Yeolgomtang and cold pork for two near Myeongdong Station: Baekok

Why we looked for a Korean restaurant near Myeongdong Station

I went out to Myeongdong recently and was genuinely shocked. I already knew Myeongdong got crowded, but this day there were especially many foreign tourists~ Walking down the street I could hear multiple languages around me, and there were long lines of tourists in front of famous shops.

Then it suddenly occurred to me that I wanted to feel like a tourist myself for the day, haha. So I looked up Korean restaurants near Myeongdong Station and that's how I found Baekok Myeongdong.

When you think of restaurants in Myeongdong, you might first picture food catering to foreign tourists or simple menus, but this place felt like a proper Korean home-style meal spot.

Inside Baekok Myeongdong: atmosphere and seating

Baekok Myeongdong had an overall clean, tidy atmosphere. Being right in the center of Myeongdong, I expected it to feel chaotic, but once inside it was calmer than expected and good for actually sitting down to eat.

There were several types of seating too. There's a bar table good for solo diners, as well as seats for groups, so it seemed usable for everything from a solo meal to a group dinner.

What two of us ordered: yeolgomtang, cabbage dumplings, cold pork

There were two of us that day, so we picked out a few menu items.

Yeolgomtang (spicy pork gomtang)

Yeolgomtang is apparently a pork gomtang made with a basic gomtang base plus spicy, hot seasoning and cheongyang chili peppers. I usually like the plain, clean broth of regular gomtang, but sometimes I crave that spicier kick. Especially after wandering around Myeongdong looking at things, I was a bit hungry and wanted hot soup with rice, so I picked yeolgomtang.

Cabbage dumplings

Just the name 'cabbage dumplings' already felt different from regular dumplings — I was curious since they're supposedly packed with meat and kimchi filling.

Cold pork

Apparently this dish is pork cheek cooked until soft, served with salted shrimp (tohajeot) and lime. Cold pork at a gomtang restaurant? That was pretty intriguing too. Ordering one hot soup, dumplings, and cold pork on the side felt like a nicely varied combination.

How spicy is the yeolgomtang broth?

We started with the yeolgomtang. I took a spoonful of the broth first and it wasn't as intense as I expected. Judging from the name alone, you might picture an extremely spicy, punchy broth, but the mild base of gomtang was underneath, so it wasn't overwhelming.

On top of that, the spicy seasoning and cheongyang chili gave it a sharp, spicy finish. Personally, I found this kind of broth great with rice. Just drinking the broth alone it's mild, but once you mix in rice, the spicy flavor comes through a bit more.

The meat inside was tender too. When pork is tough, you end up chewing forever even while eating a soup dish, but here the meat was soft, making it easy to eat with rice.

Eating hot broth with rice together really reminded me — this is what Korean food is about. I was a bit tired from walking all over Myeongdong, and the hot gomtang made my stomach feel warm.

What goes inside Baekok Myeongdong's cabbage dumplings?

Next up, the cabbage dumplings! Filled with meat and kimchi, they had a different feel from a typical dumpling wrapper, which made them fun to try.

Maybe because of the mild flavor of the cabbage, the dumpling itself didn't feel too heavy, and the filling of meat and kimchi packed in a good amount of flavor.

Gomtang alone can feel a little plain, but eating dumplings in between made for a good combination.

Cold pork with lime and salted shrimp

We also tried the cold pork. Made from pork cheek cooked until soft, it felt different from typical boiled pork (suyuk), and eating it cold actually contrasted nicely against the hot gomtang. The way it's served with salted shrimp and lime was especially fun.

Compared to eating the meat plain, adding the tangy lime and umami of the salted shrimp completely changed the flavor. If gomtang is the mild, warm dish, cold pork felt more like it woke up your appetite. I was glad we ordered both together.

Is Baekok Myeongdong only for tourists? Final thoughts

With so many more foreign tourists in Myeongdong lately, it seems like more people are also looking for Korean restaurants there. I too came here that day specifically wanting to try a Korean restaurant popular with tourists, but after eating I realized it's just as good for Koreans looking for an everyday meal. Gomtang in particular isn't a strong or polarizing flavor, and it goes well with rice, so it seems unlikely to split opinions much.

It'd be a good place to visit if, like me, you're shopping or sightseeing around Myeongdong and want a hearty meal. Personally, the spicy kick of the yeolgomtang broth stuck with me the most. Plain gomtang is nice too, but with the cheongyang chili and spicy seasoning added, it's the kind of flavor that keeps you eating more rice.

Baekok Myeongdong, visited to experience firsthand the kind of Korean restaurant foreign tourists seek out in the heart of Myeongdong

I initially went in just to feel like a tourist for a day, but I ended up genuinely enjoying the food more than expected. If you're near Myeongdong Station looking for hot gomtang or a solid, clean Korean meal, Baekok Myeongdong is worth stopping by.