Baekban Giyaeng — loosely translated as "A Journey for Everyday Rice Table Meals" — has spent nearly 300 episodes uncovering the kind of home-style Korean restaurants that rarely make it onto travel blogs. Episode 296 is special: two of the biggest names from Mr. Trot 3 (the Korean singing competition that broke a 19.1% cable TV rating record) guide legendary food artist Heo Youngman through the flavors they grew up on. This is not fine dining. It's the kind of food that makes you understand why someone chose their hometown as their answer.
What Made This Episode Unforgettable
Before we talk food, here's the context that made the table so lively — because in Korea, who you're eating with matters as much as what's on the plate.
🏆
Rating brag, reversed. Heo Youngman joked that Mr. Trot 3's 19.1% finale rating should "spare some viewers" for his show — which got a good laugh from the guests.
🎤
Same age, different clout. Both born in 1992, but Kim Yongbin debuted at age 13 — making him a 22-year industry veteran. He wasted no time pointing that out: "Back then, Bina couldn't even look at me."
👨👧
Dad steals the scene. Son Bina's father made a cameo and dropped the deadpan line of the episode: "She never really gave me pocket money — Yongbin, maybe you can share some."
🤝
Heo Youngman, left out. When the restaurant owner warmly grabbed Kim Yongbin and Son Bina's hands but skipped his, Heo Youngman muttered: "Not mine? I should've become a singer."
Stop #1 · Hadong, South Gyeongsang Province
Son Bina's hometown restaurant pick is a place her family has been eating at for nearly a decade. Haong (하옹) sits beside the Seomjin River — one of Korea's few rivers where wild freshwater clams still thrive — and has built its reputation entirely on letting the river's ingredients speak for themselves.
📖 What Is Jaecheop Chamge Garijang Jeongsik?
The star dish at Haong is built around
jaecheop (재첩) — tiny freshwater clams harvested from the Seomjin River that are prized for their clean, mineral-forward flavor and reputation as a liver-friendly ingredient. They appear raw as a kind of clam ceviche, steeped into a deeply savory broth, and paired alongside
chamge garijang — river crab marinated in a soy-based sauce similar to the beloved ganjang gejang. Grilled rockfish rounds out the spread. It's a meal that only makes sense within a few kilometers of this river.
📌 Address
2578 Seomjingang-daero, Hadong-eup, Hadong-gun, Gyeongnam
📞 Phone
055-882-3457
🕙 Hours
10:00 AM – 3:00 PM (last order 2:30 PM)
Evening: group reservations only
🍽️ Menu
⚠️ TV exposure typically causes a surge in visitors. Call ahead before you make the trip — especially for lunch on weekends.
Stop #2 · Daegu, North Gyeongsang Province
Kim Yongbin's pick lands the group in Sangin-dong, a residential neighborhood in Daegu's Dalseo District. Yangjishikdang (양지식당) is the kind of restaurant where regulars have their own unspoken table — a no-frills raw beef specialist that's been feeding the neighborhood long before any camera crew ever showed up.
📖 Mungteogi: Not Your Average Raw Beef
Mungteogi (뭉티기) — from the Gyeongsang dialect for "chunky" or "in big pieces" — is Korean raw beef cut thick and square rather than thin like yukhoe. You dip it in a coarse red pepper sauce and eat it as is. The texture is firm and almost chewy in a satisfying way; Kim Yongbin called it "not like meat at all — it's like a soft rice cake." Son Bina agreed. This dish exists almost exclusively in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, which is precisely what makes it worth a trip.
📌 Address
239 Wolgok-ro, Sangin-dong, Dalseo-gu, Daegu
📞 Phone
053-636-7293
🕔 Hours
Mon–Sat: 5:00 PM – Midnight
Saturday: 5:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Closed Sundays
🍽️ Menu
⚠️ Yangjishikdang fills up fast on a normal night. Post-broadcast, expect a wait. Arriving right at 5 PM opening is your best bet.
The One-Day Road Trip That Covers Both
Hadong and Daegu sit roughly two hours apart by car through the southern Korean countryside — which makes this a very achievable two-stop food trip. Here's how to structure the day:
10:00 AM
Arrive at Haong, Hadong. Order the full Freshwater Clam & Crab Set Meal. Sit by the Seomjin River if you can — it sets the mood completely.
Afternoon
Drive to Daegu. About two hours northeast along scenic inland routes. Use the time for a slow detour through Jirisan or stop at a roadside convenience store for coffee and a snack.
5:00 PM
Arrive at Yangjishikdang, Daegu. Queue up at opening time. Order mungteogi, yangjiodduragi grill, and gopchang hot pot. Let dinner stretch.
Reader Questions, Answered
Q
Can I visit Haong without a reservation?
Lunch hours (10 AM–3 PM) are walk-in, but expect a longer wait after the broadcast. Evening dining requires a group reservation — call 055-882-3457 in advance if you're coming after 3 PM.
Q
How is mungteogi different from yukhoe (Korean beef tartare)?
Yukhoe is shredded thin, usually dressed with sesame oil, Asian pear, and pine nuts. Mungteogi is cut into chunky cubes and served with a coarse red pepper dipping sauce — nothing else. The texture is noticeably chewier and the flavor more straightforwardly beefy. It's a regional specialty that rarely appears outside Daegu and North Gyeongsang.
Q
Where can I watch Episode 296 with English subtitles?
The episode airs on TV Joseon and is available for replay on TVING and Naver TV. For English subtitles, check platforms that curate Korean TV content for international audiences — availability varies by region. The show airs every Sunday at 10 PM KST.
The Short Version
Episode 296 works because it doesn't just show you good food — it shows you why that food matters to the people eating it. Son Bina's attachment to Haong isn't about a trendy restaurant; it's about sitting at a table her family has been returning to for ten years. Kim Yongbin's love for mungteogi is the kind of thing that's almost impossible to explain until you try it yourself.
Haong in Hadong offers one of the few places in Korea where you can eat truly wild-caught Seomjin River ingredients in a setting that hasn't been polished for tourists. Yangjishikdang in Daegu is the rare raw beef spot that earns its reputation through consistency rather than hype.
Both restaurants are worth the trip on their own. Together — with a two-hour drive between them — they make for one of the better food day trips in southern Korea. Just check opening hours before you go.
Tags
#BaekbanGiyaeng296
#KimYongbin
#SonBina
#MrTrot3
#HadongFood
#Haong
#FreshwaterClamKorea
#DaeguMungteogi
#Yangjishikdang
#KoreanFoodTravel
#GopchangHotPot
#HeoYoungman
#TVJoseon
#SeomjinRiverFood
#DaeguLocalFood
#KoreanHomeCooking
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