Seongbuk bar for beef tendon hot pot and kalguksu: Yesulgwan

While looking for somewhere near Sungshin Women's University to have dinner and drinks, I visited Yesulgwan Sungshin Women's University Branch. From Korean pork belly kimchi grill to a steaming Korean beef bone broth tendon hot pot, the menu was just right—so let me tell you about the proper round of drinks we had!

Yesulgwan Sungshin Women's University Branch exterior and location

They say the name Yesulgwan means “a hall of art” because the bar snacks are works of art. From outside, the row of red chairs also gives it a little of that pocha (Korean street-tent bar) feeling. The weather suddenly turned cool, and lately this kind of outdoor-bar vibe has been calling my name even more.

It is close to Exit 2 of Sungshin Women's University Station, so it is easy to get to. Open from 5 p.m. until 5 a.m., it is also a great option for a late dinner or drinks.

Pocha-style terrace and spacious interior

The outdoor terrace by the entrance has a lively yet relaxed pocha-style atmosphere.

Inside, there are high ceilings, a mezzanine layout, and generous spacing between tables. It looked well suited to club gatherings, group meetups, or company dinners.

A large screen is installed indoors, so you can watch videos while eating and drinking. (It would be especially great when football or baseball is on.)

A menu from kimchi grill to hot pot

The menu is varied, from pork belly kimchi grill and hot pots to stir-fries and fried dishes. There is a good mix of hearty dishes that fill you up and lighter snacks to share, making it good for a first meal as well as drinks.

What we ordered

• Korean pork belly kimchi grill, 2 servings: ₩14,000 × 2
• Korean beef bone broth tendon hot pot: ₩28,000
• Hot pot kalguksu noodle add-on: ₩2,000
• Steamed rice: ₩1,000
• Soju: ₩5,000
• Total: ₩64,000

The basic side dishes included perilla leaves, pickled radish wraps, garlic, Cheongyang peppers, corn, and seasoned chives. They were mostly things that went well wrapped with the kimchi grill or alongside the hot pot, so I kept reaching for them.

The Korean pork belly kimchi grill and Korean beef bone broth tendon hot pot arrived side by side—and the amount of food filling those pans, is this for real?

Korean pork belly kimchi grill, 2 servings

Pork belly and kimchi came sizzling in a large pan; just looking at it made me think of soju.

The pork belly was cut nice and thick, so it had a satisfying chew. Golden on the outside and moist within, its rich, savory fattiness burst across the mouth.

With well-fermented kimchi, the kimchi’s tangy heat cut through the pork belly’s richness—an explosion of savory flavor!

I piled pickled radish, pork belly, garlic, and Cheongyang pepper onto a perilla leaf and took a huge bite. Fragrant, crisp, and spicy all at once.

You cannot leave out steamed rice, either. With pork belly and grilled kimchi over the rice, no other side dishes were needed. The older I get, the more these familiar, comforting Korean drinking foods suit my taste. It works as a drinking snack and a filling meal, so I would recommend this combination.

Korean beef bone broth tendon hot pot and kalguksu noodles

If the kimchi grill is bold and spicy, the Korean beef bone broth tendon hot pot has a completely different appeal. A huge pot was heaped with chives and enoki mushrooms, with plenty of meat and tendon underneath—I was surprised by the portion. Glass noodles, big pieces of tendon, and meat just kept appearing!

The tendon was tender and pleasantly chewy.

Picking up meat and chives together and lightly dipping them in mustard soy sauce added a clean, savory note.

It was also nice topped with a little seasoned chive salad. The chives’ aroma and spicy seasoning went surprisingly well with the meat cooked in the bone broth.

Best of all was the broth. One sip brought out the savory, deeply rich taste of milky beef bone broth. It was light, nutty, and clean, so spoonfuls of it between bites of kimchi grill were perfect for settling the stomach.

After eating some of the hot pot broth, we added kalguksu (knife-cut wheat noodles).

When we added the kalguksu, the owner thoughtfully poured enough rich Korean beef bone broth into the pot to fill it. There was so much that I was almost sad to leave delicious broth behind. Once the noodles went in and everything bubbled away, that concentrated bone broth soaked right into them. Chewy kalguksu noodles with rich, nutty broth felt like a whole new dish!

The noodles were thick and chewy, keeping us full right through to the end.

With rice and seasoned chive salad added to the broth left after the noodles, it became a warm, deep, comforting finish—just like a bowl of hangover soup with rice!

The pairing of spicy kimchi grill and clean hot pot

The Korean pork belly kimchi grill was spicy and bold, while the Korean beef bone broth tendon hot pot was savory and clean, so the pairing was especially good. More than anything, I loved the flow of eating meat, having broth, taking a shot of soju, and ending with kalguksu. On a day when you want both a proper meal and drinks near Sungshin Women's University, it is a solid place for a group to order a little of everything. When friends come to visit my neighborhood, I am bringing them here~~