Emart24 Daebakgak Cup Ramen Duo Review [Korean Food]

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Emart24, one of Korea’s major convenience store chains, has a new pair of cup ramen made with Daebakgak, a Chinese restaurant in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province. Meet the Daebakgak Gochu Jjajang Ramen and Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen. Emart24 has been pushing chef collaborations hard lately, so this restaurant tie-up is its first in a while. The jjajang (black bean sauce noodles) gets its kick from Cheongyang chili, while the jjamppong (spicy noodle soup) leans on a wok-fired, smoky flavor. At 1,800 won each, the price is pretty reasonable. There’s also a buy-2-get-1 deal in September, and Emart24 has been launching quite a few ambitious cup noodles from late August into early September, so I picked these up right away. Let’s take a look.

Table of Contents

📋 At a Glance

Products: Daebakgak Gochu Jjajang Ramen, Daebakgak Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen
Store: Emart24 (a collaboration with Daebakgak, a Chinese restaurant in Ilsan, Gyeonggi Province)
Price: 1,800 won each (about 1,200 won each with September’s buy-2-get-1 deal)
Weight and calories: Gochu Jjajang 106 g, 460 kcal / Bulmat Jjamppong 104 g, 450 kcal
Sodium: Gochu Jjajang 62% of the daily recommended intake / Bulmat Jjamppong 90%
Main components: Gochu Jjajang — seasoning powder, noodles, dried toppings (green onion, potato, Cheongyang chili), made by Harim / Bulmat Jjamppong — seasoning powder, aromatic oil, noodles, dried toppings (green onion, imitation meat)
How to cook: Gochu Jjajang — add boiling water, wait 4 minutes 30 seconds, drain, and mix in the powder / Bulmat Jjamppong — 400 ml of water plus the powder, 2 minutes in a 1,000 W microwave, then add the oil
Verdict: ★4.0 — a chili-kissed jjajang and a smoky jjamppong, both worth their 1,800 won.

Daebakgak Gochu Jjajang Ramen: Price and Highlights

First up is the Daebakgak Gochu Jjajang Ramen. It costs 1,800 won, and as mentioned, there’s a buy-2-get-1 deal throughout September. This one reportedly adds the aroma of Cheongyang chili to a rich jjajang sauce for a spicy kick. The point isn’t simply heat from chili oil but a “sharp, rich, savory” flavor. I checked, and it’s produced by Harim.

Gochu Jjajang Ramen with Cheongyang chili

The total weight is 106 g, with 460 kcal and sodium at 62% of the daily recommended intake. Both the weight and calories seem just slightly lighter than a typical ramen. There’s no microwave step: pour in boiling water, wait 4 minutes 30 seconds, drain all but a tiny bit of water, then mix in the seasoning powder.

What’s Inside the Gochu Jjajang Cup

Before cooking, let’s check what’s inside. The setup is very simple. Open the lid and you’ll find the seasoning powder on top, then the noodles, with the dried toppings tucked underneath.

Collaboration with the Daebakgak Chinese restaurant

Since it’s a cup noodle that doesn’t go in the microwave, the noodles are quite thin. The toppings aren’t as plentiful as I expected. At a glance, green onion is basically the star. There’s also some dried potato and dried Cheongyang chili, though I’m not sure they add much. Ha.

Daebakgak Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen: Price and Highlights

Next is the Daebakgak Bulmat Jjamppong. Its concept is “a rich broth finished with smoky fire flavor.” Then again, other jjamppong ramen have been playing up that smoky flavor for a while now. Ha. So I suspect the jjajang is the real main act, and this one was released as its partner. Unlike the jjajang, though, this one seems to recommend microwave cooking.

Gochu Jjajang Ramen as a recommended pick

It weighs 104 g in total with 450 kcal, not far from the jjajang, and a touch lower in calories than other jjamppong ramen. Sodium, however, is fairly high at 90% of the daily recommended intake, perhaps because it’s a soup. To cook it, add the seasoning powder to 400 ml of water, microwave for 2 minutes at 1,000 W, and finish with the separate oil packet.

Features of Emart24's Chinese-style cup ramen

Customer reactions to the Daebakgak ramen

What’s Inside the Bulmat Jjamppong Cup

Let’s take a quick look inside this one too. Since it goes in the microwave, I removed the lid completely first. Inside, you’ll find two packets: seasoning powder and aromatic oil.

A spicy review of the Gochu Jjajang Ramen

The clean taste of the Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen

Although it’s microwaved, the noodles look the same as in the jjajang cup. There are slightly more toppings, but again, they’re almost all green onion. Ha. A few bits of imitation meat are mixed in here and there.

Rating the Daebakgak Gochu Jjajang flavor

Cooking the Gochu Jjajang Ramen

First, I poured in boiling water, waited 4 minutes 30 seconds, drained almost all of it, and mixed in the seasoning powder.

A review of Daebakgak's Chinese-style ramen

I thought I’d drained nearly all the water, yet the color isn’t as deep as I expected. You could use a little less water than directed, or since the noodles hold some water anyway, just drain it all at once before mixing. The sauce itself mixes in without clumping.

Restaurant-style features of the Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen

A special way to cook the Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen

Cooking the Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen

Next, I cooked the Bulmat Jjamppong. I poured the seasoning powder straight onto the noodles, added hot water, and microwaved it for 2 minutes at 1,000 W. Finally, I added the aromatic oil and stirred everything well.

The smoky flavor is surely in the powder too, but the aromatic oil seems to carry a good share of it. Once I loosened the noodles, a hearty spicy aroma rose up along with a strong smoky scent.

Taste Test: Gochu Jjajang Ramen

Let’s start with the Daebakgak Gochu Jjajang. I haven’t eaten at Daebakgak itself, but I once managed to try its gochu gan-jjajang meal kit. That dish is the restaurant’s signature, so I was curious how it would translate into a jjajang ramen. I grabbed a big mouthful right away.

Strictly speaking, as a jjajang ramen it can’t be 100% identical, but it recreates that sharp chili aroma remarkably well. Compared with other jjajang ramen you might usually eat, the flavor feels quite different, so you may be pleasantly surprised. Ha.

Despite the Cheongyang chili aroma, it isn’t very spicy, just pleasantly sharp. Compared with other “spicy jjajang ramen” released before, it’s easy to eat, which matters a lot to someone like me who can’t handle much heat. On top of that, the jjajang sauce has solid fundamentals and isn’t overly sweet, so you keep going back for more.

An Emart24 Gochu Jjajang Ramen recommendation

That said, don’t worry about leaving exactly 4 spoonfuls of water. The noodles keep a little water even after draining, so pour it all out in one go and then mix for a richer result. It lists at 1,800 won, but with the buy-2-get-1 deal it works out to 1,200 won, which I think is well worth it.

Taste Test: Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen

Next, the Bulmat Jjamppong. Since it was microwaved, the noodles were nice and soft. The smoky aroma was fairly strong, so I had quiet hopes for this one too. I took a big mouthful right away.

I’ve never had Daebakgak’s jjamppong, so it’s hard to judge accurately. The heat level isn’t much different from other jjamppong ramen, and it really feels like a menu that puts everything into that smoky flavor. Ha. Even before drinking much of the broth, the smokiness was already filling my mouth.

The broth has almost no sweetness and tastes quite refreshing, with a fairly strong green onion aroma. Between the smoky flavor and the clean broth, it seemed perfect for dropping in some rice. Ha. Of course, the sodium is high, so go easy on it.

Final Verdict: A Jjajang-and-Jjamppong Duo Worth the Price

For this review, I ate both at once, and it felt a bit like ordering jjamjjamyeon, the half-jjajang, half-jjamppong combo at Korean-Chinese restaurants. Trying them together is a nice way to go. With the buy-2-get-1 deal, you can also pick an extra jjajang or jjamppong. Ha. Both felt worth their price and had solid basic flavors, so I enjoyed them both. If you’re in Korea, grabbing one of each is an easy way to settle the classic jjajang-or-jjamppong dilemma.

A customer review of the Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen

For more on these two cup ramen made with Ilsan’s Daebakgak and the September buy-2-get-1 deal, see this (Korean source) Metro Seoul report on Emart24’s exclusive ramen campaign.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. How much are the Emart24 Daebakgak cup ramen?

Both the Gochu Jjajang and the Bulmat Jjamppong cost 1,800 won. With the buy-2-get-1 deal running through September, that works out to about 1,200 won each.

Q. Is the Daebakgak Gochu Jjajang Ramen very spicy?

Not really. It captures the sharp aroma of Cheongyang chili, but the heat is mild, so even spice-shy eaters can handle it. The sauce isn’t too sweet either, which keeps you coming back for more.

Q. How do you cook the Bulmat Jjamppong Ramen?

Add 400 ml of water and the seasoning powder, microwave for 2 minutes at 1,000 W, then stir in the aromatic oil. The broth is smoky and refreshing, great with rice, but sodium reaches 90% of the daily recommended intake.

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