TLDR; It's a basic meal and I don't really understand the hype, but I liked the atmosphere! LOTS OF PHOTOS ATTACHED! I went here on a cold Saturday morning, and at 11:30am it was already busy outside. It's confusing as a foreigner coming here for the first time, but you need to briefly go in and tell them how many people are in your group. Put up your fingers if your don't know Korean. They then give you a plastic number card, and you wait to be called. They call out all of the numbers in Korean, but there's also a sign board with the numbers. It's a little difficult to see in bright sunlight, but it's possible. The line goes quick, and there were 25 numbers in front of us when we came, and we were inside in 25 minutes. This place is massive. Three big floors with tons of tables. I was really surprised with the size of the place and I liked how busy it was. Lots of chatter and character. It's certainly not changed much in 20 years or so. We were sat on the third floor. It's very humid with all of the boiling water around you. It's clearly VERY popular with Koreans, and a comfort food of sorts. You get sat down and get asked if you want the only item on the menu, the 닭한마리 (Dak han mari, literally translates to one chicken lol). You're also asked if you want extras (사리, or sari) and you can add 떡, tteok, 감자, potatoes, 국수, noodle soup, etc. The menu isn't complicated and they give you a receipt in front of you which they update with whatever you order. Kimchi and water are self serve, with kimchi in a massive pot which you ladle out into a bowl, and water jugs which you fill from the machine. The kimchi is homemade, and it's.... OK. I've had better kimchi many times, and it lacks spice. They also don't cut it up a lot, so ifs in big chunks. They arrive shortly after you order with the chicken. Don't worry about cooking it, they'll do that part for you. They turn on the gas, cut up the whole chicken for you and you essentially just wait 10-15 mins for it to cook. Remember to put in your tteok as soon as they start boiling the chicken so it's ready at the same time! We forgot, lol. A big part of this restaurant is their homemade sauce. It's a red chilli paste which is very spicy and very bitter. You need to put a dollop in the small plate you get, then mix with a good squirt of vinegar (white bottle) and soy sauce (black bottle). Also mix in the onion paste they give you, and the sauce is much better. You'll need this sauce, too! Onto the food itself. It's.... Boiled chicken. No spices added, no special flavour. The British are meant to be known for no spices in the their food, so this is just like home! It's very very basic, and for the price (28,000 for a chicken) it's overpriced to me. It's very average. It's literally exactly what you'd expect from boiling a chicken. You're meant to dip the chicken, potatoes and tteok in the sauce, and you really need to for any flavour. If you want, they also sell drinks like Coke or Fanta, or alcohol like beer, soju or Makgeolli. I love Makgeolli so I'd recommend it. It's a rice wine of sorts, but as someone who doesn't like wine, it's not similar personally. Much milkier and milder. Overall, I feel this place has been hyped (as is usual) by Korean TV and YouTube. It's traditional and it's basic but there's a lot better food for the price you pay here, especially as it's located directly next to GwangJang Market!!

This is such an authentic dish and I highly recommend trying. The place is very busy especially during dinner and is popular amongst tourists. Recommend getting noodles after you have finished but still have broth left. I recommend visiting this store.

They only serve one dish which is their signature chicken. It's basically chicken cooked in their special broth. The waiters will serve you the chicken the minute after you sat down. They will also help you cut it into bite size pieces. It's slightly salty and super tender and succulent. I would recommend you having the chicken with the soysauce and garlic. It's quite hot in there as we went there in summer and they didn't have air conditioning. So I would recommend you come here in the cooler months. I would also recommend their noodles which goes perfectly with the chicken broth.

Sharing, we were here 1st, but as a tourist, we didn't know the need to take number tag. Then the staff also never informed us. Just ask us to stand outside in the cold. The locals pushed us and went in to grab the number tags. He didn't share a very rowdy attitude and went in before us even though they were later. Service is bad, so don't expect much. So here is the tip, go in and grab the number tag. After you go in, the chair can open up and put your items inside. So u don't need to leave your belongings on floor. The chicken not bad, for the size of 1 chicken and the big pot of soup for 28,000 won I feel price point is ok! You can only add noodles after the chicken is finished. We didn't try the noodles. Overall food is ok. The place is very packed and squeeze so if you have many bags I suggest don't go.

Three stories of pure chicken horror and a blessing to people. Absolutely delicious chicken soup and it's the only dish served here. It seems the ratio is 1 chicken for 2 people. You'll have to make you own little dipping sauce from the condiments on your table. Chili paste, white vinegar, soy sauce, pepper, mustard. Don't forget to add rice cakes, and you can add noodles too. But it's quite a lot. The staff speak some limited mandarin so you can get by with it (sorta). FYI: 1 chicken is 25,000krw. Rice cakes are 1,000krw/serving.

Weekday night dinner timing, super crowded, waiting time an hour or more. Male staff who throws rubbish was super rude, pushes other female patrons with his dirty gloves and hits anybody with his rolling bucket blocking his way. Food is alright, soup slightly bland. Chicken tender and well cooked. Overall, not really worth the wait and bad service staff.

This is a popular spot for foreigners. I believe it's part of their travel itinerary since this is one of the "old" restaurants in the Jongno area. Most of the tables were occupied by Japanese tourists when we were here. There's a wait for dinner, we waited about 20minutes before we got seated. I was lucky to come here with Korean friends who walked me through making the sauce - a combination of chili paste, vinegar, soy sauce and mustard. I am not a big sauce person but if you are, feel free to make you own concoction of sauce for dipping. The specialty is this boiled whole chicken in clear broth. The server cuts it in serving pieces. We waited for about 20minutes before the chicken cooked and was ready to eat. I enjoyed it not being dipped, the broth has so much flavor already. Lastly, we ordered guksu (knife cut noodles), added some kimchi into the broth and enjoyed the soup and noodles. It was delicious. No wonder people line up for this restaurant. Was it memorable? Not really.

I have seriously no idea why its so so crowded and whats the hype. Was having high expectations cos someone brought us and seeing the huge crowd, they should be doing something good isnt it. On the contrary till now, i was still wondering where they get the blessings from. Food was mediocre, just basically chicken in some sort of soup. I read that its a must to order the magical noodles and i'm still trying to figure this 1 out. The service was indeed magical. Each round we tried to order beef, rice or ask for bowls, it took very long for it to appear. Summary, once is enough. Never again. To me, it was a complete waste of my time.

I would totally eat this again and again. Traditional full of flavour chicken soup, with free flow of self service kimchi. I’d love the original taste of it, top with a half bowl of garlic. You can add in ur desired amt of chilli paste for ur preferred spicy taste. Chicken is totally tender & juicy. Noodles (added once only when you’re almost done) are springy and chewy. Service is totally fast here. For most who are unsure : Get seated, let the soup boil for about 8-12mins later, and enjoy the dish. Noodles are ordered & added (at the end) only once because it would make the soup starchy.

First time in Seoul and a friend that lives here said we had to eat here as it is one of his favorite restaurants. We enjoyed every minute of it! Fun experience, delicious food. Also, for foreigners (or at least Americans) it is authentic Korean, but not too odd or different tasting, I’d bet most people would like this. It’s truly just a really tasty chicken soup! Hearty and refreshing.

Crowded with local so it must be good. It turn out to be really good and luckily I don’t have to wait long. They only serv whole chicken hot pot. Nice soup, nice sauce and the chicken melting in your mouth.

Huge line up on this so called old 1978 original Chicken restaurant. So we lined up and try it out. Chicken soup and food were almost tasteless, no flavour at all. Ordered beer and they are not ice cold, room temperature beer. Super packed with people, and atmosphere was hot, air condition not strong enough. Overall 2 stars, not sure what's the hype and not worth the line up.

They must be doing something right about the chicken here. Otherwise how can there be 4 entire floors filled to the bream with patrons during dinner time. Turns out that the menu is really simple, you get a hotpot of chicken that just boils along and you order lots of simple sides to go with it. Really no frills and cheap drinks, no wonder it’s so popular. Is the chicken broth any good? Yes it’s simple, hearty and goes well with the rice cakes and noodles.

I've been to SK 3 times and I've been here every single time. Very delicious chicken hot pot, the broth is absolutely gold and the chicken is so succulent and full of flavour. Everyone needs to come at least once. It's always busy and that's the perfect testament of how good this restaurant is.

Food was good when you could get it. Waited 40 mins to be seated. Restaurant is hot from food cooking on tables but they have windows open. Get your own water and kimchi. Took about 30 mins to get a soda. Our waiter answered “later” to every request and let our pot run dangerously low on water. However, when all was said and done the food was good, the noodles chewy, and we left satisfied.

Long queue but worth it. Tender chicken with delicious noodles. Staff are too busy to serve you however. Cola and beer are at room temperature.

A whole chicken (not fully cooked) was placed into the pot with simple soup base. The chicken was then fully cooked in the broth for about 10 minutes. The broth was light and you can add pepper, soy sauce or chilli paste to it. You can mix your sauce with the condiments provided - mustard, vinegar, chilli paste and soy sauce. When you are done with the chicken, order the homemade noodles. The noodles texture was amazing Q. Cooked together with the balance of the soup, perfect!

Simple, whole chicken soup. The broth is to die for…This has to be one of the best chicken soup restaurants around. Very friendly staff. Fresh chicken. Incredible broth. Just do it!

Chicken Soup and Nian Gao is the key here. Minimum order of 1 whole chicken per 2 pax. Service is very fast. The chicken is drop raw into the soup to cook, looks very good after it's cooked. The potato and chicken makes the broth clear and delicious to my soul. Rice cakes is a must as it soaks up the delicious taste of the soup. Chicken is tender and fresh for sure. The kimchi and water is free flow so you have to take it yourself. Price is $29 per chicken so it's quite steep. Soup is worth it. It's get pretty crazy crowded at dinner time

This was highly recommended by our concierge at JW Marriott to give them a try, and it turned out - we came back 3x before we left Seoul! Get there early, or you'll have to wait. The soup was very flavorful, and with the rice cake and the udon noodles - it was absolutely one of the best comfort food there - especially in the cold weather! I will come back just to have this chicken soup!

Google’s suggested opening hours do not seem accurate - we went there on a Thursday night around 22:00 and was told last order was at 23:30pm. Google currently suggests the store closes at 22:00 everyday. The chicken was so tender. Broth was super good too. The signature red sauce was superb! Not too spicy. Remember to add rice cakes or noodles.

I was blown away with how busy they were (3 floors and they were packed solid)but were able to deliver food to us in seconds. I had one of the best experiences here. They only do one thing... and they do it well. Chicken soup... make sure you learn how to mix your sauce (that's key) also they have many items yoy can add to yoyr broth as the chicken is cooking .. they will even top up your broth is yoy need more. Side dishes were delicious and plentiful . Make sure you have a few beverages too!!

닭한마리 (Dak Han Ma Ri) One Chicken Soup. Koreans love their chicken and its almost unheard of to order half a chicken. Think about their Ginseng Chicken Soup and you know what I mean. This is a lesser known chicken soup to tourists (as compared to Samyetang) but quite popular to the locals here. They actually have a food area dedicated to just selling this dish. It is a whole chicken in a chicken broth slowly cooked with potato and rice cake (additional order) added in. At the end of the meal, just like always, carbs are recommended for the ending. Kalguksu (knife cut noodles) are my choice. One can adjust the level of spice with the Gochugaru as well.

This chicken soup is quite good! It is NOT ginseng chicken soup, but it is very tasty in its own right. You can also add chili, kimchi, vinegar and soy sauce to taste. The chicken is soft and tender. Even the breast meat is quite juicy. Would recommend to stop by if you are in the vicinity. Just a note: you have to order at least 1 chicken every 2 pax. That means that if there’s 3 of you, you need to order at least 2 chickens. So try to go in pairs. The place is quite big, so the queue moves pretty fast

Chicken boiled in garlic and spring onion. Soup is delicious. Eat the chicken with blinded chilli and light sauce. If you are a good drinker, can also order beer.

This place has become such a tourist favorite that it's almost impossible to get good seating unless you pop in there on a tuesday afternoon at around 4PM. Otherwise, this time also fluctuates in quality, and I guess it really depends on the chicken they use that day. This time it was so rich and creamy and delicious. Highly recommend, order the tteok and the noodles afterwards (it's a must!)

Simply the best place for wholesome authentic chicken soup. The whole chicken is cookrd in front of you with simple ingredients such as potatoes, rice cakes. Make your own sauce to taste using garlic, soysauce, vinegar and chilli paste. The whole chicken is really not that big, good enough for 2. My secret recipe for a tasty chicken soup with a kick is too add the some rice wine. Guaranteed an unforgettable taste while keeping you warm in the cold winter.

I visited every time I'm in Seoul and yes I will go back here whenever I have a chance. Really love chicken soup

It just ok. Very unkind.

Good restaurant with good food flavor. I’ve come to eat in many times. Very good business everyday, so it’s normal to wait, even though there are three floors. If not lucky, you could wait for more than an hour. Not just only do tourists come to eat here, but many local people also do. You can say this is one of the places in Dongdaemun region that people must visit. The base of the soup with chicken is $22,000. Customers can still order rice cake, noodles and beverages additionally.