8 Chaebol Chairman Favorites: From Humble Gomtang to the Chicken & Beer Summit

In Korea, the restaurants where chaebol chairmen eat are a perennial obsession. But when you actually stack up the reported list, one thing jumps out: nothing here is expensive. A ₩18,000 bowl of beef soup, a summer-only kongguksu joint, a basement pasta house. These are the places people worth billions of dollars have been eating at for forty years.

This list only includes spots backed by news reports, public statements, or broadcast footage. Unverified online rumors are collected separately in the last section.

The confirmed classics — where the founding families actually ate

These three come up most often, across the most outlets. Start here.

Hadonggwan — the gomtang house where Kim Seung-youn would roll in with his luggage

A hanwoo beef gomtang specialist that started in Suha-dong in 1939 and moved to Myeongdong in 2007. Before his health declined, Hanwha Group chairman Kim Seung-youn made a habit of coming here straight from the airport after overseas trips, suitcase and all. Kim Hee-young, Hadonggwan’s owner, told the Herald Economy in a 2014 interview: “Sometimes his secretary picks it up, but mostly he comes alone, keeps a low profile, eats, and leaves.”

Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul was also known to be a regular, earning the place its nickname: the chaebol confessional. Former president Kim Dae-jung, former prime minister Lee Hae-chan, and the late entertainer Song Hae are also counted among its longtime regulars.

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Jinju Hoegwan — Lee Kun-hee’s summer kongguksu, the place his son picked up takeout

A kongguksu specialist tucked into an alley in Seosomun, near City Hall Station. The late Samsung chairman Lee Kun-hee is known to have sought out this kongguksu every summer, but the more famous story involves his son. Back in September 2002, when Samsung’s headquarters was still in Taepyeong-ro, then-executive Lee Jae-yong reportedly walked into the shop himself and said, “My father’s been asking for it — could you pack up some kongguksu for me?”

Kongguksu is ₩16,000. It’s a summer-only menu — show up in winter and you’ll be out of luck. In the off-season, the kitchen pivots to seokkeo-jjigae and kimchi-jjigae.

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La Cantina — the off-menu “Samsung Set”

Basement level of the Samsung Building, Euljiro 1-ga Station. Opened in 1967, this is Korea’s first Italian restaurant, and Samsung founder Lee Byung-chul was a regular back when the company’s headquarters sat right upstairs in Euljiro.

The “Samsung Set” still exists — you just won’t find it on the menu. It’s a classic course: onion soup → garlic bread → linguine vongole → salad → steak → dessert, the exact sequence Lee Byung-chul used to order. Just ask for it.

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Eulmildae — the regular who bought 20 air conditioners

A Pyongyang naengmyeon shop tucked into an alley in Mapo’s Yeomni-dong for over 40 years. This was the late LG Group chairman Koo Bon-moo’s spot, and the story that cemented its legend in Korean business circles: in 2011, he had all 20 air conditioners in the restaurant replaced in one go.

Koo is also said to have enjoyed the daegu-gan-guk (cod liver soup) at Kisara, the in-house Japanese restaurant at LG Twin Towers in Yeouido. When he stepped outside the office, though, it was Eulmildae.

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Where does this generation of tycoons eat?

If the founding generation gravitated toward old-school institutions, today’s chairmen lean more casual. And when the moment hits social media, the restaurant itself becomes a tourist attraction.

Kkanbu Chicken — the Jensen Huang, Lee Jae-yong, and Chung Eui-sun chimaek summit

On October 30, 2025, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang, Samsung Electronics chairman Lee Jae-yong, and Hyundai Motor Group chairman Chung Eui-sun sat down at Kkanbu Chicken in Gangnam’s Samsung-dong for about 70 minutes of fried chicken and beer. What happened after the photos went viral is even more interesting.

Kkanbu Chicken took the exact combo the three men ordered — crispy six-pack + crispy boneless chicken + cheese sticks — and turned it into a permanent menu item called the “AI Kkanbu Set.” The tagline: “The exact combination our chairmen ordered.” As of July 2026, it’s still featured on the company’s main website.

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Wonchang Sikdang — Chung Yong-jin’s “life-changing chicken gomtang”

A tiny baekban (home-style meal) joint in an alley of Seochon, Jongno. After word spread that Shinsegae Group chairman Chung Yong-jin called this his “life-changing chicken gomtang,” the menu name literally became “Life-Changing Chicken Gomtang” (인생닭곰탕). The price: ₩12,000. Cheapest of the eight spots in this article by a margin.

It got a second wave of attention in September 2025 when it appeared on MBN’s Jeon Hyun-moo Plan 2. Open from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., it’s also one of the rare spots on this list where you can grab an early breakfast.

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Pyeongyang Myeonok Jangchung — Park Yong-man’s “I-forgot-my-wallet” moment

Former Doosan Group chairman Park Yong-man once had lunch here with colleagues, realized he’d left his wallet behind, and — by his own account on Twitter — told the staff, “I’m the Doosan chairman, I’m so sorry, but…” and settled the tab later. Chung Yong-jin is also a known Pyongyang naengmyeon enthusiast, reportedly spotted at the Gangnam branch near Eulji Hospital and at Neungrado in Pangyo.

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Japyeo-wa Mukkeunji — the LG and GS owner-family raw fish gathering

A basement hoe (raw fish) house in Seocho-dong, first introduced in cartoonist Heo Young-man’s Sikgaek. LG chairman Koo Bon-moo visited in its early days, and former GS E&C president Huh Myung-soo is said to stop by from time to time. They serve wild-caught live fish from the waters off Sinjin-do, alongside doenjang (soybean paste) and aged kimchi.

Every seat is a private room, so reservations are essentially mandatory. This is the only spot on the list where the price leans high, but the lunch jeongsik at ₩28,000 brings the threshold way down.

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All 8 spots at a glance — price, hours, closed days

🏆 8 chaebol and celebrity-frequented restaurants in Seoul (as of July 2026 · prices subject to change)

Places with a midday break — Jinju Hoegwan (Sat 2–3 p.m.), La Cantina (3–5 p.m.), Japyeo-wa Mukkeunji (2–5 p.m.) — double-check your arrival time before heading out.

Rumors, myths, and unconfirmed stories

This topic attracts a lot of recycled claims without sources. Here are the ones that circulate most often.

Why don't billionaires eat at expensive restaurants?

Look at the full list and a pattern emerges. Old-school joints opened between the 1930s and 1960s, single-item menus, ₩12,000–₩28,000. A few reasons stack up.

• One thing, forty years — Hadonggwan does gomtang. Jinju Hoegwan does kongguksu. Eulmildae does naengmyeon. Their supply chains are locked into one lane. The taste doesn’t drift.
• They don’t want to be seen — As Hadonggwan’s owner said about Kim Seung-youn: “He keeps a low profile, eats, and leaves.” A working-class diner is quieter than a private dining room.
• They’re near the office — Hadonggwan, Jinju Hoegwan, and La Cantina are all walking distance from Samsung’s old Taepyeong-ro and Euljiro headquarters. Regulars are often just geography in action.
• Memory — For the founding generation, gomtang and naengmyeon are the foods of their younger years. This isn’t about price. It’s about time.