After-work Korean dinner in Eojin-dong, Sejong: Bapkkot Hansang

After a work dinner here left everyone impressed, I finally came back with Chef Jji to check out Bapkkot Hansang, a Korean restaurant near Sejong Lake Park.

Endless, tidy Korean dishes. I'd been to this place a few times, and both my coworkers and I were blown away by the spread and the flavors — I bragged about it so much to Chef Jji that we ended up here, which also happened to fit perfectly into our current routine of walking around Sejong Lake Park after work.

Where is Bapkkot Hansang, and what are its hours?

• Address: 91 Doum8-ro, 3rd floor, unit 303, Sejong, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00 / Break time 15:00–17:00, last order 20:20 (no break time on Sundays)
• Public transit: Take bus 801, 221, or 279 and get off at Government Complex (Hanteul Village Complex 3) stop (3-minute walk)
• Parking: Underground parking at the building
• Notes: High chairs available, groups welcome, reservations possible

This place is so popular that I made a reservation both for the work dinner and this date. Bapkkot Hansang is spacious and has good atmosphere, making it a fine choice for hosting out-of-town guests, blind dates, or family meals. Even the chopsticks come set in paper sleeves — spotlessly clean all around.

Bapkkot Hansang menu and the price of the Bapkkot Special

The Bapkkot Hansang menu 💡 True to a Korean restaurant that serves fresh ingredients daily, you can get both a full hanjeongsik (Korean set meal) course and single rice bowl dishes. This is a local Sejong-only spot, so it feels a bit more special every time I visit.

Bapkkot Special ₩25,000 × 2 people = ₩50,000. Since it's rare to get the chance to try so many different Korean dishes served in sequence, I went with the Bapkkot Special again today.

What comes first: the appetizer courses

Cabbage sprout salad, gungjung tteokbokki (royal-style rice cakes), vegetable pancake, perilla buckwheat noodles, boiled pork sampler, tofu kimchi, seaweed noodle japchae. It's hard to believe all this is just the appetizer before the actual meal — such a generous Korean spread.

Lettuce and sprouts tossed in a refreshing kiwi dressing. Crisp and delicious. I tried practicing the habit of eating vegetables before rice.

Gungjung tteokbokki simmered in soy sauce with mushrooms and eggplant. Adults tend to fall hard for this mellow, savory flavor.

Japchae stir-fried with seaweed noodles instead of regular glass noodles. Since it's seaweed noodles, it definitely feels lighter, but tossed in the nutty seasoning, you'll polish off a whole bowl before you know it. I really wanted to learn this recipe.

The perilla buckwheat noodles worth a second visit

Buckwheat noodles paired with a perilla sauce. I normally won't touch buckwheat noodles, but this sampler-size portion, I eat happily every time. What's wild is the sauce has no seasoning powder or MSG, yet somehow tastes this good. Honestly, it's these noodles I keep thinking about — that's why I'm on repeat visits to Bapkkot Hansang, the restaurant near Sejong Lake Park.

The seasoned herb salad served alongside the boiled pork sampler gives a completely different feel from the usual pickled radish or cabbage kimchi pairing. The tangy, spicy seasoning is excellent. Chef Jji liked this herb salad so much he finished it off even after the pork was gone.

Freshly fried vegetable pancake is basically cheating — it's so nutty and flavorful you don't even need to dip it in soy sauce.

Wrapping up the appetizers with my beloved tofu kimchi. The kimchi was perfectly fermented, just right to eat with the tofu and boiled pork.

The banchan lineup on the Bapkkot Special table

Right as we finished the appetizers, the main meal arrived, perfectly timed. The staff were so kind and thoughtful — I want to learn from that. Three kinds of seasoned greens, samchae namul, cucumber salad, candied nuts, and whole cabbage kimchi — a banchan (side dish) lineup that's twice as good eaten with rice.

Chef Jji scooped some of the three seasoned greens and cucumber salad onto my plate. So hard to pick a favorite, but the perilla leaf shoots were totally my style — I wanted to mix them right into my rice.

The thick soybean paste for mixing rice is basically a rice-thief. We didn't mix it in, just took small spoonfuls at a time — since we also had the soybean paste stew with dried radish greens to enjoy, we wanted to taste each on its own as much as possible.

Dried radish green soybean paste soup, perfect for satisfying your appetite in cool weather. The portion felt like way more than enough for two — a happy problem to have.

The main course: stone-plate tteokgalbi

The main dish is tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) sizzling on a hot stone plate — the slightly sweet sauce pairs beautifully with it. The portion is generous, so there's no worry about running out.

It wasn't until we finished this whole colorful spread that I actually felt how full I was. We both dug in like food fighters without even noticing how much we'd eaten. Eating this well made me think of my parents — next time, I'll have to bring them here.

Finishing off with omija tea (five-flavor berry tea) after the meal felt like the perfect clean ending. That's my honest review of Bapkkot Hansang, the restaurant near Sejong Arboretum.