This noodle dish is perfect for the hottest days of summer. Naengmyeon is easy to digest and cooling to eat. A dough made from buckwheat and potato flour is cut into slender noodles and boiled while very fresh. The strained noodles are added to a chilled broth made of chicken stock or water from dong chimi (winter white water kimchi). It is garnished with sliced beef or pork, a boiled half egg, slices of of Asian pear, sliced sour kimchi, and sliced cucumber. Sometimes sauce can be added, which is made of pepper paste, pepper powder, soy sauce, chopped onions, garlic, and vinegar.

Naengmyeon is typically associated with North Korea, especially the cities of Pyongyang and Hamhung, from which the two most famous varieties are said to come.