Seongnam Korean restaurant with hearty doenjang hot pot: Okdengjang

Okdengjang by Seohyeon Station: a Korean meal with easy parking from the start

Okdengjang is a place I used to visit often at lunchtime when I worked in Seongsu! I've been three or four times—it’s one of my absolute favorite places for a meal 🤍

Seohyeon Station is super busy and cramped, so lots of places have mechanical parking, but this one had a spacious, pleasant underground parking lot! I think you can visit comfortably without worrying about parking haha.

It’s next to an izakaya called Woongseong Woongseong! There’s a menu board outside, so you can have a look before going in~

A spacious, comfortable wood-toned interior

The interior was decorated in wood tones with a slightly old-fashioned tavern? market? kind of feel! It somehow makes everything seem like it’ll taste even better... hahaha.

It was spacious and pleasant inside, so I thought it would be nice for a group, too!

The seating was divided into four-person tables, and there was plenty of space between them, making it easy to dine comfortably with your group!

They also had a wide selection of alcohol! As you’d expect from a great Korean restaurant, there were lots of drinks that pair well with Korean food, including makgeolli (Korean rice wine), haha.

A better-value menu at lunch

Here’s Okdengjang’s menu! It’s definitely better value to come at lunchtime~ Prices are nearly ₩2,000 cheaper, and while you have to buy seaweed separately at dinner, I understand it comes included at lunch!

There were lots of dishes that would make good drinking snacks, such as squid minari pancake, barley-shrimp pancake, pork and tofu kimchi, and boiled-pork hot pot~ I love doenjang hot pot, so I ordered the beef doenjang hot pot! Every time I come, that’s what I order haha. And I decided to try the squid minari pancake, too~!

• Beef pork-belly doenjang hot pot for 2 ₩26,000
• Squid minari pancake ₩20,000
• Seaweed ₩3,000

If I’d come at lunchtime, the seaweed would have been free and it would be ₩22,000 for two...! Such a better deal! Still, the seaweed here is seriously so delicious that I just couldn’t not order extra haha.

Since it’s open until late and also sells drinking snacks like pajeon (green-onion pancake) and tofu kimchi, the alcohol lineup was diverse~ Next time I want to try it with makgeolli haha.

Stir-fried kimchi with meat and nutty seaweed

These are the basic side dishes! But the stir-fried kimchi isn’t just stir-fried kimchi... it’s like stir-fried kimchi with meat, practically spicy pork stir-fry-style kimchi..! Isn’t that such a generous spread...?! Honestly, since the doenjang hot pot comes with tofu too, there’s no need to order pork tofu kimchi lol. And their green-onion kimchi is seriously amazing ㅠㅠ I want it again already—my mouth is watering.. 🤤🤤🤤

Even the tableware had that old-fashioned style..! hahaha. I’m the type who feels a little guilty eating plain white rice (worried about diabetes^^;;), so I loved that it came with multigrain rice—it felt healthier~!

And the ₩3,000 seaweed I ordered extra! It is pricey, but look at how much there is, right? But I ate the whole container lol. This seaweed is much nuttier and tastier than seaweed at other places 🤍

Beef pork-belly doenjang hot pot loaded with meat

Here comes the main dish! 🤤 Isn’t the amount of meat crazy..? Since it’s doenjang hot pot, you might expect less meat, but they gave such a generous amount that it never felt lacking at all! The tofu was cut into big pieces and there was plenty of it, and it came with minari (water celery), so it was wonderfully fragrant >_<

Even before the doenjang hot pot came out, I’d already polished off almost half a bowl of rice with stir-fried kimchi and seaweed.. I think this flavor is why I’ve come back so many times!

A minari pancake full of plump squid

And the squid minari pancake I ordered for the first time came out~! You all know squid is really expensive these days, right..? But I was surprised because it had so much plump squid in it ㅠㅠ I don’t eat pancakes without seafood like squid at all, you know...? But even though I was stuffed from the doenjang hot pot, I finished this too!

And the edges were super crisp, while the soy dipping sauce was deliciously sweet, too. I definitely recommend ordering this one alongside your meal!

Haha, a photo before eating!! I really recommend everyone try this combination! Also, the owner seemed so lovely and had such a nice personality.. The staff were all so kind too, so I think I left feeling really happy after the meal! And the parking is easy, too!!