Gangnam Korean restaurant for boneless gamjatang lunch: Haeseonok

The weather has suddenly turned much cooler and windier lately. Whenever it gets like this, I naturally start craving a steaming bowl of soup to warm me right through.

Steaming gamjatang near Seolleung Station

Today’s spot is Haeseonok Seolleung Branch (해선옥 선릉점), well known for gamjatang (pork bone soup) near Seolleung Station.

I already love gamjatang, so there was no way I could just walk past Haeseonok, with its weighty claim of 40 years of tradition.

Choosing from the menu in a wood-toned dining room

As soon as I stepped inside, I was greeted by the warm wood-toned interior. With wood as the basis for the overall color palette, it had a calming feel, and the lighting was neither too bright nor too dim—just right for focusing on a meal.

Several wall displays explained Haeseonok’s key ingredients—soybean powder, perilla seeds, blue crab—and the benefits of gamjatang. Looking these over before eating somehow made the meal feel like more than just lunch; it felt properly restorative!

The menu was posted on the wall, and we could also browse it on the ordering tablet at the table.

The set menus let you add a little extra to a bowl of gamjatang and enjoy it with jeon (Korean savory pancake)! So we ordered the bone-in gamjatang + seafood pancake set and the boneless gamjatang + shrimp pancake set.

Paper cups, sauce dishes, pepper, and everything else were set out very neatly on the table. While waiting for the food, we poured out the sharp mustard sauce for dipping the gamjatang meat.

Not long after ordering, the basic side dishes arrived. They were neatly arranged on an elegant golden three-section plate.

Then the set pancakes arrived in a little basket, freshly cooked and filling the table with their nutty aroma.

Finally, the main gamjatang came out in generous bowls, and our whole spread was complete.

Tender meat in bone-in gamjatang

This was the classic bone-in gamjatang that I ordered. The broth and meat were topped with mung bean sprouts, scallions, and perilla seed powder.

There were several large bones with plenty of meat on them. The meat was cooked so well that it slid right off with the lightest nudge from my chopsticks.

I dipped a thick piece of neatly pulled meat into the punchy mustard sauce I had prepared. It was moist and tender, with not a trace of dryness.

But the real joy of gamjatang is having it with rice. Take a big spoonful of white rice, lightly soak it in the broth, then top it with a piece of tender meat and crunchy kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi)—absolutely delicious :)

There were fluffy potatoes in the soup, too.

Boneless gamjatang for an easy office lunch

The boneless gamjatang my husband ordered came with all the meat removed from the bones.

Lots of people avoid gamjatang even when they want it because separating the meat from the bones can be a hassle. Haeseonok sells this boneless version, which is great for a quick office-worker lunch!

So without any delay, it was easy to mix a whole bowl of rice thoroughly into the broth and spoon it up like gukbap (rice in soup). Topping the rice with the spicy-tangy shredded radish side dish went so beautifully with the clean, spicy gamjatang broth.

Seafood pancake and shrimp pancake with the set

The seafood pancake in the set came as six bite-sized pieces, a little like donggeurangttaeng (small Korean meat patties), so it was easy to share. They were crisp outside and moist inside, with a gentle seafood flavor and the sweetness of vegetables in every bite.

The shrimp pancake came with several shrimp lined up on a long wooden skewer, coated in egg and pan-fried. You could pick it up and bite straight from the skewer, or slide the shrimp off one by one with chopsticks. That signature springy shrimp texture was so satisfying.

There were even jellies on the way out for a perfect little palate cleanser. That was Haeseonok Seolleung Branch!