Yongsan Stool Sitter · 12 stories

The Bar Stool

I write about bars I visit in Gyeonggi and what it is like to spend time there. · Writes about: Bars · Cafés · Restaurants

PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Sindang izakaya lunch: garlic soy vs gochujang eel bowl, Bada Yakbang

Bada Yakbang Sindang Branch is an aged-sashimi izakaya near Sindang Station Exit 6 in Jung-gu, Seoul, that also serves lunch specials. Three diners at Bada Yakbang tried the freshwater eel rice bowl (29,000 won, in garlic soy or gochujang flavor) and the mixed aged sashimi set (20,000 won). The eel was thick with almost no fishy smell, and the sashimi set came with sushi rice, seaweed soup and side dishes. Known mainly as an evening bar, Bada Yakbang also makes a satisfying, filling lunch.

Written Oct 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBucheon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Bucheon fries shop sweet-salty combo: vanilla soft serve, Angry Potato

Angry Potato Hyundai Department Store Jungdong Branch is a french fry shop in the B1 food hall of Hyundai Department Store in Bucheon, Gyeonggi. At Angry Potato, the writer ate a Deep Crunch Chicken Box (19,500 won) and a large vanilla soft serve (4,000 won) with sauces from the self-serve sauce bar, then took home a can of Angry Potato chips (15,000 won) that the family finished in 3 days as a beer snack. Angry Potato suits potato lovers who want chicken, fries and chewy potato in one go.

Written Oct 24, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBucheon, GyeonggiBars

Jungdong, Bucheon vintage bar with robot-served beer: Geumbyeol Beer

Geumbyeol Beer Bucheon Hyundai branch is a retro-style bar on the 2nd floor of the food alley next to Hyundai Department Store in Jungdong, Bucheon. Inside its vintage café-like interior, the writer ordered the signature tomato hangover pasta stew (haejang pastang) for 24,000 won and two bottles of beer, which arrived by serving robot. Geumbyeol Beer Bucheon Hyundai branch is a good escape from the crowded food alley, pairing atmosphere with a hearty, brothy dish to go with drinks.

Written Oct 16, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Sinyongsan gomtang restaurant: 30-min wait before sellout, Baekok

Baekok Yongsan (백옥 용산) is a Korean restaurant specializing in pork gomtang (pork bone soup) on Hangang-daero 10-gil near Sinyongsan Station in Seoul. The writer arrived at 7:30pm, waited 30 minutes, and got in just before Baekok Yongsan closed for the night because ingredients had sold out, then ordered two bowls of yeolgomtang (spicy pork gomtang, 12,000 won each) and cabbage dumplings (5 for 10,000 won). With a spicy broth full of Cheongyang chili aroma and meat with no gamey smell, Baekok Yongsan's yeolgomtang is a meal worth coming back for on a chilly day.

Written Oct 11, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBucheon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Takeout pizza shop in Bucheon: Wednesday ₩7,000 off, Choegang Pizza

Choegang Pizza Main Branch is a takeout-and-delivery-only pizza shop in the Halla Maeul Complex 3 shopping arcade in Wonmi-gu, Bucheon. After often ordering Choegang Pizza through the Baemin delivery app, the writer picked up a Choegang Combination L in person and ate it as a late-night snack with beer and a highball; the toppings were generous and the dough chewy, so a plan of two slices became four. With ₩7,000 off every pizza on Wednesdays, Choegang Pizza Main Branch is a great neighborhood pizza shop for takeout.

Written Jul 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Sookmyung Station tonkatsu: basil vs Toowoomba demi at Goshi Goshi

Goshi Goshi Sookmyung Women's University Station Direct Branch is a fusion Japanese restaurant in Yongsan, Seoul, serving soba, tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) and rice bowls. Basil demi tonkatsu at 13,900 won and Toowoomba demi tonkatsu at 12,900 won were eaten side by side at a window bar seat: the basil sauce tasted mild, the Toowoomba slightly spicy, and the crisp-outside, juicy-inside cutlet itself beat both sauces. With a long menu and bar seats built for solo diners, Goshi Goshi is a dependable filling meal near Sookmyung Women's University Station.

Written Sep 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceBucheon, GyeonggiRestaurants

Swapping sauces over pork belly, Bucheon BBQ: Cham Dwaejitgan

Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch is a Korean BBQ restaurant specialising in Boseong Nokdon and Jirisan black pork, on the food alley by exit 3 of Sinjung-dong Station in Bucheon, Gyeonggi. The writer ordered Boseong Nokdon pork belly and pork neck, grilled minari (water dropwort), kimchi and bean sprouts alongside the meat first, then switched between mushroom wasabi and ssamjang-with-wasabi and ate the pork in sliced potato wraps. With so many sides on the table the meal never felt monotonous, and it ended with fried rice.

Written Sep 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulBars

Night-drive bar stop in Hongdae for slush-top draft beer: Kkoko Land

Kkoko Land is a chicken-and-beer bar on Wausan-ro 19-gil between Hongdae and Sangsu in Mapo, Seoul, built around a second-floor outdoor hall. Stopping by on a late-night drive, the writer ordered boneless fried chicken for 21,000 won, charcoal-grilled chicken neck in sauce for 24,000 won and a slushy draft beer for 6,500 won, and the beer frozen to slush at the top and the smoky sauced chicken neck were the most memorable. For an open-air night out in Hongdae rather than an indoor bar, Kkoko Land is the answer.

Written Sep 17, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongnam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Wirye shabu-shabu restaurant with five mushrooms: Dadam Shabu Shabu

Dadam Shabu Shabu & Wolnamssam Wirye Branch is an all-you-can-eat beef and wolnamssam (Vietnamese rice paper wrap) shabu-shabu restaurant on the 3rd floor of G&G Plaza on Wiryegwangjang-ro, a walk from Namwirye Station Exit 3 in Seongnam. The seafood broth and the spicy broth can be ordered half-and-half at no extra charge, and the self-bar holds five kinds of mushrooms — shiitake, oyster, pine, enoki and white wood ear — plus minari (water dropwort) and tofu-skin fish balls. Dadam Shabu Shabu suits anyone who wants more vegetables and mushrooms than meat.

Written Sep 6, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongsan, SeoulRestaurants

Yongsan eel restaurant with hitsumabushi and matcha ice cream: Una

Una Yongsan Main Branch is a Japanese restaurant in Yongsan, Seoul, serving Nagoya-style hitsumabushi alongside charcoal-grilled chicken dishes. We ordered the small Hatsumabushi for 32,000 won and Torimabushi for 29,000 won, finishing with ochazuke and matcha ice cream. Verdict: a great choice for groups with both eel lovers and diners who cannot eat fish.

Written Sep 11, 2026Sponsored
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