Insa-dong restaurant with a self-serve banchan bar: Goshine Donghae

An Insa-dong favorite, Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch, from Gangwon-style makguksu (buckwheat noodles) to stone bowl bibimbap

Whenever I visit Insa-dong, there are so many hanok (traditional Korean houses) and good restaurants around that it's hard to decide where to eat. This time, while wandering around Insa-dong Culture Street, I stopped by Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch. It's located on Insadong 12-gil in Jongno-gu, Seoul, and close to Anguk Station, so it was easy to fit into an Insa-dong trip.

This is actually the Seoul Jongno branch of a restaurant that's been running for two generations in front of Gangmun Beach in Gangneung. They use local Gangwon ingredients across a range of dishes — makguksu, soft tofu, bossam (boiled pork), buckwheat gimbap — so the menu felt a bit different from a typical makguksu shop.

Where is Goshine Donghae Makguksu, and how far is it from Anguk Station?

Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch is about 250m from Anguk Station Exit 6, so it was easy to find. Walking down Insa-dong Culture Street, it's the first house in the alley right next to Ssamziegil, so I found it without much trouble while sightseeing. There are lots of attractions nearby — Seoul Museum of Craft Art, Jogyesa Temple, Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung, Jongmyo — so it's a good spot for a meal during an Insa-dong or Jongno trip. Being in a hanok building, it also suited the quiet, old-fashioned atmosphere of Insa-dong really well.

Inside the hanok: atmosphere and menu lineup at Goshine Donghae

Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch isn't just a makguksu shop — it's more a place where you can taste a wide range of Gangwon-region food and ingredients in Seoul. There were several types of makguksu — mul (cold broth) makguksu, perilla oil makguksu, bibim (spicy mixed) makguksu, pine nut soft tofu makguksu — plus bossam, chodang soft tofu, stone bowl bibimbap, and buckwheat gimbap, so there were quite a lot of choices.

So it looked good both for eating alone and for a group ordering different dishes to share. There's actually a set menu that pairs a solo meal with bossam, so solo diners can order without feeling like it's too much.

There's also a private annex room, so it looked good for family gatherings, office dinners, or group meetups. Since Insa-dong draws a lot of foreign tourists too, it was a fun point that you can taste Gangwon food in such a Korean-style hanok setting.

Why Goshine Donghae works as a lunch stop on an Insa-dong walk

Insa-dong is a great place to eat and then walk around. After eating at Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch, you could stroll through Ssamziegil or Insa-dong Culture Street, walk toward Jogyesa Temple, or go a bit further and tie it into a trip covering Jongmyo, Changdeokgung, and Gyeongbokgung. It's close to Anguk Station so it was convenient by public transport, and it's also walkable from Jongno 3-ga Station or Jonggak Station, so access was decent.

Self-serve banchan bar: kkakdugi and yeolmu kimchi

There's a self-serve bar, so you can grab extra banchan (side dishes) without hesitation~

The kkakdugi (radish kimchi) and yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi) were so good~

Beef bulgogi stone bowl bibimbap

Beef stir-fried in a secret soy sauce, topped with a bunch of fresh vegetables — a filling, satisfying meal. Since it comes in a stone bowl, mixing the rice and scraping up the crispy scorched rice at the bottom was fun.

They really don't skimp on the beef bulgogi~

When you think 'makguksu restaurant,' you'd expect only makguksu, but they also have Korean dishes like stone bowl bibimbap and soft tofu, so it seemed like a good spot for a family to each order what they want.

Bibim makguksu & suyuk set, with pollock sikhae in the sauce

First I tried the makguksu I'd been most looking forward to. The bibim makguksu is made with Goshine's own recipe using Gangwon-style pollock jeotgal (salted fermented pollock), seasoning sauce, and perilla oil. The usual sweet-and-tangy makguksu seasoning combined with the pollock jeotgal gave it a flavor a bit different from typical bibim makguksu.

Since the noodles are made in-house, the buckwheat noodle texture was great. Eating makguksu alone can feel a bit lacking, but having bossam alongside made for a good combination.

The bossam has no gamey taste at all — so clean and delicious~

The bossam is apparently boiled with traditional Gangwon kkamakjang (dark fermented sauce) and various ingredients, and it was tender and paired well with the makguksu. If you want both makguksu and bossam but don't want to order them separately, the solo or two-person set would work well.

Avocado buckwheat gimbap

One dish that stood out as unique was the avocado buckwheat gimbap (seaweed rice roll). Instead of rice, it uses buckwheat noodles aged with black vinegar, filled with avocado and nuts.

Making gimbap out of buckwheat noodles was surprising in itself, and it worked better than I expected. It felt clearly different from regular rice-based gimbap, so it seemed like a good option for anyone wanting to try something a bit different in Insa-dong — especially those who want a light meal or love buckwheat.

Spicy chodang soft tofu stew

Maybe because I love spicy soups, this was one of the dishes I was most drawn to that day. It's chodang soft tofu from Gangneung with a special spicy sauce added. The soft, savory flavor of the tofu combined with the hot, tangy broth made it great with rice.

Since makguksu is a cold dish, having the warm spicy soft tofu in between made for a nice combination. If you're looking for Korean food in Insa-dong and also want something hot and spicy, this is a good option.

Wrap-up: which dish should you order at Goshine Donghae?

If you're like me and want to sightsee around Insa-dong while also eating good Korean food, this is worth a visit. If you want both makguksu and bossam, go for the set menu; if you're in the mood for something hot and spicy or a hearty rice dish, the chodang soft tofu or stone bowl bibimbap are good picks. I tried a bit of everything that day, and since each dish has a different mood, I'd recommend visiting with a few people to share. If you're looking for makguksu in Insa-dong or Gangwon-style food near Anguk Station, Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno branch is worth checking out.

• Address: 3 Insadong 12-gil, 1F, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Getting there: About 250m from Anguk Station Exit 6, first house in the alley next to Ssamziegil on Insa-dong Culture Street