# Gwacheon restaurant seafood hot pot for groups: Gwacheon Haesintang - By Sian (https://superchart.com/en/@gyeonggi-supper-signs/) - Written Sep 9, 2026 - Local places › Restaurants › Gwacheon, Gyeonggi - Sponsored: This post was created with support from the restaurant. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@gyeonggi-supper-signs/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@gyeonggi-supper-signs/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/index.md) ## In short Gwacheon Haesintang Gwacheon Main Branch is a restorative Korean restaurant in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi. Four coworkers shared a generous live octopus and native chicken haesintang, abalone pajeon, nutritious rice, and scorched-rice tea. Verdict: a hearty meal for a group wanting excellent ingredients. ## Good to know - **Spicy stir-fried octopus with house-made seasoning**: ₩39,000 - **Live octopus seafood hot pot**: From ₩59,000 for 2 people - **Meal menu**: Cordyceps samgyetang and abalone-octopus nutritious pot rice, around ₩20,000 - **Seating**: Spacious hall, generously spaced tables, and private rooms *as written by the visitor on Sep 9, 2026* A premium restorative meal that is great for family gatherings: Gwacheon Haesintang near Government Complex Gwacheon Station. This summer was so ridiculously hot. ![Restorative meal spread at Gwacheon Haesintang](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-01-xpph8-966.webp) My coworkers and I were saying, “At this rate, we’re going to collapse~~,” and since it was Malbok—the last of Korea’s three hottest summer days—we decided to properly recharge with a visit to Gwacheon Haesintang. I was the only first-timer; apparently all the others had been before, so it is a fairly well-known Gwacheon restaurant. Wild-caught blood octopus, live abalone, pen shell, shrimp, scallops, and native chicken all go into one pot, along with cordyceps and a stock steeped with cordyceps. Just looking at it made me feel healthier! ![Blood octopus and native chicken haesintang](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-02-enzq1-966.webp) ## Gwacheon Haesintang’s dining room and private-room atmosphere ![Exterior of Gwacheon Haesintang](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-03-9rbor-966.webp) ![Spacious dining room seating at Gwacheon Haesintang](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-04-yeubt-966.webp) ![Interior tables at Gwacheon Haesintang](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-05-1cs24-966.webp) The dining room itself was spacious, and the tables were nicely spread out. It looked good for pushing tables together for a large group, whether for a company dinner or a meal after hiking nearby Cheonggyesan. There are separate private rooms too, so it would work well for a family gathering in Gwacheon, a wedding-invitation get-together, or an important meal. ## Ingredients for the blood octopus haesintang I had only tried haesintang that was more like samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), so Gwacheon Haesintang’s blood octopus and native chicken haesintang honestly blew me away. The scale was different from the ingredients onward. Before eating, we peeked into the fish tanks, where the ingredients going into our haesintang that day were vigorously alive and moving around: big pen shells, wild live abalone, and blood octopus said to have come up from Gangwon-do. The octopus was so strong that its suckers made a cracking sound as they attached and released. Wait, we’re eating this...? Haha, so exciting. It was big and fresh as though it had just been pulled from the sea, so I could not wait. We had only looked at the tanks, yet I already felt recharged. ## Menu and prices ![Gwacheon Haesintang menu and prices](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-06-1fhd7-966.webp) For meal options, there is cordyceps samgyetang or abalone-octopus nutritious pot rice for around ₩20,000. There are also dishes such as spicy stir-fried octopus with house-made seasoning for ₩39,000 and live octopus seafood hot pot from ₩59,000 for two people. ## The basic spread with cordyceps They say even the basic side dishes are made in-house, and there was cordyceps in the basic salad too...! I knew cordyceps was precious, but this was my first time seeing and eating it up close like this. You can eat it raw, and a few pieces also arrive on top of the haesintang, where it is delicious cooked too. ![Basic side-dish spread with cordyceps](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-07-18igq-966.webp) ![Raw cordyceps side dish](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-08-1ah9q-966.webp) I tried it raw, and it was more savory and delicious than expected, without bitterness. It leaves a nutty finish. They grow it on oats, so you can eat the roots too; we decided to let it cook well in the haesintang! ## One pot of blood octopus and native chicken haesintang At last, the main dish arrived. Shrimp, scallops, pen shells, live abalone, white wood ear mushrooms and other mushrooms, plus a mountain of minari (water parsley), were piled high, with one large native chicken hidden underneath. Then the blood octopus from the tank went in alive, haha. It was so strong that the staff member practically had an arm-wrestling match getting it into the pot. The visuals were so overwhelming that people from the next table came over to look. It was truly spectacular—a whole spread that makes you feel treated. I think parents or someone special would really love it. ![A pot of blood octopus and native chicken haesintang](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-09-ikrzv-482.webp) Four adult women ate it, and there was truly plenty, with so much to eat that it would likely be enough for five or six people too. Food like this is definitely great for sharing at a Gwacheon family gathering or a parent’s birthday. ![Haesintang shared by a group](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-10-18eqv-966.webp) ![Ingredients for blood octopus haesintang](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-11-m075a-966.webp) The staff recommended cooking the blood octopus thoroughly. Unlike stone octopus, they said, blood octopus becomes more tender the longer it cooks. The blood octopus definitely had the biggest presence. At first I wondered whether simmering it so long would make it tough, but it was actually the opposite. ![Blood octopus cooking in the pot](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-12-bpixq-966.webp) As time passed, the flesh became tender while keeping octopus’s signature springy bounce, making it so satisfying to chew. ![Tender-cooked blood octopus leg](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-13-dfdnt-966.webp) The thick legs were springy yet tender, the flesh breaking apart softly, so I thought they would be fine for older diners too. The native chicken underneath had noticeably firmer flesh than regular chicken. Even after a long simmer, it did not turn mushy and retained a pleasing chew, soaking up the broth flavored with cordyceps and seafood. It was mild but never bland. The broth combined the comforting flavor drawn from cordyceps and native chicken with the clean umami of shellfish, to the point that it needed no extra seasoning. ![Cordyceps haesintang broth](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-14-lxh8n-966.webp) It felt like a deeply flavored broth made purely from the ingredients themselves. It is hard for something healthy to be this tasty, but the broth was addictive! I kept spooning it up. The live abalone was unbelievably thick, with a proper bite. Number one among the abalones I have had lately. How can it be thick, bouncy, and tender all at once? The texture was a work of art, so please do try it,, ![Thick live abalone and pen shell](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-15-s8arg-966.webp) The pen shell was thick and meaty too, especially the adductor muscle; it chewed softly along its grain and was sweet. And then there was the cordyceps. It is grown on oats, so you can eat the roots as well. The roots are genuinely nutty and such a treat. Cook it on top of the haesintang, and it absorbs the broth’s flavor while becoming much softer. ## Abalone pajeon while waiting for the haesintang The jeon (Korean savory pancake) that came out while it simmered was a treat too. It is called abalone pajeon, but with so much seafood, it was almost closer to an abalone-and-shrimp pancake with scallions. Large whole pieces of abalone sat on top, and it was packed with crispy shrimp, so the shrimp aroma really came through. The edges were wonderfully crisp and the middle moist; it disappeared in no time while we waited for the haesintang to cook, haha. ## Abalone-octopus nutritious rice and scorched-rice tea ![Abalone-octopus nutritious rice spread](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-16-iu2qg-966.webp) ![Nutritious rice topped with abalone and octopus](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-17-a7dv8-966.webp) We also ordered nutritious rice generously topped with abalone and octopus. Mix it lightly with the house special seasoned soy sauce, made with 12 ingredients. ![Nutritious rice with house special seasoned soy sauce](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-18-114oh-966.webp) ![Nutritious rice and house special seasoned soy sauce](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-19-fu139-966.webp) We first served the rice into bowls, deliberately did not scrape the bottom completely clean, then poured in water to make sungnyung (scorched-rice tea). ![Scorched-rice tea made from nutritious rice](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-20-iqlt5-966.webp) A bite of rice with haesintang broth, then the final sungnyung—it was a complete restorative-meal course. ![Haesintang broth and nutritious rice](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-21-d1nu3-966.webp) ![Finishing the haesintang meal](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-22-71vqp-966.webp) They also sell cordyceps liquor. Many people probably look for somewhere to eat in Gwacheon after hiking Gwanaksan or Cheonggyesan; sharing a hot pot of haesintang, having a drink with pajeon, and finishing with sungnyung sounds just right. The route also works well for coming to dinner with parents or children after spending a full day walking around Seoul Land. ![Restorative meal at Gwacheon Haesintang](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-23-1yl4w-966.webp) What amazed me most was how deeply flavored the broth was without heavy seasoning when the ingredients were this good. It is a versatile spot, from recharging after hiking Gwanaksan or Cheonggyesan, to eating after a Seoul Land outing, a company group dinner with coworkers, or a quiet wedding-invitation gathering. After properly emptying a whole pot with my summer-weary coworkers, the words just came out: “We ate so well today! We really, really enjoyed it!” ![Blood octopus haesintang meal spread](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken-24-199r5-966.webp) This was not a dish that only looked spectacular. It was a healthy restorative meal with precious ingredients, each one still tasting distinct. More than simply saying we ate until we burst, I left feeling satisfied that we had eaten a proper meal made with genuinely good ingredients. ## Where it is - Gwacheon Haesintang Gwacheon Main Branch (과천해신탕 과천본점) - 203, 2F, Jeil Shopping Center, 31 Byeoryangsangga 1-ro, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea (경기도 과천시 별양상가1로 31 제일상가 2층 203호) - 경기도 과천시 별양상가1로 31 제일상가 2층 203호 - 37.4287103, 126.9931949 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EA%B3%BC%EC%B2%9C%ED%95%B4%EC%8B%A0%ED%83%95%20%EA%B3%BC%EC%B2%9C%EB%B3%B8%EC%A0%90/@37.4287103,126.9931949,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@gyeonggi-supper-signs/gwacheon-health-meal-octopus-chicken/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt