Hongdae Pyongyang naengmyeon with a four-language tablet menu: Anok
In short
Anok is a Korean restaurant serving Pyongyang naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodles) and clear gomtang (beef bone soup) down an alley near Hongik University Station in Mapo, Seoul, entered through a tiled roof and a wooden gate. This visit was one clear gomtang, two Pyongyang naengmyeon and one braised pork tail, alternating mild broth with rich seasoning, and every table has a tablet that switches between Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese, so Anok works well with visitors from abroad. On a day when you want a calm, traditional Korean meal in Hongdae, Anok is the answer.
Good to know
- Address
- 13-4 Hongik-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul
- Main dishes
- Clear gomtang, clear gomtang (large), Pyongyang naengmyeon, bibim Pyongyang naengmyeon, yukhoe bibimbap
- Meat dishes
- Braised pork tail, cold jeyuk pork (full or half plate), yukhoe (raw beef)
- Jeon and grilled dishes
- Grilled deodeok root, cheese potato jeon, kimchi jeon
- Dishes for a group
- Pork platter, hanwoo beef bulgogi jeongol hot pot
- How to order
- Tablet at every table, in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese
- Ordered on this visit
- 1 clear gomtang, 2 Pyongyang naengmyeon, 1 braised pork tail
- Side dishes
- Kimchi, kkakdugi, jangajji pickles, seasoning sauce
as written by the visitor on Sep 14, 2026
When you want a bit of atmosphere with your Korean food near Hongik University Station, this is the place that comes to mind: Anok, a Hongdae Pyongyang naengmyeon restaurant :)
Finding Anok near Hongik University Station: a tiled roof and wooden gate down the alley
Anok is a Korean restaurant at 13-4 Hongik-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, tucked down an alley near Hongik University Station. The area around Hongdae Station is so packed with cafés, bars, and shops that I never expected a space like this — Anok completely changed the mood from the moment I stepped in.
Walking further into the alley, a tiled roof and wooden gate come into view first, and — wow, a place like this in the middle of Hongdae?! It felt like wandering into a hanok café in Insadong!!
Inside, rather than fully restoring the traditional hanok look, the space blends hanok elements naturally into a modern restaurant setting.
These days it's easy to wander into somewhere too noisy in Hongdae, but this place had a calm atmosphere throughout, which I loved.
Ordering at Anok: a tablet in Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese
What surprised me was that Anok has an ordering tablet at every table! A Korean restaurant with such a modern ordering system!! Menu photos were included, so choosing was easy, and you could pick Korean, English, Japanese, or Chinese!! Great for bringing a foreign friend along.
What is on the Anok menu, and what we ordered
Anok's menu had a lot of variety. The main dishes include clear gomtang (beef bone soup), premium clear gomtang, Pyongyang naengmyeon, bibim Pyongyang naengmyeon, and yukhoe bibimbap. For meat dishes, there's pork tail jjim, cold pork jeyuk in full or half plates, and yukhoe.
There were also pancakes and grilled items, so it looked good for having a drink alongside your meal rather than just eating. Dishes like grilled deodeok, cheese potato jeon, and kimchi jeon were on offer, and for anju (drinking food) there was a pork trotter platter and hanwoo bulgogi jeongol — good for groups sharing a variety of dishes.
From all this, we ordered one clear gomtang, two Pyongyang naengmyeon, and one pork tail jjim. Pairing the plain, clean flavors of the gomtang and naengmyeon with the richly seasoned pork tail jjim balanced things nicely, and the three dishes didn't overlap in flavor at all — a great combination!!
A neat table setting ready to go :)
Side dishes at Anok: kimchi, kkakdugi, jangajji and seasoning sauce
The basic side dishes came out neatly — kimchi, kkakdugi (diced radish kimchi), jangajji (pickled vegetables), and a seasoning sauce. It was a good lineup to eat alongside the plain flavors of the gomtang and naengmyeon, and I kept picking at them between bites. Kimchi and kkakdugi are basically essential with a soup dish, right? Rather than just having lots of side dishes for the sake of it, it felt like exactly what was needed was served — which I actually liked.
Our beautifully arranged spread!
Anok's clear gomtang: clear broth that is not bland
First up, the clear gomtang! Just as the name says, the broth is really clear and clean. The broth looks transparent, but that doesn't mean it's bland — there's a subtle meaty flavor infused in it, so it was easy and comforting to eat!
On top, there's a generous amount of meat, and rice comes together with it. The meat is thinly sliced so it's easy to scoop up with the broth, and a hint of pepper aroma kept it from tasting one-note. Anyone who prefers a clean, plain broth over a heavily seasoned soup would especially enjoy this.
It might be great as a hangover cure after drinking too much the night before… though I don't drink and I just love this kind of clear broth on its own haha. If you're looking for something easy on the stomach, gomtang is a safe pick!
How mild is Anok's Pyongyang naengmyeon?
And then the naengmyeon I'd been curious about. There's a really generous amount of meat piled on top of the noodles. The broth isn't sweet and tangy or strongly flavored like typical naengmyeon — it's definitely on the plain side. The first bite made me think, oh, this really is mild, but after a few more bites, the broth turns out to be subtly addictive!
The noodles weren't overly chewy or tough either — they broke apart softly, making them easy to eat. Eating the meat on top together with the noodles adds to the plain flavor, and adding kimchi in between gives it a nice flavor accent, so it never got boring.
If you normally like the distinctive plain flavor of Pyongyang naengmyeon, you'll probably be quite satisfied, though first-timers might find it a bit bland at first. But isn't that mildness exactly why people keep thinking about naengmyeon…? We ordered two bowls and each finished one completely.
The quiet star of the meal: Anok's braised pork tail
And the hidden main dish of the day was the pork tail jjim! It was strikingly good-looking the moment it arrived! A plate piled full of pork tail deeply coated in sauce, topped generously with scallions and sesame seeds. Honestly, pork tail as a dish sounded a bit unfamiliar to me at first, but once I tried it, it was way better than I expected!
The outside is deeply infused with sauce, and the inside has a chewy yet tender texture!! The meat and skin around the bone are especially chewy, so anyone who likes that texture will love it. The sauce is sweet, salty, and a little spicy, making it a perfect match to eat alongside the plain gomtang and naengmyeon!!
Why eating the three Anok dishes in turn works so well
A spoonful of gomtang, then some naengmyeon, then a bite of pork tail jjim suddenly hits your mouth with a burst of sauce! Then a sip of the naengmyeon broth resets everything. The three dishes go in completely different flavor directions, so ordering them together made for a great combination!
What kind of day is Anok in Hongdae best for?
If you're thinking of finding an atmospheric Pyongyang naengmyeon restaurant in Hongdae, this place isn't intimidating at all, and the menu lineup being a bit different from the usual Korean restaurant made it even more interesting. If you're tired of always going for pasta, meat, or izakaya in Hongdae and want Korean food in a calmer setting, this is worth a visit.
Next time I'd love to have the gomtang again… but I feel like I'll end up ordering the pork tail jjim again too haha. I ordered it out of curiosity at first, but it turned out to be surprisingly addictive :) If you're looking for a good-atmosphere Pyongyang naengmyeon or clear gomtang restaurant near Hongik University Station, I recommend Anok!
