Mulhoe (물회)

Chilled raw-fish soup in tangy broth — a coastal summer dish.

Korean name: 물회
Spice level: Medium
Flavor: tangy · refreshing
Typically contains: raw fish
Vegetarian / vegan: Not vegetarian — meat or seafood is core to the dish
Typical price: ₩15,000–₩30,000 per person checked 2026-07 — varies by area
Good to know: Beginner-friendly ●●○○○ Solo dining ●●○○○ Kid-friendly ●●○○○
Also written as: mul hoe, mulhwe, cold raw fish soup

Spice and flavor are editorial assessments of the standard version — individual restaurants and recipes vary. Ingredient notes are typical, not guaranteed: always check with the restaurant for allergies or dietary needs. Eating and cooking notes describe common practice in Korea; our first-hand deep-dives live in the Eat Like a Local guides.

What is Mulhoe?

Mulhoe is raw fish as cold soup: sashimi strips, crisp vegetables and ice cubes in a sweet-tangy gochujang broth you drink as much as eat. Born as a fisherman's deck meal on the east coast, it's now the definitive Korean beach-town summer lunch — Pohang, Sokcho and Jeju all claim the best bowl.

How to eat it

Stir well, eat the fish and vegetables first, then pour in rice or somyeon for round two.
Drink the broth from the bowl — it's designed as a drinkable dish.
Eat it fast while the ice holds; warm mulhoe is a sad thing.

Good to know

Raw fish rules apply despite the soup format.
Sweetness varies by region — Jeju style (doenjang-based) reads totally different from mainland gochujang style.

Originally fishermen dumping water on leftover sashimi — necessity that became a genre.

Seen on Screen

This food appears in popular Korean dramas and movies — every connection verified and sourced.

When Life Gives You Tangerines (폭싹 속았수다, 2025) — The haenyeo divers' cold raw-fish soup belongs to the same Jeju coast the story inhabits. (Theme connection.)

Theme connection — not a specific-scene claim

Nutrition

Calories	76 kcal
Carbohydrate	7.9 g
Protein	4.91 g
Fat	2.7 g
Sodium	299 mg

Per serving (~700g): ≈532 kcal · sodium ≈2,093 mg (105% of the WHO daily guideline, 2,000 mg)

Per 100g · total serving 700g · Official data: National Integrated Food Nutritional Information Standard Data (Korea MFDS) (DB item: 물회, synced 2026-07-17). Values vary by recipe and portion.