Here’s Where to Get Free Korean Rice Cake Soup on Jan. 1
We found three restaurants offering bowls of duk kuk to usher in the new year.
Photo: Diane Seo
Having duk kuk or rice cake soup is a must for Koreans on New Year’s Day. While Korea celebrates the start of the Lunar New Year, happening Jan. 29 in 2025, Korean Americans enjoy duk kuk on Jan. 1, the beginning of the calendar year. Eating at least a small serving of the soup—a mild beef broth with sliced rice disks, egg and meat—is thought to bring good luck, a fresh start and allow you to get a year older. While aspiring to age may seem counterintuitive, Koreans don’t question the longstanding tradition; they just make a point, wherever they are on New Year’s Day, to have the dish.
Personally, duk kuk is one of my go-to orders at Korean restaurants year-round. It’s the Korean equivalent of chicken soup, the ultimate comfort food.
SEE ALSO: 100-Plus Christmas and New Year’s Menus at O‘ahu Restaurants
We found three local Korean restaurants that provide a small bowl of the soup for free on Jan. 1, serving it to accompany whatever else is ordered. So, even if you’re not Korean, but want to partake in this tradition, here’s where to go to get it gratis.
Sorabol
1525 Rycroft St.
(808) 947-3113
Choi’s Garden
1303 Rycroft St.
(808) 596-9585
Korea Garden (one free bowl of duk kuk per table)
1683 Kalākaua Ave.
(808) 949-9909
