Firsthand stories from Korea, in ten languages

Local places and Korean products, reviewed by the people who actually went and tried.

Restaurants, cafés and salons across Korea — every story by a blogger who actually went, linked to Google Maps.

Baegot Korean BBQ in Siheung with kids, marbled pork set: Ssosam 208

Ssosam 208 Siheung Baegot Branch is a pork belly restaurant in the Baegot neighborhood of Siheung, Gyeonggi, where staff grill the meat from start to finish. After a trip to Siheung Premium Outlets, the writer visited with her children and ordered the Handon (Korean pork) Marbled Basic Set at 47,000 won, adding pork kimchi stew, mul-naengmyeon (cold noodle soup) and Paldo Bibimmyeon. Never picking up the tongs meant she could focus on the kids, which made Ssosam 208 an easy choice for a family meal.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored

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Songpa, SeoulRestaurants

Korean BBQ in Bangi-dong, Seoul: garlic marinated beef at Sutbul

Sutbul Ryuhwa Bangi Branch is an Andong-style garlic marinated beef (maneul jumulleok) restaurant on the Bangi food alley in Songpa, Seoul. On a Saturday at 8pm the order was 150g garlic marinated galbisal (short rib) at 17,900 won, 160g garlic marinated anchangsal (skirt steak) at 34,000 won, seafood doenjang sulbap and Ryuhwa beef kkakji fried rice, with the galbisal aged 72 hours in bamboo salt, coated in garlic seasoning and grilled over charcoal. A solid Korean BBQ pick for a Bangi-dong group dinner that wants something beyond samgyeopsal or plain beef.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored
Cheongju, ChungbukCafés

Bihadong, Cheongju rice cake shop with 5-color songpyeon: Tteokmidang

Tteokmidang is a rice cake shop in Bihadong, Cheongju, Chungbuk, that specializes in wholesale and bulk orders. Even so, Tteokmidang sells songpyeon (stuffed half-moon rice cakes), jeolpyeon, sweet pumpkin rice cake, baekseolgi and siru-tteok in small retail portions, so a mixed box including 5-color songpyeon came cheap, and the mild, chewy rice cakes went well with coffee. Tteokmidang is a good one-stop shop for Chuseok songpyeon, thank-you rice cakes, and first-birthday or 100-day table orders.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored
Jung-gu, DaeguRestaurants

Dongseong-ro date dinner at Suyeong Naengsam, a Daegu BBQ restaurant

Suyeong Naengsam Daegu Direct Store is a quick-frozen pork belly (naengsam) restaurant on Gukchebosang-ro in Jung-gu, Daegu, a 2-minute walk from Jungangno Station Exit 1. Two of us ordered 5 servings of naengsam at 7,900 won per 100g plus kimchi stew and fried rice to finish, and helped ourselves to lettuce, kimchi, green onion kimchi and salad from the self-serve bar. Suyeong Naengsam won over even a boyfriend who calls himself a naengsam expert, making it an easy pick for a Dongseong-ro or Gyodong date dinner.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored
Bupyeong, IncheonBars

Incheon bar with a ₩40,000 mulhoe and octopus set: Bupyeong Pocha

Bupyeong Pocha is an indoor tent-bar-style drinking spot near Exit 5 of Bupyeong Station in Incheon, open for 15 years. On a repeat visit the raw fish mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) and octopus stir-fry set cost 40,000 won, and the free snacks alone — mussel and bean sprout soup, corn mayo and an old-school lunchbox — were enough to finish a bottle of soju. For the quality and the portions, Bupyeong Pocha is an easy budget pick in Bupyeong for a first or second round of the night.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored
Mapo, SeoulRestaurants

Mapo izakaya, cheese-bomb potato salad and Ebisu: Yakitori Shomong

Yakitori Shomong is a yakitori izakaya near the Gyeongui Line Forest Trail, between Gongdeok and Daeheung stations in Mapo, Seoul. The 6-skewer yakitori course at Yakitori Shomong costs 25,800 won and runs through to kaisen tomato nabe and ice cream, and the cheese-bomb potato salad (12,000 won) was added alongside an Ebisu draft beer. The skewers arrive one at a time with the flavor and texture shifting as they go, making Yakitori Shomong a solid choice for a date or a night out with friends after a walk on the trail.

Written Sep 2, 2026Sponsored
Dong-gu, DaeguBars

Daegu bar with half-and-half Busan fish cake stew: Eomuk Pocha Tong

Eomuk Pocha Tong (어묵포차통) is a fish cake stew bar on the 4th floor of a building at the main rotary of Dongchon Recreation Area in Dong-gu, Daegu. The Busan-style eomuk tang (fish cake stew) at Eomuk Pocha Tong arrives in a pot split half spicy and half clear broth, packed with bean sprouts, blue crab, rice cake sticks and boiled eggs, and the broth is refilled for free; the table also had fire-flavor squid stir-fry, soju and beer. Order the eomuk tang before 8pm and the fried chicken gizzards are free, which makes Eomuk Pocha Tong strong value for a night out.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored
Gapyeong, GyeonggiRestaurants

Cheese dakgalbi with Bukhan River view in Gapyeong: Jayeon Dakgalbi

Jayeon Dakgalbi is a dakgalbi (spicy stir-fried chicken) restaurant on Bukhangang-byeon-ro in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi, near Nami Island. Two servings of dakgalbi came with extra cheese and makguksu (buckwheat noodles), and fried rice was mixed into the leftover sauce at the end — the cheese alone filled a whole bowl. Floor-to-ceiling windows look out on the Bukhan River and the parking lot is wide, so Jayeon Dakgalbi makes an easy stop on a Nami Island drive.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored
Nam-gu, BusanThings to do

Daeyeon-dong kids café in Busan: two-family private rental, Kkomang

Kkomang Unmanned Kids Cafe is an unstaffed, rental-only kids café on the 4th floor near Kyungsung University–Pukyong National University Station in Daeyeon-dong, Nam-gu, Busan. Two families booked the whole space together, so the children played on the trampoline, slide and fishing zone while the mothers took turns on the Ceragem massage chair inside for an hour each. Rentals start at 13,000 won per 30 minutes on weekday mornings with no limit on the number of guests, which suits playgroup meetups and birthday parties.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored
Jeju, JejuRestaurants

Secret photo room and 2-person set at Jeju restaurant Pyeongdae Alhi

Pyeongdae Alhi is a Western-style restaurant run by a single chef in Pyeongdae-ri, Gujwa-eup, on the eastern side of Jeju. The rice bowl + steak set for two brings the alhi rice bowl, sous-vide black pork tenderloin steak, alhi salad and two ades (green tangerine and hallabong), and after ordering you can push open the door into a secret room set up as a photo zone. If you want atmosphere and good food in one stop on eastern Jeju, Pyeongdae Alhi delivers both.

Written Sep 1, 2026Sponsored
Namyangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Solo BBQ for one at Chadolpung, a Namyangju Korean BBQ restaurant

Chadolpung Dasan Station Branch is a beef brisket and beef tripe BBQ restaurant a 3-minute walk from Exit 6 of Dasan Station in Namyangju, Gyeonggi. Chadolpung takes reservations for a single diner, and the Korean Beef Tripe & Brisket Set (₩38,000, 200g brisket plus 200g tripe) is built for 1–2 people, so finishing it alone means eating until you burst. With brisket at ₩7,500 per 100g and no break time, Chadolpung Dasan Station Branch is an easy pick for solo Korean BBQ.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored
Namdong, IncheonRestaurants

Guwol-dong pork bone stew restaurant in Incheon: Yennal Gyeongseong

Yennal Gyeongseong Sundaeguk Guwol Moraenae Market Station Branch is a sundae-guk (blood sausage soup) and stew restaurant near Moraenae Market in Guwol-dong, Namdong, Incheon. A couple stopped in for weekend lunch and ordered one serving of the new bone stew plus two bowls of rice, and the pork was cooked until it slid off the bone in a broth packed with perilla leaves. The portion is about enough for three average eaters, so two people left full; the only letdown at Yennal Gyeongseong was the fried rice add-on.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored
Jung-gu, DaejeonRestaurants

Korean BBQ in Daejeon: garlic short rib over coal briquettes at Untan

Untan Taepyeong is a coal-briquette Korean BBQ restaurant near Taepyeong Market in Jung-gu, Daejeon. Two servings of Uiseong garlic sogalbisal (boneless short rib) cost 31,800 won, served here with mul naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) at 6,000 won, beef-packed cheonggukjang stew at 6,000 won, and four glasses of draft beer at 1,900 won each, and the gentle briquette heat cooked the meat through without burning it. The best part of Untan Taepyeong was the ventilation, which left almost no grill smell on our clothes.

Written Sep 5, 2026Sponsored

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