Gwanghwamun Station Korean course set for two, ₩110,000: Wongiok

A while ago I visited Wongiok, a good-vibe Korean restaurant near Gwanghwamun Station. The name alone sounds like it should fill you up with energy — and stepping inside, the atmosphere turned out to be quite upscale and calm.😆

The table setting was tidy and each dish came out neatly arranged, pleasing to the eye right away. And with the taste to match, it's perfect for pairing with a drink!🍶 A place I'd want to come back to for family gatherings, important meetings, or simply when I want a proper Korean meal in Gwanghwamun.

Where is Wongiok Gwanghwamun, and where do you park?

Wongiok, a Gwanghwamun Station spot worth trying, is located in the recently opened De Felice mixed-use building.

Basement level 1 of this building houses cafés, restaurants, and a liquor shop, and best of all parking is convenient, which makes it easy to visit.

• Address: 10 Saemunan-ro 2-gil, Basement 1, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Location: About 592m from Seodaemun Station Exit 5
• Hours: Mon–Sat 11:30–22:00 / break time 15:00–17:00 / last order 20:45
• Closed every Sunday
• Parking: Parking support available if using a nearby alternate lot
• Reservations: Available via Naver Reservations
• Perks: Coupon benefits including a hanwoo beef tartare birthday coupon

What are the private rooms and main hall like?

The corridor leading in from the entrance of Wongiok Gwanghwamun has soft lighting and modern interiors, giving off a calm, upscale feel.

Further inside, there are private rooms sized for different group counts, which looked great for gatherings or company dinners.

The hall has generous spacing between tables, with calm lighting and a sleek atmosphere that made for a comfortable meal.

Menu lineup and the corkage-free event

Wongiok's menu ranges from meat dishes like hanwoo sirloin bulgogi, griddle-grilled meats, and grilled short ribs to beef tartare, cold boiled pork, and beef slices. There are also meal options like gomtang (beef bone soup), hongtang, and makguksu (buckwheat noodles), plus set menus sized for groups, so there's a wide range whether you're there for a meal or a gathering.

They're also running a corkage-free event, so you can bring your own drinks to enjoy with the food — great news if you like to drink!

The ₩110,000 Pujim Set ordered by two people

Since it was just my husband and me, I went back and forth between the Silseok Set and the Pujim Set, but decided to go all out and ordered the Pujim Set (₩110,000).

What comes in the Pujim Set

• Mustard salad (gyeojachae)
• Fried peppers (3pc)
• Stir-fried octopus or charcoal-grilled short ribs (+₩30,000)
• Nourishing hot pot or tripe hot pot or bulgogi (+₩20,000)
• Nutritious stone-pot rice (1ea)
• Dessert: sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch)

Four side dishes arrive before the main dishes.

Japchae (glass noodles), salad, boiled pork, and pollock salad — a perfect lineup for whetting your appetite while waiting for the main dishes. This alone could take down a whole bottle of soju!

Beef mustard salad (sogogi gyeojachae)

First up, the beef mustard salad.

The generous pile of cilantro on top was lovely.

Really, really tender beef with plump shrimp and crisp vegetables all in one bite! Add the sharp, refreshing mustard sauce and it was light and clean with no heaviness — kind of gave off yangjangpi (Korean-Chinese cold platter) vibes too?

Stir-fried octopus and fried green peppers

Next came the stir-fried octopus. I liked that the octopus was in whole pieces, and best of all it wasn't chewy — nice and tender to eat.

With that deep red seasoning color I worried it might be brutally spicy, but it turned out to be just moderately spicy with a subtle savory depth — an addictive flavor that kept making me reach for more.

The plump sea cucumber sneaking in among the octopus was also a standout of standouts.

And then the fried peppers — served straight out of the fryer, still steaming.

Cutting them with scissors so as not to burn my mouth, I found them absolutely packed with meat inside. From the crispy pepper exterior, juicy filling bursts out — what a combo!🤭 Not easy to fry like this... truly excellent.

The highlight: the nourishing hot pot

The highlight of Wongiok's Pujim Set at this Gwanghwamun Station spot is, of course, the nourishing hot pot (boyang jeongol)!

It arrives already cooked, so just simmer it bubbling for about a minute and it's ready. Beef shank, tripe, beef tendon, and beef tongue — all the good parts gathered in one pot. It really lives up to the name Pujim ("generous") Set — should be called the Wongi ("energy") Set instead! 😃

With hanwoo gomtang broth as the base, the soup is rich and deep from the start, but surprisingly not greasy or heavy. Eating meat, then taking a spoonful of broth, warms you up from the inside — so good.

The tripe, full of fat, was great dipped in the sauce — a burst of nuttiness.

The beef tendon wasn't mushy at all — it kept a springy bite that was also enjoyable to chew.

With the broth this delicious, scooping up the meat and then drinking the broth felt like getting your energy restored.

Stone-pot rice, nurungji sungnyung and sujeonggwa

Last came the nutritious stone-pot rice. Put warm rice on grilled gim (seaweed) and top with a bit of the spicy seasoning sauce, and one bite is yet another delicacy.

After polishing off the stone-pot rice, it finished with warm nurungji sungnyung (scorched-rice tea). My stomach was already full, but somehow there was still room for the sungnyung, haha. Finishing off with the sujeonggwa dessert for a last cleanse, I felt like I'd had a truly complete meal.

Is the Pujim Set too much food for two?

To cut to the conclusion: we ate well and were completely full. I'm usually a pretty solid eater for an adult, but even so the portion was no joke. The Pujim Set at Wongiok Gwanghwamun was generous enough for three adults to share, and the flow from the hot pot to the stone-pot rice to the nurungji and sujeonggwa worked really well.

It wasn't "generous" in name only. We ate and ate and it kept coming — a truly generous spread! I think I'll be thinking of this place whenever I want a proper restorative meal in Gwanghwamun. 😋