Makguksu막국수

Makguksu (막국수) grew up in the mountains of Gangwon Province, where buckwheat thrives. The cool highlands suited the crop, and many families grew it on slash-and-burn fields cleared on the slopes. Originally makguksu was a treat served at ancestral rites and village feasts, and a late-night snack for neighbors gathered in a guest room on long winter evenings. Buckwheat was ground on a millstone, sifted, kneaded with hot water, and pressed through a wooden noodle press set over a boiling cauldron, a job said to take two or three people at once.

The mak in the name is explained as meaning both "just made" and "rough." Before threshing and milling machines, buckwheat ground on a millstone kept bits of hull, so the noodles came out dark and speckled. A 1967 newspaper article noted that Chuncheon's buckwheat makguksu was prized precisely because it was not chewy like naengmyeon but broke softly while keeping a coarse texture.

Once a winter food, makguksu became a summer dish after the Korean War, and since the 1970s it has been eaten year-round. Noodle-making gradually moved to machines, and as shops selling only noodles appeared, what had been a midnight snack became a lunchtime meal. It is still served both ways: in a cold kimchi broth such as dongchimi, or mixed with a seasoned sauce.