Columnist Park Jung-bae, who has long connected with readers through rich food stories grounded in solid source material, has visited Daegu. Through a four-part series covering everything from fried chicken and street food to red broth and offal, he takes a peek into the dining tables of the people of Daegu. Take a moment to catch your breath. You might get tipsy just by reading this.

“Yukgaejang is a dish of Daegu. It was also called 'Daegu-tangban.' The original name of 'Daegu-tangban' is Yukgaejang. While it is a common sentiment among some Koreans to enjoy dog meat as a delicacy and a health tonic , especially in the rural countryside of the southern provinces, dog stew is considered a grand hospitality, with the saying, 'We slaughter a dog when the in-law visits.' Yukgaejang was created by considering the palatability of the dish, the circumstances of those who could not eat dog meat, and the signs that dogs were becoming increasingly rare these days. Simply put, it is made with beef in the style of dog stew, and it has since developed significantly, expanding from its hometown of Daegu all the way to Seoul.” (December 1, 1929, *Byeolgeongon*)

Daegu's food is strong and intense.

The red broth is like the nuclear core of Daegu cuisine

It is a powerful and symbolic signifier.

Seoul of Seolleongtang, Daegu of Tangban*

Tangban is such a representative dish of Daegu that it was said, “Just as Daegu is associated with Tangban, Seoul (Gyeongseong) is associated with Seolleongtang” (Dong-A Ilbo, August 11, 1926). Daegu’s cuisine is strong and robust. The red broth is a powerful and symbolic signifier, much like the nuclear atomic core of Daegu’s food. The term Yukgaejang is derived from the combination of Gaejang ( dog stew) and Yuk (meat), meaning beef. If chicken is added, it is called Dakgaejang or Gyejangguk , while Buddhist monks eat Chae- gaejang , which contains vegetables . This culture originated when the gentry, who disliked eating Gaejang, began consuming Yukgaejang instead as the quintessential summer health soup. The reason Yukgaejang, made with beef instead of dog meat, developed is that during the late Joseon Dynasty, the establishment of over a hundred private ice storage facilities (Sabinggo) along the Han River caused a surge in both the supply and demand for beef, leading to the establishment of a culture among the gentry that shifted from eating dog meat to beef. This is also due to the fact that Joseon's dog meat soup culture changed under the influence of the Qing Dynasty's aversion to dog meat.

A dish of rice mixed with soup.

From Gaejang to Yukgaejang

In *Joseon Sangsik Mundap * (1946), Choi Nam-seon describes Yukgaejang as “a dish made with beef, similar to Gaejangguk, for those who cannot tolerate dog meat.” Thus, Yukgaejang carries a hidden past of Gaejangguk. Gaejangguk first appeared as "Gaejangguk-neureumi" in *Eum식dimibang* (circa 1670), the first Korean cookbook written in Hangul, and was subsequently referred to repeatedly as "Guyukgaeng" (*Gyeongdo Japji*, early 19th century) and "Gaejang" (*Gyuhap Chongseo*, 1809). The first record of Yukgaejang—a dish made by adding beef to Gaejangguk—appeared in *Gyugon Yoram* (circa 1896), held by Yonsei University, after which it became a staple menu item that never failed to appear in cookbooks. As a variation of Gaejangguk, Yukgaejang was, like Gaejangguk itself, a "bok-dalim" (a traditional summer dish) consumed during the hottest days of summer. As is well known, protein is a key nutrient that helps one endure the heat during the summer. Commoners nourished their bodies with dog meat, chicken, or fish, while the nobility ate beef or high-quality fish such as croaker.

As evidenced by an article in *Byeolgeongon* dated August 1, 1929, which states, “In the Yeongnam region, the death of dogs during the three dog days is tremendous. However, the famous specialty of Anju (Hwanghae Province) is the chicken fishing during the three dog days”, chickens were mainly eaten in the north and dogs in the south on the dog days. Published in the United States in 1933

Gyeongsang-style yukgaejang has no blood sausage.

The broth was made using only brisket instead of beef bone broth.

If dried cabbage is the main ingredient, it becomes a 'hangover soup-style yukgaejang'.

If blood sausage is added, it becomes 'Daegu-style Ttaro-gukbap'.

Daegu, the home of Yukgaejang

The fact that Yukgaejang is a dish of Daegu can be confirmed in records from the 1920s. “The original name of Daegu Tangban is Yukgaejang; it is a dish made with beef to resemble Gaejang, which was enjoyed in the southern regions, for those who could not eat dog meat. It has now undergone great development and has expanded from its hometown of Daegu all the way to Seoul.” (*Byeolgeongon*, December 1, 1929). Daegu’s Yukgaejang is a dining culture created by combining Gaejangguk with two main pillars: the beef soup with rice eaten throughout Gyeongsang Province and the soybean paste-based soup with rice. Since the establishment of the Gyeongsang Provincial Office in 1601, Daegu has been the center of Gyeongsang Province’s products. It possessed the conditions necessary for the development of dining out. According to reporter Lee Chun-ho of the *Yeongnam Ilbo*, today’s Gyeongsang-do Yukgaejang, which embodies this history, is classified into three types. 'Gyeongsang-style Yukgaejang' is characterized by the absence of blood sown (seonji) and broth made exclusively from brisket instead of beef bone stock. If dried cabbage is the main ingredient, it becomes a 'hangover soup-style yukgaejang,' and if blood sausage is included, it becomes a 'Daegu-style ttaro-gukbap.'

Daegu Yukgaejang Restaurants – Cheongdogwan, Yetjip, Yang Jeong-hwa's Apsan Oncheongol, Seongamgol Gamasot Gukbap

'Cheongdogwan,' which opened during the Japanese colonial period, sold traditional Daegu-style yukgaejang, while 'Cheongdojip' operated in the style of seonji ugeoji haejangguk (blood sausage and dried cabbage hangover soup), but it has since closed. 'Kukil Ttaro Gukbap,' which opened in 1946 and is still in operation, is the very history of Daegu-style ttaro gukbap. Yukgaejang diversified and developed into ttaro gukbap after the 1950s. Originally, Kukil Ttaro Gukbap sold soup to local woodcutters and people in entertainment districts. However, as people from Seoul flocked to the area during the Korean War, Daegu's yukgaejang transformed into ttaro gukbap. This culinary culture emerged as the nobility and upper class, particularly women, who did not mix rice into the soup, began ordering the soup and rice separately. Starting in this way, ttaro gukbap has now become the mainstream of Daegu yukgaejang. In 1993, the city of Daegu also began creating ttaro gukbap brands, designating 'Kukil Ttaro Gukbap' and 'Bunggeul Bunggeul Sikdang' as representative ttaro gukbap restaurants.

Opened in 1948, 'Yetjip' is a representative restaurant for Daegu-style yukgaejang. The broth is made from beef bones, and shank meat, which has a texture and shape similar to dog meat, is added. The broth is clear yet rich in oil. It is seasoned with salt or Joseon soy sauce, with the soy sauce enhancing the umami flavor. The dish is served by mixing green onions and beef bone broth with a base topped with chili oil (chili powder dissolved in oil). The key is to peel off a few layers of the green onion skin to remove any earthy smell, and then cool the green onions in cold water after boiling them about 80% to slowly extract the sweetness from the white stem portion. The soup leaves a subtle, long-lasting sweetness.

The yukgaejang at 'Yang Jeong-hwa's Apsan Oncheongol' in Apsan, Daegu, is also widely famous for its luxurious taste. 'Seongamgol Gamasot Gukbap' in Gyeongsan, which is practically one with Daegu, serves Hanwoo beef soup in the style of home-cooked beef soup; the unique sweetness of vegetables from radish and green onions, combined with the spiciness and aroma of chili oil, blends seamlessly with the saltiness of soybean paste to deliver an intense punch.

The secret to the taste of Daegu Yukgaejang, green onions

In Daegu-style yukgaejang or beef soup with rice, green onions are indispensable as a leading supporting ingredient. This stands in contrast to the Seoul style, where bracken fern is the dominant ingredient. As an aside, the fact that yukgaejang containing bracken fern is served at funerals stems from a folk belief that the fern acts as a rope to tie up the deceased's travel money.

At the heart of the green onion industry in the Daegu region was the so-called "Dakkipa," characterized by its long white stems and grown in the sandy soil fields along the riverside near Samunjin Ferry Terminal in Hochon-ri, Dasan-myeon, Goryeong. Until the 1970s, Samunjin Ferry Terminal was the primary production site for Dakkipa, supplying most of the green onions consumed by the people of Daegu. However, as the food service industry grew in various forms, the demand for Daegu Yukgaejang (spicy beef soup) contracted in the 1970s, and the market for Dakkipa diminished accordingly. In particular, with the opening of the Gyeongbu Expressway in 1970 and the subsequent influx of green onions cultivated across the country to markets such as Daegu's Seomun Market and Wondae Market, Dakkipa became a legend. Currently, Noksan-dong and Myeongji-dong in Gangseo-gu, Busan; Hadan-dong in Saha-gu; Jangyu-dong in Gimhae; and Jeju Island have become the main sources of green onions for Daegu.

Seoul like Seolleongtang and Gomtang

If it is the center of the white broth resembling the moon,

Daegu is the home of red broth bearing the traces of the sun.

Daegu's Yukgaejang is red in color, but it is sweet rather than spicy. From dawn to dusk, the people of Daegu open and close their day with this red broth. The beef soup culture of Gyeongsang Province, along with its Gaejangguk and Jangteo Gukbap cultures, are fully contained within this red Yukgaejang. If Seoul is the center of white broths resembling the moon, such as Seolleongtang and Gomtang, then Daegu is the home of red broth bearing the traces of the sun.

Illustration | A landscape of a red table in Daegu, compiled from photos of meals sent by artist Park Jung-bae as he traveled between Yetjip, Beonggeul Beonggeul Restaurant, Seongamgol Gamasot Gukbap, and Kookil Ttaro Gukbap.

** External contributions to the Editorial Department are intended to provide a multifaceted perspective on local culture and industry and may differ from the views of the Editorial Department.

Park Jung-bae

He researches the historical culture of Korean, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine and explores the field. Historical sources, which surge throughout his writing, transport the reader to the vivid heart of food history. He has serialized works such as "Park Jung-bae’s Birth of Korean Cuisine" and "The Decisive Menu" in the *Chosun Ilbo*, and serves as an advisor or makes appearances on broadcast programs like Netflix’s *Hanwoo Rhapsody*. He also runs food-related lecture academies such as the "Soup Academy" and "Noodle School." His published works include *Dumplings: A Cultural History of Dumplings and Gyoza in Korea, China, and Japan* and *Food Landscape*.