Jongno Tower Korean lunch with parking: bossam set for 2, Bonghyejane

I ended up having lunch near Jonggak. It's an area full of office workers, so there are tons of restaurants and I agonized over the choice, but I wanted somewhere with decent prices and an easy Korean menu, and that's how I landed here! Here's my review of Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch (봉혜자네주방 종로타워점), a Jonggak lunch spot people keep talking about 😄

Where is Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch, and what about hours and parking?

Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch is on the second basement floor of Jongno Tower, a one-minute walk from Exits 3 and 3-1 of the station 😊 Hours are 11:00-21:00 on weekdays (last order 20:00) and 11:00-20:00 on weekends (last order 19:00), with a break time of 15:00-16:30 both on weekdays and weekends.

• Weekdays 11:00 - 21:00 / break time 15:00 - 16:30 / last order 20:00
• Weekends 11:00 - 20:00 / break time 15:00 - 16:30 / last order 19:00
• Parking available (1 hour 30 minutes covered); just park inside the building!

Jongno Tower B2 exterior and parking lot

Bonghyejane Jubang is on the second basement floor of Jongno Tower. Parking is inside the tower, and with a meal they cover a whole 1 hour 30 minutes, so you can visit without worrying about parking. The parking lot was kept clean and pleasant too, which made it easy to use.

In front of the restaurant there are signs and a menu board, so you can decide what to eat before going in. It's a place with lots of office workers, so I imagine it gets busy at lunchtime. Prices are reasonable and the menu is all Korean food, so it's easy to enjoy without any pressure.

What are the seats like inside Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch?

Inside, there are 4-person tables and 2-person seats, and it's a moderately sized restaurant that holds 20 or more people. The tables were kept neat and clean.

There's sesame oil on the table too, which would be so good with stir-fried octopus or webfoot octopus (jjukkumi) haha. Disposable aprons are kept near the kitchen, so you can eat without worrying about sauce splashes. I loved that a Korean spot like this exists inside Jongno Tower for a Jonggak lunch. No wonder it becomes a regular place for the office workers nearby, haha.

What's on the Bonghyejane Jubang menu?

The set meals are stir-fried octopus, stir-fried pork, beef bulgogi, spicy seafood soft tofu stew, mushroom perilla soup, and bossam. For à la carte dishes there's stir-fried octopus and stir-fried webfoot octopus, with sides like pork cutlet, flat dumplings (napjak mandu), hamburg steak, and perilla oil buckwheat noodles. They serve alcohol too, so it's a great place not just for lunch but for a drink in the evening. With such a varied menu, you could try something different every visit. Please check the photos for the full menu!

💡 TIP: A review event was running when I visited! They said they give free alcohol or a drink, so be sure to grab it 😊

What does the bossam set for 2 look like?

I ordered the bossam set for 2 at Bonghyejane Jubang. Each person gets a neat tray, and the lineup is really good. There's a tangy acorn jelly soup (muk-sabal), pumpkin porridge that's nice before the meal,

sweet-braised soybeans, white kimchi, lunchbox seaweed snacks, ssamjang (dipping paste), chili peppers, garlic, seasoned dried radish, bossam, and rice. Isn't that a great lineup for the price, haha? If there were a place near my office selling sets like this, I'd probably come every day.

Pumpkin porridge to start, and warm bossam

Before digging in, I tried the bossam set's pumpkin porridge first, and it was smooth and mildly sweet, like it coated my stomach haha. It's perfect for settling your stomach before a meal. The bossam was warm and moist.

It had been a while since I'd had lunchbox seaweed, and of course it was good haha

A perfect match for bossam: refilling the dried radish

The seasoned dried radish (mumallaeng) in Bonghyejane Jubang's bossam set is a perfect match for the bossam, and I wanted more, so I even got a refill haha

You can't imagine how good it is to take a big bite of bossam with dried radish and white kimchi together.

The white kimchi was really good too, and the tangy acorn jelly soup was great as a palate cleanser. It's the kind of lineup where a bowl of rice disappears in no time. Eating such a solid, healthy lunch left me feeling full of energy for the afternoon haha.

Verdict: is it a good Korean set-meal lunch in Jonggak?

I highly recommend Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch for a Jonggak lunch haha. The bossam set tray is really full and delicious. Parking is covered at Jongno Tower, so it's easy to visit too. If you want a hearty Korean set meal for lunch, definitely stop by 😊