Kalguksu house near Gyodae Station for weekday day drinking: Daseon

You know those days? Too soon to call it after lunch, too long to wait until dinner. 😂 What you need at times like that is day drinking.

This time I went to Daseon Kalguksu near Gyodae Station, a good spot for kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) and a glass of makgeolli. Spoiler: I went in planning to just eat kalguksu, and ended up with blanched cuttlefish and an assorted jeon platter spread out too, and had a properly happy day-drinking session.🤣

What is Daseon Kalguksu, the day-drinking spot near Gyodae Station?

Daseon Kalguksu is a blue-signed noodle shop a short walk from Gyodae Station, with '25-year tradition, original hangover kalguksu' written on the sign. From the outside alone it already had that old-school local favorite feel.

Right there on the sign: '25-year tradition, original hangover kalguksu'!

There was also a notice out front about an SBS Live Today appearance. Apparently it was featured on SBS Live Today's 'Masters of Taste — a bowl of 25 years of devotion! Kalnakji' episode on January 3, 2023. I'm not the type to trust a place just because it's been on TV, but seeing this still got me a little excited, haha.

No break time at Daseon Kalguksu: key info for day drinkers

Daseon Kalguksu has a 'NO BREAK TIME' sign posted in the store. This was honestly the detail that caught our eye the most that day... Oh ho. This is seriously important information for anyone into day drinking. 😎

You can grab a drink even in that awkward stretch after lunch! For anyone looking for a place near Gyodae Station where day drinking is possible, this was a pretty good option.

Daseon Kalguksu menu and what we ordered

What we ordered that day: the kalguksu set (₩15,000), Daseon assorted jeon (₩26,000), blanched cuttlefish (₩25,000), and makgeolli. Looking at the Daseon Kalguksu menu, there are so many drinking-snack options you start to wonder, 'isn't this actually a makgeolli bar?'

• Meals: kalguksu, kalguksu set
• Anju (drinking snacks): boiled pork (suyuk), bossam, assorted jeon, seafood pancake, shrimp jeon, chive pancake
• Other: blanched cuttlefish, clam soup, spicy seafood hot pot, and more

And of course... makgeolli! It'd be rude not to order makgeolli with a spread like this for day drinking, haha.

Starting a weekday day drink with makgeolli

Not long after ordering, the makgeolli arrived.

Pouring the chilled makgeolli into a brass bowl and taking that first sip, the direction of the afternoon was already decided. Today wasn't lunch... it was day drinking. Hahaha.

A glass of makgeolli in broad daylight just tastes so good, I don't know why. Weekday day drinking has this slight rebellious feeling to it, and spreading out delicious snacks from the afternoon really does the job of resetting your mood.

What comes in the Daseon Kalguksu set?

According to the sign on the wall, the kalguksu set (₩15,000) comes with a plate of boiled pork, Daseon kalguksu, barley rice, and house-made domestic kkakdugi-style seasoned greens and radish salad. The composition is better than I expected.

The kalguksu set arrived first. It's not just a bowl of noodles — you get a bunch of things to eat alongside, so it was great to order as both a meal and a drinking snack. Especially the plate of boiled pork!

Thick slices of boiled pork come with a red seasoned salad and vegetables on the side, and the visual alone makes you think of makgeolli. Put a bit of the spicy salad on a slice of pork and it cuts through the richness with a spicy-tangy kick — a great match as a drinking snack.

We'd ordered the kalguksu set thinking 'we're here to eat, right?' but judging by how fast the makgeolli glasses were emptying, eating might have just been the excuse.🤣

Barley rice mixed with spicy radish salad

I tried the barley rice from the kalguksu set before the noodles arrived.

Mix a bit of the red radish salad into the barley rice and it's not flashy, but it's the kind of flavor you keep going back for. That's part of the fun of eating at a kalguksu place. Barley rice before the noodles, a bite of pork, a glass of makgeolli... you're already happy before the main dish even shows up, haha.

Daseon kalguksu in clear clam broth

Daseon kalguksu has a clear broth with thick noodles, plenty of clams, along with seaweed flakes, sesame seeds and green onion. And here it is! Even the bowl itself is generously sized.

According to the sign at the entrance, the broth is made fresh every morning from 8 kinds of ingredients, seafood and vegetables. The broth isn't a strong red style — it's clean and easy to slurp down.

Especially when you've been eating rich snacks like jeon and boiled pork while day drinking, a spoonful of hot kalguksu broth in between is... ahh. This might be the completion of Korean-style day drinking, haha.

The noodles were nice and thick as kalguksu should be, satisfying to chew through, and it was fun picking out the clams one by one. Makgeolli sip → bite of jeon → spoonful of kalguksu broth. This loop is dangerous.🤣

Daseon assorted jeon (₩26,000), a perfect match for makgeolli

Daseon's assorted jeon was truly the dish that called for makgeolli that day — it came piled high on a tray, generous in portion.

Golden brown just from the photo, right? There was zucchini jeon along with several other kinds, and a chunky shrimp jeon that stood out. Jeon is always best fresh off the pan while still warm.

Pick up a golden-fried piece of jeon, dip it lightly in soy sauce, and a sip of makgeolli... Choosing this day-drinking menu was truly the right call, haha.

Because there were so many kinds together, it never got boring the way eating just one thing does — it was fun picking around and trying different pieces. If a group is day drinking near Gyodae Station, ordering one assorted jeon platter to share seems like a great idea.

How is the blanched cuttlefish (₩25,000) served?

Daseon's blanched cuttlefish comes with white, thickly sliced cuttlefish laid over chives, served with chojang (vinegared chili sauce) and wasabi. The thought 'maybe I should stop eating now' lasted only a moment before I picked my chopsticks back up at the sight of it on the table.

The white, thickly sliced cuttlefish looked plump and springy just to look at.

You can dip it in just chojang, but personally I liked picking up the cuttlefish together with chives and dipping it thoroughly in the sauce.

Springy cuttlefish, fragrant chives, tangy-spicy chojang. And makgeolli. In front of this combination, it doesn't matter much whether it's day or night, haha. Soft boiled pork → crispy jeon → chewy blanched cuttlefish — every snack had a different texture, so we kept eating.

A satisfying day drink at a Gyodae Station Korean restaurant

It started as 'should we have some makgeolli with our kalguksu?' but before we knew it, the table was covered with the kalguksu set, boiled pork, barley rice, seasoned greens and radish salad, assorted jeon, blanched cuttlefish and makgeolli.🤣 But no regrets. If anything, it was a very happy day-drinking session.

There are days near Gyodae Station when you want a drink from the afternoon, but you're craving Korean-style anju like jeon, boiled pork and blanched seafood with makgeolli rather than chicken or grilled meat. Daseon Kalguksu suits those days well. It works fine if you just want kalguksu alone, and it also works well if you want to order proper anju and have makgeolli like we did. And since it's posted as having no break time, it seems like a solid option for anyone looking for a place to day drink near Gyodae Station during that awkward afternoon stretch.

Daseon Kalguksu Gyodae location and opening hours

Daseon Kalguksu is located at 69 Banpo-daero 26-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea (1st and 2nd floor), about 180m from Exit 14 of Gyodae Station, so it's pretty accessible.

• Weekdays 11:00–23:00, last order 22:30
• Weekends 11:30–22:00, last order 21:30
• No break time (per store signage)

These are the hours confirmed at the time of the visit. Hours may change, so it's worth checking before you go.

If you're near Gyodae Station and craving makgeolli, especially on a day when you want a piece of jeon and a drink from broad daylight, remember Daseon Kalguksu. Just ordering the kalguksu set alone gets you a nice variety, and adding the assorted jeon and blanched cuttlefish makes the makgeolli go down way too easily. A day that reminded me once again that for day drinking, the snacks matter more than the type of alcohol. And the anju at Daseon Kalguksu that day... paired dangerously well with day drinking.🤣🍶