Gwacheon Korean restaurant for perilla beef soup: Haenon Miyeok

An upscale seaweed soup set restaurant in Munwon-dong, Gwacheon

Haenon Miyeok is a chain, but we visited the Gwacheon Direct Branch.

• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00
• Break time: Monday–Friday 15:00–17:00
• Parking: Available in front of the building
• Reservations: Available through Naver Reservation

This is Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch (해논미역 과천직영점), located in Munwon-dong, Gwacheon. Even from a distance, I was surprised by how upscale the exterior looked!

Haenon Miyeok says this is original nourishing seaweed soup, deeply brewed one bowl at a time as soon as you order, like simmering herbal medicine—not soup cooked in advance and ladled out. You can really feel the pride of a seaweed soup specialist!

You can park right in front of the restaurant, so just pull up there. We visited at opening time on a weekend morning, and it was already busy, haha. A Naver reservation is a must!

What are the reserved seats and self-serve side-dish bar like?

When you walk in, you are immediately surprised by how upscale and clean it is. Rather than a seaweed soup restaurant, it feels like you have come to a luxury hotel to be treated to a nourishing meal. Since we booked ahead through Naver Reservation, they held a reserved table for us!

There is a separate self-serve side-dish bar, so you can help yourself if you need more. It was wonderful that premium side dishes such as japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), fried eggplant, and seasoned scallops were unlimited! The bar closes at 2:40 p.m. for lunch and 7:50 p.m. for dinner.

As you would expect from a set-meal restaurant, everyone must order one meal. In return, steamed rice refills are unlimited, and you can keep having side dishes from the self-serve corner. The portions are so generous that if you have soup left, you can pack it up. A container costs ₩1,000, though you can also use your own!

Basic side dishes and a bowl of rice with something like hijiki

Our order

Once we ordered, the basic side dishes arrived. There was even seasoned grilled flounder, so the banchan (Korean side dishes) felt wonderfully premium. I think Haenon Miyeok would be a great place when treating someone important, too.

This is Haenon Miyeok's steamed rice. It had something like hijiki seaweed mixed in, taking care of both health and presentation. It was much easier to digest than ordinary steamed rice, and twice as tasty.

How the boneless flounder and beef seaweed soups tasted

This is the boneless flounder seaweed soup set I ordered. Since it was boneless, it went down smoothly, and it paired with the seaweed far better than I expected, so I really enjoyed it! I think it would be good for young children who cannot chew very well yet, too. The broth was refreshing, and the flounder was so tender.

With flounder on top of the rice, it went down so easily, haha.

This is the beef seaweed soup my husband ordered. As a classic seaweed soup set, it had wonderfully tender beef that went perfectly with the seaweed. The broth was clean-tasting yet rich with perilla seed powder mixed in. My husband said it was the first time in his life he had enjoyed seaweed soup this much, hahaha. I was so pleased I brought him here.

Pregnancy, birthday, and review events

Haenon Miyeok runs several events, including one free abalone per person for pregnant guests or those celebrating a birthday. If you are pregnant or it is your birthday, you really have to come, right?

Also, write a review and you get a drink and crispy jeon (Korean savory pancake) on the house! You have to make the most of perks like these right away, haha.

Today, we had a lovely time at Haenon Miyeok in Gwacheon. I recommend Haenon Miyeok to anyone looking for a Korean set-meal restaurant to treat an important person, gather with family, or enjoy a meal with children.