Chungmu-jip Dodari Mugwort Soup: Euljiro’s Spring Bowl from Tongyeong Seafood

Chungmu-jip’s Dodari Mugwort Soup is one of those seasonal Korean dishes that makes spring feel concrete: a warm bowl built around fresh dodari, fragrant mugwort, and the seafood-focused cooking of a long-running Euljiro restaurant. The dish drew renewed attention after MBC’s “Today N” featured a Seoul Jung-gu dodari mugwort soup restaurant in its “Halmae Sikdang” segment on March 26, 2026, highlighting owner Kim Man-suk’s 30 years of cooking the soup and the use of fresh dodari sent directly from Tongyeong with mugwort grown in sea breeze conditions.¹

For readers discovering the dish in English, Dodari Mugwort Soup may sound simple at first: fish, greens, broth. But in Korean food culture, dodari and mugwort together point to a very specific spring mood. Dodari is associated with seasonal seafood eating, while mugwort brings a grassy, herbal aroma that softens the richness of the soup. Chungmu-jip is frequently discussed in that context: a seafood and fish restaurant at 30-14 Eulji-ro 3-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, where dodari mugwort soup is listed as a seasonal menu item and visitors are advised to check with the restaurant before going.²

Chungmu-jip Dodari Mugwort Soup and Its Spring Identity

What makes Chungmu-jip’s version especially easy to understand is the way multiple sources frame it: not as a year-round comfort soup, but as a spring dish with a clear seasonal identity. EAT PICK lists dodari mugwort soup as a limited seasonal menu item, while another restaurant information post separately notes dodari mugwort soup and dodari mugwort soup with sea squirt rice as spring seasonal offerings.²³

That matters because the appeal of the bowl is closely tied to timing. In Korean seasonal cooking, spring ingredients often lean bright and aromatic rather than heavy. Mugwort, known in Korean as ssuk, contributes the green fragrance. Dodari brings the mild, clean character of flatfish. A 2019 Korea Economic Daily article described Chungmu-jip as using seafood that comes up daily from Tongyeong and identified dodari mugwort soup as a signature menu. It also described the dish as a South Coast seasonal food made with dodari and wild sea mugwort in a doenjang-based broth.⁴

That doenjang base is an important detail. It gives the soup a savory foundation without turning it into something overly thick or stew-like. The fish and mugwort remain the focus, while the fermented soybean paste helps connect the ocean flavor of the seafood with the earthier aroma of the greens. If you are used to Korean soups built around stronger chili heat, this one sits in a different lane: gentle, fragrant, and ingredient-led.

Why This Euljiro Restaurant Keeps Appearing on Food Programs

Chungmu-jip has not been a one-time media mention. Its broadcast history appears across several restaurant listings and articles. EAT PICK lists appearances including “Today N” episode 2684, “6 O’Clock My Hometown” episode 8251, “Tasty Guys” episode 373, and “Heo Young-man’s Food Travel” episode 94.² A separate restaurant information post also lists broadcast mentions including “6 O’Clock My Hometown,” “Tasty Guys,” “Heo Young-man’s Food Travel,” “Live Today,” and “2TV Live Info.”³

The 2026 “Today N” clip adds a more current media marker. VODA’s MBC clip page for the March 26, 2026 episode 2684 includes the dodari mugwort soup segment under a title that translates naturally as “Meeting spring early in the city: dodari mugwort soup full of spring fragrance.” The clip is listed as 3 minutes and 45 seconds, with MBC and iMBC named as the copyright holders.⁵

Older coverage also helps show that Chungmu-jip’s spring pairing of dodari mugwort soup and sea squirt bibimbap has been part of its public reputation for years. On March 21, 2019, Maeil Shinmun reported that KBS2’s “2TV Live Info” introduced the Euljiro restaurant Chungmu-jip, noting that seasonal dodari mugwort soup and sea squirt bibimbap appeared in the “They Fell For It: Strongest Restaurants” segment. The article also gave the address as 30-14 Eulji-ro 3-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul.⁶

For a reader planning around this dish, the repeated television attention is useful mainly because it confirms the restaurant’s association with the menu. It does not mean every item is always available. The more practical takeaway is that dodari mugwort soup is seasonal, and at least one restaurant information page specifically recommends contacting the restaurant before visiting.²

How to Think About the Bowl Before You Go

If you are new to dodari mugwort soup, the easiest way to approach it is as a spring seafood soup rather than a generic fish soup. The dish is not only about dodari; it is about the meeting of dodari and mugwort. The fish gives body and delicacy, while mugwort gives the aroma that makes the soup feel seasonal. In the sources available, Chungmu-jip’s version is repeatedly tied to Tongyeong seafood, spring mugwort, and a South Coast style of eating.¹⁴

Chungmu-jip is categorized as a seafood and fish restaurant, and its location in Seoul’s Jung-gu places it within the Euljiro area that many diners already associate with older restaurants, after-work meals, and straightforward Korean food culture.² The broader food-program attention around the restaurant also includes sea squirt bibimbap, another dish connected to coastal flavors, which helps explain why dodari mugwort soup fits naturally into the restaurant’s identity rather than feeling like a standalone novelty.⁶

Chungmu-jip Dodari Mugwort Soup Tongyeong seafood Euljiro guide

In the end, Chungmu-jip’s Dodari Mugwort Soup stands out because it brings a South Coast spring dish into central Seoul with a clear seasonal story. Fresh dodari, mugwort, a doenjang-based broth, and repeated broadcast attention all point to the same idea: this is a bowl best understood as a short-season taste of spring, worth checking for availability before making it the reason for a trip.