Category: Jongno
-
Korean Traditional Dessert Cafe in Insadong: DAMCCOT and Its Rare Sweets
If you want to try Korean traditional sweets that are hard to find anywhere else, this is my favorite spot in the neighbourhood. DAMCCOT (담장옆에국화꽃) is a korean traditional dessert cafe in Insadong where you can sit down to a plate of yakgwa, juak, yanggaeng and baked rice cakes, paired with a pot of warm…
-
Does Bukchon Hanok Village Close? Official 2026 Visiting Hours
Planning to see Bukchon Hanok Village? There’s one important rule to know before you go: the busiest part of the village now has official visiting hours for tourists, with a fine for visiting after hours. It’s a response to over-tourism, and it’s easy to comply with once you understand it. Here’s what the rule is,…
-
Things to Do in Ikseon-dong: A Local’s Guide to Seoul’s Prettiest Hanok Alley
Tucked into central Seoul, Ikseon-dong is a maze of narrow alleys lined with restored hanok (traditional Korean houses) turned into restaurants, cafes and shops. It’s often compared to Bukchon, but it feels different — less a museum-piece village and more a lived-in neighborhood you eat and wander your way through. Here’s a local’s guide to…
-
A French Restaurant in Ikseon-dong: Authentic French in a Hanok at Paris Gaok
Ikseon-dong is known for its Korean food and cafes, so here’s a surprise: one of the most interesting meals on the street is French. Paris Gaok is a French restaurant in Ikseon-dong where authentic French cooking — by a French chef — is served inside a traditional Korean hanok. It’s a genuinely unusual pairing, and…
-
Shabu Shabu in Ikseon-dong: Oncheonjip’s Doenjang Hot Pot
Right in the middle of Ikseon-dong’s hanok alleys is one of the neighborhood’s most reliably packed restaurants: Oncheonjip, a shabu shabu specialist that’s held a Blue Ribbon every year since 2021. For shabu shabu in Ikseon-dong — cook-it-yourself hot pot with an unusually deep, savory soybean-paste broth — this is the spot locals queue for.…
-
Samgyetang in Jongno: 30 Years of Ginseng Chicken Soup at Jangsu Samgyetang
When you need warming up from the inside out, few Korean dishes beat samgyetang — and for samgyetang in Jongno, Jangsu Samgyetang is a reliable old hand. It’s been in the same spot for over 30 years, a minute from Jongno 3-ga Station, serving a rich, clean ginseng chicken soup that locals swear by. One…
-
A Modern Korean Restaurant in Ikseon-dong: Ikseon Aetteut
If you want Korean food that feels both familiar and new, Ikseon Aetteut is a lovely pick. It’s a modern Korean restaurant in Ikseon-dong — the menu calls itself “casual Korean” — taking everyday Korean flavors and reimagining them, then plating everything beautifully on artful ceramics. Set in a hanok with a little garden inside,…
-
Sotbap in Ikseon-dong: Eggplant Pot Rice at Damsot
Korean sotbap — rice cooked and served in a hot stone or metal pot, piled with toppings — is one of the most comforting meals you can have, and Damsot does one of the best versions in Ikseon-dong. Its signature is eggplant pot rice, heaped so high the eggplant almost spills over. If you want…
-
Signature R: An Ikseon-dong Roastery Cafe in a Modern Hanok
Ikseon-dong’s cafes are mostly small and about the vibe; Signature R is a bit different. It’s a hanok roastery cafe — coffee is the main event here — and it’s unusually roomy for the neighborhood, with sleek modern interiors wrapped around a traditional courtyard. If you want a serious coffee in a hanok that doesn’t…
-
The Prettiest Ikseon-dong Hanok Cafe: Mongblanc Som and Its Misty Courtyard
Some cafes you go to for the coffee; others you go to for the setting. Mongblanc Som is firmly the second kind — a small, photogenic Ikseon-dong hanok cafe built around a courtyard where cooling fog drifts up between the tiled roofs. If you want the prettiest spot for a photo and a slice of…
-
The Best Ikseon-dong Dessert: Angbutter and Korean Ice Cream at Seoul Coffee
Ikseon-dong is wall-to-wall cafes, so it helps to know which ones are worth it. Seoul Coffee is a hanok cafe that’s earned its reputation on two things: angbutter toast and rich, distinctly Korean ice cream. If you’re after a memorable Ikseon-dong dessert, this is a reliable pick — and it’s right at the entrance to…
-
An Ikseon-dong Cafe for Coffee by Day and Cocktails by Night: Sikmul
Ikseon-dong is full of hanok cafes, and they come and go constantly — but Sikmul has stayed. It’s one of the neighborhood’s largest and longest-standing cafes, and one of the few that shifts from a relaxed daytime coffee spot into a cocktail bar at night. For an Ikseon-dong cafe with room to breathe and a…
-
Salt Bread in Seoul: Ikseon-dong’s Famous Jayeondo Sogeumppang
If you’ve seen a long line in the hanok alleys of Ikseon-dong, there’s a good chance it’s for salt bread. Jayeondo Sogeumppang is the most famous place for salt bread in Seoul — they bake 7,000 a day and still sell out — and it’s become one of Ikseon-dong’s signature stops. Here’s what makes it…
-
Pyongyang Naengmyeon in Seoul: Woolaeok, Running Since 1946
Ask Koreans about pyongyang naengmyeon and you’ll get strong opinions. It’s the cold noodle dish people either revere or find baffling — famously seum-seum, meaning so subtle it can taste like nothing at first. Woolaeok, in Euljiro, has been making it since 1946, holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand every year from 2022 to 2026, and…
-
Bingsu in Seoul: Seasonal Korean Shaved Ice at Bubing, Bukchon
If you’re looking for bingsu in Seoul — Korea’s mountainous shaved-ice dessert — the version worth planning around isn’t in a chain cafe. It’s in a tiny hanok in Bukchon, where Bubing has been making seasonal bingsu long enough to earn a spot on Korean food TV and a permanent queue outside its door. First,…
