Wikipedia list sheds light on Korea's historic restaurants

Wheat noodles are prepared by Lee Chun-bok, the third-generation owner of Naeho Naengmyeon, Busan's oldest known restaurant, Oct. 17, 2019. Korea Times file

Korea's restaurant scene is known for its breakneck restaurant turnover speed, with restaurants closing after only a few years, to be replaced with new ones boasting "Since 2025" that don't stand much chance of lasting any longer.

But the country's eatery history has a much longer living history than most people might think. The oldest known restaurant is accepted to be Imun Seolnongtang, which the Seoul Metropolitan Government pegs as having started serving ox bone soup in 1904.

The owners of Imun Seolnongtang pose in front of the restaurant in central Seoul's Insa-dong neighborhood, Jan. 9, 2019. Korea Times file

The second-oldest, Busan Anmyeonok, opened in 1905 in Pyongyang, then moved to Busan in 1953 and then Daegu in 1969. About 20 more restaurants are known to have been founded during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation, or right before it began or after liberation.

All this information has been made available through the online free encyclopedia, Wikipedia, thanks to an anonymous editor who listed 30 of the oldest known restaurants and wrote individual entries for each.

The creator of these pages, who hides behind the username Seefooddiet, claims to be a Korean American male who grew up in Korea but now lives in the U.S.

"I put together the list of oldest restaurants because I'm trying to improve realistic coverage of Korea and highlight its average people," he told The Korea Times.

"Gomtang," or beef bone soup, at Eunho Sikdang, Seoul's fourth-oldest active restaurant, Jan. 4, 2008 / Korea Times file

"Coverage of Korea is quite poor on Wikipedia; we have a significant shortage of capable editors interested in the topic. I'm one of a handful of editors on nonpop culture Korea topics. The Korea-related topics that get the best coverage on Wikipedia are South Korean pop culture, the Korean War, North Korea and South Korea's scandals and painful history. But these topics don't really reflect the reality of what living in modern South Korea is like. These images are either too commercialized or too negative. Too often are the normal, good, hardworking people in the country forgotten or ignored."

To that end, he has clearly put a lot of work into this project. He said the list is based on a number of other lists that he cites, although he also added a few other restaurants that hadn't been listed in those lists. The list was created on Aug. 17, 2024, and revisions and additions are ongoing.

"I've visited a number of them myself," he said. "While they're not always flashy or exciting, they're a line of continuity between the present and Korea's unbelievable historical journey."

The entrance to Cheonhwang Sikdang, a restaurant specializing in bibimbap in Jinju, South Gyeongsang Province, Aug. 4, 2008 / Korea Times file

The hardest part of putting together the list was deciding whether to accept the restaurants' claims of longevity or continuity.

"Restaurants in general — not just in South Korea — will often try to claim they're much older than they actually are, even going to the extent of putting fake years in their names to make themselves sound prestigious," he said. "Other restaurants will claim to be successors of previous restaurants that went out of business; some of these claims are more solid than others. On Wikipedia, we're supposed to not judge such claims on our own. Instead, we're supposed to report perspectives proportionately to how mainstream they are. In other words, instead of judging 'Is this restaurant really that old?' I judged 'Is this restaurant's age widely accepted?' and 'Is this restaurant's continuity widely accepted?' These questions are deceptively difficult to answer."

He pointed to the example of Gonghwachun, a historic restaurant that opened sometime between 1905 and 1908. It is said to have invented the Korean Chinese dish "jjajangmyeon," or noodles in black bean sauce, a claim Seefooddiet said is generally accepted, with no significant competing claims. But it closed in 1983, and the building became a Registered Cultural Heritage in 2006 and now houses a Jajangmyeon Museum, established in 2012.

Meanwhile, the owner family continued operating another restaurant, called Sinseung Banjeom. Then in the 2000s, a new restaurant called Gonghwachun was opened.

When the new Gonghwachun claimed to be the legitimate successor, Sinseung Banjeom's owners sued to prevent them from making this claim.

"Because there was enough controversy around the claim, I decided not to include it," Seefooddiet said. "The restaurants that did make it onto the list, I didn't see such publicized disputes over their legitimacy in mainstream news sources."

The Jjajangmyeon Museum in Incheon, April 30, 2012 / Korea Times file

He added that this and all of his decisions on Wikipedia are open to debate. "Feel free to post on the talk page of the article if you disagree with anything," he said. "Wikipedia is collaborative; if you disagree with something on it you're encouraged to discuss or edit."

He added that he prefers to keep his anonymity because he sometimes writes on contentious topics. He cited a massive defamation lawsuit filed last year by the government of India against the Wikimedia Foundation, and a more recent report about the conservative U.S. Heritage Foundation's plans to "identify and target" volunteer editors on Wikipedia.

"I don't think I'm at significant risk — just playing it safe," Seefooddiet said. "Most of my writing is on the early 20th century, so few have incentive to target me. Also, all my writing reflects mainstream academic research, per Wikipedia policy."

Along with the list of oldest restaurants, he also wrote almost all the articles on Michelin-starred restaurants in Korea. Beyond covering food, he also created and contributed to various other entries, including articles on Seoul Future Heritage sites, Korean diaspora, the March First Movement, Canadian missionary Frank Schofield, dictator Park Chung-hee, independence figure Kim Ku and "budae jjigae," which he describes as "a dish symbolic of South Korea's rise from poverty." On his Wikipedia user profile page, he says he prioritizes "topics that I think others are unlikely to work on," and that are of use to non-Koreans, Korean diaspora and historians.

"I wish we had more editors. I'm stretched thin across a number of projects in order to try to get both breadth and depth on Korea," he said.

"Wikipedia is critical to the world right now, in an era of extremism and social media algorithms controlling information. Even if you disagree with parts of Wikipedia, it's clearly useful for topics you'll find uncontroversial, and for getting a high-level overview of topics you're unfamiliar with. I disagree with parts of Wikipedia all the time; disagreement and corrections are literally a part of the process. Corrections on Wikipedia are not always easy to make; sometimes you need to have a strong understanding of how Wikipedia works, and sometimes you need to have extended debates that involve citing academic papers. But there's a reason I've donated hundreds of hours of my time to doing all this. I get absolutely no direct benefit from editing Wikipedia. I just think Wikipedia helps make the world a better place."

Meanwhile, his list of Korea's oldest restaurants appears to be gaining traction, as various people are using the list to find authentic culinary experiences, including some content creators and influencers.

"I've seen the list get some moderate traction online," Seefooddiet said. "I'd like it to get more attention so that people can support these businesses. Many of them are having a difficult time staying open due to economic conditions or changing tastes. The South Korean and Seoul governments used to provide more support for these restaurants, but such programs have waned in recent years."

Cheongjinok, opened in 1937, serves "haejangguk" (hangover soup) for the last time at its original location before closing in central Seoul, Aug. 3, 2008, and relocating to a modern skyscraper nearby. Korea Times file

As far as favorite restaurants go, he recommended people try the original Yonggeumok in downtown Seoul's Da-dong, which opened in 1932.

"Get the 'chueo-tang' with the whole pond loach, bones and all," he said. "It's a unique and memorable culinary experience I've not really had or seen in other countries. The bones are hardly noticeable and the taste is great."

The owner of Yonggeumok, opened in 1932, cooks "chueo-tang" (loach soup) at the restaurant's Da-dong location. Korea Times file