Guk

Guk is a category of soups in Korean cuisine, with an abundant broth and a simple character, that appears in almost every traditional meal. It is usually grouped with tang, and the two names are often used interchangeably.

History

Guk is a native Korean word, whereas tang is Sino-Korean and originally meant 'boiling' or 'soup'. Over time tang came to be used as a more formal term in place of guk, although both often refer to the same kind of dish. As a general rule, lighter soups with vegetables take the suffix -guk, while denser soups with more solid ingredients are usually called tang, and some of these were prepared for ancestral rites.

Soups are broadly grouped by their broth: makeun jangguk, clear broths seasoned with soybean paste or soy sauce; gomguk or gomtang, long-simmered broths of beef bones and meat, which turn milky; tojangguk, based on doenjang and rice-washing water; and naengguk, cold soups eaten in summer. Gukbap, a soup served with rice, also developed from guk. It became popular among ordinary people from the late Joseon period onward and is mostly eaten in restaurants.

Culture

Guk holds a central place on the Korean table, alongside rice and side dishes, and in everyday practice the bowl is usually placed on the right of the rice. Many versions are simple home dishes, such as miyeok guk made with wakame seaweed, which is traditionally eaten on birthdays, while others, such as samgyetang or seolleongtang, are associated with restaurants and seasonal eating.

Beef bone and meat broths like gomguk, along with chicken and pork soups, have become characteristic of urban dining. Regional variety is wide: dwaeji gukbap is representative of the Gyeongsang coast, and ttaro gukbap is a local specialty of Daegu. Today guk remains common both at home and in dedicated restaurants.