If you take a raw bite between spoonfuls of soup, it cuts straight through any greasiness and freshens everything up.
The side dish portions here were on the modest side, to be fair. Perhaps they'd had too many people leaving food behind. But the thing about Korean gukbap restaurants is that sides are always unlimited refills — if you run out, you just say "more please" and they'll bring it straight over.
Sundae platter — a separate dish from the soup
This is a separate plate of sundae I ordered alongside the gukbap — ₩8,000, roughly £4. The soup itself already has sundae in it, but you can also order a whole plateful on its own as a standalone dish. Completely separate menu item.
The quality of handmade sundae
You can see the intestine casing absolutely packed with glass noodles, vegetables, and pork blood. This is what handmade sundae looks like. Proper sundae specialists stuff and steam everything in-house, whereas less dedicated places buy mass-produced factory sundae and just reheat it. The difference in flavour is considerable.
Korean sundae actually varies quite a bit by region. In Seoul, the glass noodle ratio tends to be higher, giving it a chewier, more bouncy texture. In the Jeolla region (south-west Korea), they use glutinous rice instead, so it's stickier and denser. Jeju Island has a distinctive version made with barley. The Daejeon sundae I had was fairly traditional in style — a well-balanced ratio of glass noodles, vegetables, and pork blood, with the filling packed tight. You dip it in either plain salt or salted fermented shrimp — there's no single correct way, it's purely down to preference.
The full sundae gukbap table spread
Here's the full spread — one plate of sundae, one bowl of sundae gukbap, and all the side dishes laid out. The table was absolutely packed. This is just how Korean gukbap restaurants work: even if you only order a single bowl of soup, you get the rice, the soup, and the sides all served separately, so the table always looks like a proper feast. The rice comes in a stainless steel bowl, and the sundae gukbap arrives still bubbling away in an earthenware pot. The green stuff on top is chives. At ₩10,000 for the gukbap (about £5) and ₩8,000 for the sundae (around £4), that's £9 total for all of this — not bad at all for a solo meal.
Sundae gukbap — what's behind that milky-white broth
This is sundae gukbap. That cloudy, milky-white broth comes from simmering pork bones and offal for hours — the colour is all from the marrow and collagen breaking down, not from any added cream or dairy. Chives sit on top, and beneath the surface there's sundae, offal, and pork head meat all submerged in the broth. When I ordered, I just said "one sundae gukbap please" without specifying anything else, and it came with a mix of sundae and offal as standard. In Daejeon and most other regions, the soup and rice arrive separately — whether you tip the rice into the soup or eat them side by side is entirely up to you.
If you look at the menu board in a sundae gukbap restaurant, you'll sometimes see "sundae gukbap" and "ttaro gukbap" listed as separate items. They look like completely different dishes from the names alone, but the distinction is actually straightforward.
Sundae gukbap vs ttaro gukbap — what's the difference?
Sundae gukbap is the version where the rice is already mixed into the broth when it arrives — soup and rice together in one bowl. Ttaro gukbap literally means "separate gukbap" — the soup comes in one bowl and the rice in another. The ingredients and broth are identical; the only difference is whether the rice is pre-mixed or not. Some restaurants only serve one style, others list both on the menu. Ttaro gukbap tends to cost about ₩1,000 (50p) more, usually because the portion of meat and offal is slightly more generous.
Useful things to know when ordering
At most sundae gukbap restaurants, you can choose what goes in your bowl when you order. Say "sundae-man" (sundae only) and you get just blood sausage. Say "naejang-man" (offal only) and it's all offal. Say "seokkeoseo" or "modeum" and you get a mix of both. If you just say "sundae gukbap, one please" without specifying — like I did — most places will default to the mixed version. For a first-timer, the standard mixed bowl is the safest bet, since you get to try a bit of everything. If offal is a step too far, just ask for sundae only.
What's actually inside the bowl
I did briefly wonder whether I should show this bit. I scooped up a spoonful and a chunk of sundae came up along with chives and a piece of offal — and visually, it's not exactly a thing of beauty, is it? But this is the honest reality of sundae gukbap, so here it is.
Sundae and offal up close
Even closer. You can see the glass noodles and vegetables densely packed inside the sundae, and the casing still has a satisfying bounce to it. Factory-produced sundae never fills the casing this tightly. The translucent bit next to it is a piece of offal — and I'll grant you, if you're not used to this sort of thing, the sight of it might make you recoil a little. But it's been simmering in the broth for ages, so the texture is actually softer and milder than you'd expect. Would you eat a blood sausage that's been bobbing around in pork bone broth for hours? Once you try it, you might be surprised at how inoffensive it actually tastes.
The broth flavour varies from restaurant to restaurant
The broth in sundae gukbap differs quite a lot depending on where you go. Some places simmer the bones for so long that the soup turns thick and almost creamy, like a rich bone marrow stock — but with that richness comes a heavier, greasier mouthfeel. Others keep things lighter and cleaner, with a broth that's much more delicate and barely greasy at all. This particular restaurant sat somewhere in between, though I'll be honest — by the second half of the bowl it was starting to feel a bit heavy, and I was flagging slightly. The thing is, the same dish can taste completely different from shop to shop, and you'd need to try quite a few before you can really form a proper opinion. One bowl isn't enough to judge.
How to eat sundae gukbap — you season it yourself
How do you actually eat sundae gukbap?
1. Eat it plain? — It'll taste of almost nothing
Sundae gukbap arrives virtually unseasoned. You can eat it as-is, but it'll be extraordinarily bland. In Korea, sundae gukbap is designed for the customer to season to their own taste — that's precisely why there's always salt on the table. You add a bit at a time and adjust until it suits you.
2. Salt — the most basic seasoning
Salt is available at every single sundae gukbap restaurant without exception. Start with about half a spoonful, taste the broth, and add more gradually if needed. Once it's in, you can't take it out, so go steady. Some restaurants offer salted fermented shrimp (saeujeot) instead of plain salt — it adds an extra layer of umami depth to the broth that plain salt simply can't match.
3. Perilla seed powder — tames the grease and adds nuttiness
If the broth feels too rich or greasy, try adding perilla seed powder (deulkkae-garu). It spreads across the surface of the soup and brings this gorgeous nutty, almost sesame-like flavour whilst noticeably cutting through the heaviness. Plenty of Koreans pile it in generously. Not every restaurant has it, but dedicated sundae gukbap specialists almost always keep it on the table.
4. Spicy paste (dadaegi) — for when you want heat
You'll usually spot a red paste on the table. It's called dadaegi — a spicy seasoning mix of chilli flakes, garlic, soy sauce, and other bits. Stir it into the broth and the milky-white soup turns red, transforming the flavour into something properly fiery. It cuts through the grease and adds a kick that over half of all Korean diners go for. If it's your first time, add just a small blob, taste it, and go from there.
Personally, I tend to go with just salt. If you want to taste the broth in its purest form, salt is the cleanest option. That said, this particular bowl did get a touch greasy towards the end, so next time I reckon I'd throw in some perilla seed powder to balance things out.
An honest verdict
Sundae gukbap is honestly not a dish I could casually recommend to someone who's never tried it. The look of it, the offal smell, the general vibe of peering into the bowl and not being entirely sure what you're looking at — it's the sort of thing that makes you hesitate before picking up the spoon. Even I have days where I'm not quite in the mood for it, depending on how I'm feeling.
But there's this moment — when it's freezing outside and you catch a whiff of that milky broth drifting out of a doorway, you push through and sit down, and you take that first scalding spoonful that nearly burns the roof of your mouth — and you still can't stop going back for more. That right there is why sundae gukbap has been part of Korean food culture for decades and shows absolutely no sign of disappearing.
If you're visiting Korea and fancy having a go at proper local food, sundae gukbap gives you a genuinely filling meal for about £5 a bowl. And if the offal is a bit much, just order it with sundae only — job done.
Sundae gukbap FAQ
How much does sundae gukbap typically cost?
It varies by region and restaurant, but most places charge between ₩9,000 and ₩12,000 (roughly £4.50 to £6). In central Seoul or near tourist hotspots, you might see prices of ₩13,000 (about £6.50) or above, while in smaller regional towns there are still places doing it for ₩8,000 (around £4). If you order a separate plate of sundae on top, that's an additional ₩8,000 to ₩15,000 (£4 to £7.50). All in all, you're looking at about £5 to £7 for a filling bowl of comfort food soup — genuinely hard to beat.
Will there be an English menu? How do I order?
Honestly, almost no sundae gukbap restaurants have English menus. Unless you're right next to a major tourist area, the menu will be entirely in Korean. The good news is that the menu itself is rarely complicated — saying "sundae gukbap" is usually all you need. A translation app with camera mode will sort out most menus in seconds. Some newer places have self-service kiosks, though these are mostly Korean-only too, so do have a translation app ready on your phone.
What other Korean rice soups are similar to sundae gukbap?
Korea has a tremendous variety of gukbap. Dwaeji gukbap is a pork rice soup with sliced pork in a similar milky bone broth — it has less offal than sundae gukbap, so it's a gentler starting point. Seolleongtang is a classic ox bone soup simmered for hours until the broth turns white, served with beef. Gomtang is similar but typically has a higher meat-to-broth ratio and a slightly clearer stock. Kongnamul gukbap from the Jeonju region is made with beansprouts as the main ingredient — easily the most approachable option if offal isn't your thing. Ppyeo haejangguk is a spicy pork backbone soup, similar in spirit to gamjatang.
Can vegetarians eat sundae gukbap?
No — sundae gukbap is entirely unsuitable for vegetarians. The broth is made from pork bones and offal, every piece of filling is pork-based, and the sundae itself is made with pig intestine and pig's blood. The closest thing to a vegetarian-friendly Korean rice soup would be kongnamul gukbap (beansprout soup), but even that often uses a pork-based stock, so it's difficult to call it truly vegetarian.
What are the typical opening hours for sundae gukbap restaurants?
Most open extremely early in the morning — 6 or 7 a.m. is standard, and a fair number operate 24 hours. In Korea, there's a strong culture of eating gukbap for breakfast or as a hangover cure after a night out, so finding an open gukbap restaurant in the early hours or late at night is rarely a problem. That said, some smaller places close once they've sold out of broth for the day, so if you're planning a late visit, it's worth checking beforehand.
This post was originally published on https://hi-jsb.blog.