Wheat noodles that comforted homesick N. Korean refugees are now Busan specialty

Naeho Naengmyeon, the birthplace of milmyeon, a Busan specialty originating in North Korea, is nestled in Busan's Uam-dong in Nam District, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

BUSAN — Nestled in a corner of an old, narrow alley of Uam-dong market in Busan’s Nam District is a small restaurant serving North Korean-style cold noodles that has been in business for over a hundred years.

Run by five generations of the You family, who fled from North Korea during the 1950-53 Korean War, Naeho Naengmyeon is the birthplace of Busan’s signature dish called “milmyeon.”

“This is South Korea’s very first naengmyeon (cold noodle) place, where milmyeon, a North Korean winter specialty, was reinvented,” You Sang-mo, the third-generation owner and chef of the restaurant, told The Korea Times at his restaurant, Tuesday.

An employee prepares a bowl of milmyeon at Naeho Naengmyeon restaurant in Busan, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

Milmyeon, shortened from “mil” (wheat) and “naengmyeon” (cold noodles), is Busan’s authentic specialty with a North Korean origin that was the result of the tragic separation of the Koreas, he explained.

You and his family are among the North Korean war refugees who came down to the South through the Hungnam evacuation in December 1950, an operation also known as the “Miracle of Christmas.”

“I was a three-year-old riding on my auntie's back when I boarded the last ship headed south from the now-North Korean city of Hamhung during the Korean War,” the 76-year-old said, referring to the epic evacuation operations conducted by the U.S. X Corps during the war.

As the situation turned quickly in favor of the communist North with the massive intervention of the Chinese military, the U.S. X Corps orchestrated a retreat from the eastern port of Hungnam, 181 kilometers northeast of Pyongyang, amid blistering cold weather in December of 1950, four months after the war broke out.

North Korean refugees flee to South Korea during the Hungnam evacuations in December 1950. Korea Times file

After throwing supplies and weapons overboard to make space for people aboard naval vessels, the X Corps decided to evacuate nearly 100,000 North Korean civilians between Dec. 15 and 23, who were at risk of being killed by the communist army.

After arriving in the southern port city of Busan, You and his family took refuge in Samok (also known as “cow barn” in Korean) village of Uam-dong together with around 370 other North Korean refugee families in buildings that used to serve as barns for cows that were exported to Japan during the 1910-45 colonial occupation.

In March of 1953, his family, which ran a restaurant back in the North for 30 years, opened a noodle place in Busan to make ends meet.

They named the eatery Naeho, after the North Korean seaside village the family came from. It was a small restaurant that used leftover wooden boxes as tables and there were no chairs. They were able to buy a noodle machine using hard-earned money from selling snacks. There was just enough space inside the restaurant to fit five to 10 guests at a time.

"My grandparents kept the recipe true to the original, but had to give it some local twists. Instead of potato starch, which was expensive and hard to obtain, they used more wheat flour, which was among the supplies distributed by the American army," You said.

The dish features wheat noodles that have a juicy and chewy texture, topped with strips of fresh cucumbers, radishes and half a boiled egg, with a scoop of cold beef broth poured over them.

Additionally, Kim’s grandparents added spicy and salty pepper paste that people of Gyeongsang Province are familiar with, in order to appeal to local tastes.

The North Korean winter specialty became comfort food not only for North Korean refugees but also for laborers in the port city that was undergoing rapid industrialization, providing a quick and affordable meal.

The dish soon gained nationwide attention through media coverage and turned into a local specialty. Several other milmyeon restaurants popped up in the city, each showcasing different interpretations of the dish.

You Sang-mo, the third-generation owner and chef of Naeho Naengmyeon, points to a photo of the first media coverage of milmyeon, a North Korean-style specialty his family reinvented after settling in the southern port city of Busan, at his restaurant, Tuesday. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

Meanwhile, the North Korean refugees, who longed to return to their homeland and reunite with their families, failed to see reunification happen in their lifetime. You’s late father drew a map of his village on a piece of paper and wrote his last words on it.

“Initially, my parents thought they could return in three to four months. We waited years and years, and my siblings were born, but that never happened. That’s how Busan became my family’s new hometown,” You said.

Today, the southern port city is home to over 500 milmyeon restaurants. Some are run by North Korean descendants like You.

A seaside view of Uam-dong in Busan's Nam District / Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

Hwangsan Naengmyeon near Busan Station is another milmyeon eatery. The restaurant, whose name is a combination of “Hwang” from Hwanghae Province of North Korea and “san” from Busan, was established by a North Korean refugee named Kim Chang-sik in 1975 and has been run by three generations of his family.

Kim, who fled from the North at a young age after everyone in his family was killed by communist soldiers, opened the noodle restaurant, longing for his homeland and lost family members. Like You’s father, he also drew a map of his village, which still hangs on the wall of the restaurant.

A hand-drawn map of Kim Chang-sik's hometown in Hwanghae Province of North Korea. Kim is the first-generation owner and chef of Hwangsan Naengmyeon in Busan. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

“My hometown Yeonbaek of Hwanghae Province is so close that it can be reached within 30 minutes to an hour by boat from Ganghwa Island of Incheon. Yet, I have never made it to my hometown for 64 years. My dear son, daughter-in-law, daughter and son-in-law, please visit my old hometown in Hwanghae even after my death,” Kim wrote in his hand-drawn map of his hometown.

The map features a 900-year-old gingko tree, farmlands, reservoirs and houses of neighbors who lived in Kim’s village. He passed away in 2015. But while he was alive, Kim made copies of the map and distributed them to other North Korean refugees who visited the restaurant, according to Kim Yoo-kyung, his daughter-in-law who runs the restaurant with her husband.

You and his descendants also follow their parents' last wish to “never relocate the fireplace for cooking” and remain in the small, narrow alley that his family first settled, regardless of how his business prospered.

The restaurant, now big enough to accomodate over 80 guests at a time, is now widely sought after and praised by locals, media, food connoisseurs and tourists. In the hot summer season, people form long lines to get a taste of the local specialty.

Milmyeon, a North Korean-style cold noodle dish, is served at Hwangsan Naengmyeon, a restaurant near Busan Station, Tuesday. The restaurant was established by North Korean refugee Kim Chang-sik in 1975 and is operated by his second- and third-generation descendants. Korea Times photo by Lee Hae-rin

You's father also drew a map of his hometown and, every time You takes a look at it, he said it still brings tears to his eyes. It also makes numerous like-minded regulars of North Korean origin cry, who still long desperately to reunite with their separated families across the border.

“I wish our restaurant will stay here for another two to three hundred years, as my parents wished,” You said. “My father always told me there should never be another war. I don’t think I will see reunification in my lifetime, but at least, there should never be another war again.”