Andong Jjimdak: The Gu Market Alley and How to Get There

Jjimdak shops across Korea put Andong in their names, but in Andong itself the dish belongs to one place: a 100-meter lane on the west side of the old market, where about 30 restaurants cook the same soy-braised chicken in big iron pans. You order by the whole chicken, and most of the people waiting outside are from out of town. This is Andong’s cheap, loud market side, far from its Confucian academies.

On May 18, 2026, the night before he hosted Japan’s prime minister in his hometown, President Lee Jae-myung ate at Haengbok Jjimdak with his entourage, about 40 people in all, the owner told Wikitree. The next weekend Kyungbuk Maeil reported long lines in the alley, some of them people who had come to see the president’s shop. Andong’s restaurant sales had fallen by nearly half after the March 2025 wildfires (city figures, as reported by Kyungbuk Maeil), so the lines made news.

What is Andong jjimdak, and how do you order it?

Chicken seared over high heat, simmered in soy sauce with vegetables and finished with glass noodles. You choose only the size and the spice level. Andong city’s tourism site gives the method: about ten minutes on high heat, soy sauce, then carrots, potatoes and onions until the sauce thickens, with spinach, green onion and 당면 dangmyeon (glass noodles) added last. Maeil Shinmun notes that the alley uses sliced dried chili instead of chili powder, and thick or flat noodles. For the comparison with Chuncheon’s stir-fried chicken, see our dakgalbi vs jjimdak guide.

Menus are short and nearly identical:

• 찜닭 중 jjimdak jung — “medium,” one whole chicken, for two people.
• 찜닭 대 jjimdak dae — “large,” which Hyundai Jjimdak calls 한마리반 han-mari-ban, a chicken and a half.
• 쪼림닭 jjorimdak — the same chicken cooked down until almost no broth is left.
• Fried and garlic chicken, left over from the alley’s fried-chicken days, for less.

In 2025–26 listings for the shops below, a medium is 32,000 won and a large 48,000 won. None lists a small or half size.

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Why did jjimdak start in Andong?

Because Andong had a market with an alley full of chicken shops that needed something new to sell. Accounts of how the dish took shape differ, and none proves who was first. The dakgalbi vs jjimdak guide tells the familiar version: fried-chicken franchises squeezed Gu Market’s whole-chicken alley, vendors answered with a braise, the alley was renamed around 2004, and a Seoul franchise took the dish national.

The market came first. Maeil Shinmun traces Gu Market to the late Joseon period, the oldest in the city, trading grain, seafood and firewood for a valley town far from the sea. Its food writer describes porters carrying mackerel about 80 km inland from Ganggu on the east coast, a two-day walk that ended here. The chicken alley grew on the market’s west side and in 2011 was designated North Gyeongsang’s only “theme alley.” It runs about 100 meters into the covered market, which also hosts a night market.

How do you get to Andong's jjimdak alley from Seoul?

KTX-Eum from Cheongnyangni or Seoul Station to Andong Station, then a taxi or city bus downtown. Andong Station moved from downtown to Songhyeon-dong, on the city’s western edge, in December 2020, so the market is no longer a walk from the train. The new station and Andong Bus Terminal stand side by side. For city buses, check current route numbers in Naver Map or Kakao Map.

🚆 Seoul to Andong (Korail timetable data and KOBUS express bus data via data.go.kr, schedules for October 31, 2026)

From	Route	Approx. time	Notes
Cheongnyangni Station	KTX-Eum to Andong Station	1 hr 49 min – 2 hr 6 min	10 trains a day; adult fare 27,700 won; some trains also stop at Sangbong
Seoul Station	KTX-Eum to Andong Station	2 hr 15 min – 2 hr 27 min	5 trains a day; adult fare 29,300 won
Cheongnyangni Station	ITX-Saemaeul to Andong Station	2 hr 33 min – 3 hr 58 min	6 trains a day; adult fare 21,100 won
Seoul Express Bus Terminal (Gyeongbu)	Express bus to Andong Terminal	About 2 hr 40 min	17 buses a day; Deluxe (udeung) 24,400 won, Premium 33,500 won
Andong Station / Andong Terminal	Taxi or city bus to Andong Gu Market	About 15 min by car	Ask the driver for Andong Gusijang

Book KTX-Eum seats in the Korail app before weekends and festivals. For rail passes versus buses, see KTX vs KORAIL Pass vs express bus.

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Where should you eat jjimdak in Andong?

The shops cook the same dish at the same price, so choose by the line and the seating. The five below have 2025–26 records, longest-running first. Several share the market building’s address, Beonyeong 1-gil 47, so search by shop name.

Wisaeng Jjimdak (위생찜닭) — The listing site Hotplace Hunter calls it a 40-year-old shop in its 2025 and 2026 roundups; that is the listing’s claim, not a record. Order jjimdak or jjorimdak (32,000 won medium, 48,000 won large), or the redder 닭볶음탕 dakbokkeumtang. Listed hours are 08:00–21:00, closed Wednesdays, which makes it a good early-lunch stop.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Jungang Jjimdak (중앙찜닭) — At Beonyeong 1-gil 51. Hotplace Hunter’s May 2025 list says it has been in the alley for over 30 years, open 08:00–22:00, closed the first and third Tuesdays. A Brunch writer who ate here in August 2025 found one medium at regular spice (32,000 won) plenty for two.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Andong Yujin Jjimdak (안동유진찜닭) — VisitKorea’s listing, updated November 2025, says locals come for the big portions, that there are so few tables a wait is normal, and that pickled radish is the only side. It also packs food for long trips. VisitKorea lists 09:00–21:00, closed Mondays; a 2026 listing says only the second and fourth Mondays, so check before a Monday visit. Drivers should use the Gu Market public lot.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Hyundai Jjimdak (현대찜닭) — For three or four people. A March 2026 listing shows 32,000 won for a whole chicken and 48,000 won for a chicken and a half, mild or spicy, open 10:00–21:00 and closed the first and third Mondays. Order one jjimdak and one jjorimdak to compare.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Haengbok Jjimdak (행복찜닭) — The alley’s most talked-about shop of 2026: its 33-year-old owner told Wikitree the president’s party of about 40 ate here on May 18. Expect a weekend line; if it is long, any shop above serves the same dish.

📍 Open in Naver Map

🍽️ Andong jjimdak alley shops at a glance (VisitKorea Nov 2025, Hotplace Hunter May 2025 and Mar 2026, Brunch Aug 2025, Wikitree May 2026)

Shop	Korean name	Medium / large	Listed hours	Why go	Map
Wisaeng Jjimdak	위생찜닭	32,000 / 48,000 won	08:00–21:00, closed Wed	Oldest claim of the five	📍 Open in Naver Map
Jungang Jjimdak	중앙찜닭	32,000 / 48,000 won	08:00–22:00, closed 1st & 3rd Tue	Longest hours	📍 Open in Naver Map
Andong Yujin Jjimdak	안동유진찜닭	32,000 won (medium)	09:00–21:00, Monday closures	Locals’ pick; long-trip takeout	📍 Open in Naver Map
Hyundai Jjimdak	현대찜닭	32,000 / 48,000 won	10:00–21:00, closed 1st & 3rd Mon	Groups; mild or spicy	📍 Open in Naver Map
Haengbok Jjimdak	행복찜닭	Check menu	Check map app	President’s stop, May 2026	📍 Open in Naver Map

Two other Andong foods: 간고등어 gan-godeungeo, grilled salted mackerel, sold in the market where the porters once delivered it; and 헛제사밥 heotjesabap, the soy-seasoned “fake ancestral-rite meal” served near the Andong Folk Museum by Woryeonggyo (background in our bibimbap guide). Wikitree also counts about 15 hanwoo restaurants in the galbi alley near the market.

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What else is there to see near the jjimdak alley?

Hahoe Folk Village for half a day, plus Woryeonggyo Bridge and the soju museum, all a taxi ride from the market.

Hahoe Folk Village (하회마을) — A clan village of tile-roofed and thatched houses in a bend of the Nakdong River west of downtown, UNESCO-listed with Gyeongju’s Yangdong as “Historic Villages of Korea.” VisitKorea (updated June 2026) lists admission at 5,000 won for adults, 2,500 youth, 1,500 children, free for 65 and over; hours 09:00–18:00 April to September and 09:00–17:00 October to March, last entry 30 minutes before closing; free parking.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Woryeonggyo Bridge (월영교) — A wooden footbridge below Andong Dam, free and always open, according to VisitKorea (updated June 2026). Its shape echoes the hemp sandals that Yi Eung-tae’s wife is said to have made partly from her own hair for her dying husband. Cross at dusk, then eat heotjesabap nearby.

📍 Open in Naver Map

Andong Soju & Traditional Food Museum (안동소주·전통음식박물관) — In Susang-dong, across the river from downtown. VisitKorea (updated October 2026) lists it as free, 09:00–17:00, with about 660 items, including the birthday table prepared for Queen Elizabeth II’s 1999 visit, a tasting room and a shop. The drink itself is covered in our Andong soju guide.

📍 Open in Naver Map

How should you spend one day in Andong?

Arrive late morning, eat before the lunch peak, spend the afternoon at Hahoe and finish at Woryeonggyo.

• 09:18 — KTX-Eum from Cheongnyangni (or 08:57 from Seoul Station), arriving at Andong at 11:12.
• 11:30 — Taxi to Gu Market, walk the alley once, then lunch: one medium for two, noodles first.
• 12:45 — Gu Market and its salted-mackerel and soju shops.
• 13:30 — Andong Soju & Traditional Food Museum by taxi, for about 45 minutes (it closes at 17:00).
• 14:45 — Hahoe Folk Village for about two hours. From October to March, last entry is 16:30.
• 17:30 — Woryeonggyo at dusk and heotjesabap for an early dinner, then an evening KTX-Eum back to Seoul. Check return times in the Korail app.

Can you eat Andong jjimdak in Seoul?

Yes, mostly at franchises. Our dakgalbi vs jjimdak guide covers ordering, spice levels and the fried-rice finish in Seoul. For a different regional style, the Northern-style jjimdak at Manpo Makguksu appears in our Seoul mandu guide.