Pyongyang Onban, favored by the Korean nation, is one of the four famous foods in Pyongyang well-known from olden times. Onban is cooked rice with mung-bean pancake, chicken and panbroiled mushroom in hot chicken soup, which is sprinkled with salt, not spice and soy sauce.

As this food had been regarded as an ordinary one in the nation's dietary life from the period of the Three Kingdoms (early 3rd century B.C.-middle 7th century A.D.) ago, it was not particularly recorded on old documents dating back to the periods of the Three Kingdoms and Koryo (918-1392).

In the 19th century, the last period of the feudal Joson dynasty (1392-1910), professional cookbooks were published amid the growing interest in culinary culture, and data on Onban came to be recorded from that time on.

In the past, the Pyongyangites regarded Onban as food for feasts and holidays.

Pyongyang Onban contains much physiological activators such as essential amino acid, carbohydrate and vitamins and has medical effects like strengthening nutrition, lowering cholesterol and preventing aging.

The method of cooking this food was registered as a local intangible cultural heritage of Pyongyang in Juche 105 (2016).

Thanks to the policy of the Workers' Party of Korea on conserving the national cultural heritages, educational units of public catering sector like Pyongyang Jang Chol Gu University of Commerce have carried forward how to cook Pyongyang Onban.