Fodor's Expert Review Jin Ok Hwa Original Chicken Restaurant

Despite the often long wait and hot dining room, this low-key restaurant has developed a cult-like following since it opened in 1978. Dak Hanmari means “whole chicken” and is a type of traditional Korean chicken soup cooked hot-pot style on each table. In addition to the meat, customize your soup with garlic, kimchi, noodles, soy sauce, and rice cakes, then dip the chicken in a spicy, peppery marinade. Although it’s set in the area filled with chicken soup establishments known as Dongdaemun Dak Hanmari Alley, there’s a reason this one is consistently the busiest. You can only purchase a whole chicken which costs ₩25,000, but it’s easily enough for two or more people.