Jongno chicken hot pot after a Gwangjang Market tour: Sunhuine

Today I'm introducing a restaurant we found for a hearty, warm dinner after thoroughly exploring Gwangjang Market~ Sunhuine Bindaetteok, famous as one of the best bindaetteok spots around Gwangjang Market, can also be found in the Dongdaemun dak hanmari alley.

Walking toward Dongdaemun after happily browsing Gwangjang Market, we even spotted a fire-patrol robot, along with the market's signature old-school eateries~ These occasional market tours are great for feeling that lived-in, human atmosphere~

Where is Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun, and what are the hours?

Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun, a favorite for Dongdaemun dak hanmari lunches, sits at the very left end of the Dongdaemun dak hanmari alley~ Both the 1st and 2nd floors are open, and the seating is spacious enough that it's great for group gatherings too.

'Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun' after a Gwangjang Market tour Location: 20 Jong-40ga-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 1st & 2nd floor, South Korea Nearest subway: 351m from Exit 5, Jongno 5(o)-ga Station (inside the Dongdaemun dak hanmari alley between Jongno 5(o)-ga and Dongdaemun stations) Hours: opens daily at 10:30, closes at 22:30 Facilities: group-friendly, takeout available

It's easy to reach by subway — come out Exit 5 of Jongno 5(o)-ga Station or Exit 9 of Dongdaemun Station~ It also works well right after a Gwangjang Market tour nearby~ After eating, you can go explore Dongdaemun or stroll along Cheonggyecheon stream~

Ordering dak hanmari and seafood mung bean pancake: you mix the sauce yourself

At the entrance of Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun, we spotted a signature from famous Japanese comedian and TV personality Daisuke Miyagawa~ Lots of foreign visitors, families and friends come here to eat~ First, we ordered dak hanmari, great for its warm broth, and haemul nokdu bindaetteok.

Dak hanmari is best eaten with sauce, and the instructions for making the sauce and how to enjoy the dish were laid out in detail~

Following the instructions, we made it to our own taste~ We added plenty of minced garlic, and the sweet-and-spicy result was delicious~

How much chicken do two people get, cut at the table?

They bring the dak hanmari over to the table like this and cut it up for easy eating~ It's just the right amount for two people~

Sunhuine's dak hanmari comes loaded with jujube, mushrooms, green onion, vegetables, and even ginseng~ The clear broth is generous too, so we planned to simmer it down well~ There's also rice cake noodles, and they told us we could eat them once they start floating up~

How the Dongdaemun dak hanmari alley began

I looked into the origin of dak hanmari — apparently it started in the back alleys of the Dongdaemun General Market (now the 'Dongdaemun dak hanmari alley') in the late 1970s~ Customers started preferring chicken simmered with potatoes and noodles in a clear, rich chicken broth instead of spicy seasoning, and word spread among the merchants until this naturally became the local dish now known as 'dak hanmari'~

The dish got its name because when a customer sat down without ordering anything specific, the owner would simply put a whole chicken (dak hanmari, literally 'one chicken') into a large pot and boil it up for them~ If it dates back to the 1970s, that makes it a genuinely old dish~

What does Sunhuine's seafood mung bean pancake taste like?

Nokdu bindaetteok (mung bean pancake) is hugely popular at Gwangjang Market, and today we tried the seafood version~ It was thicker and crispier than expected, and dipping it in onion soy sauce made it taste clean and delicious~

Ahead of holidays, lots of people buy nokdu bindaetteok at the market in advance, and it turns out Sunhuine's bindaetteok is also available at supermarkets and online~ It's the kind of product I sometimes pick up a pack or two of at the supermarket when I'm craving that market taste~ Eating it with onion soy sauce cuts the richness and keeps the flavor clean~ The nuttiness of the mung bean pancake was really good~ It's a dish people line up for at Gwangjang Market, but at Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari you can order it with total ease.

By the time we were nearly done with the haemul nokdu bindaetteok, the rice cake noodles were floating up and the meat was cooked through nicely~ Eating dak hanmari with its warm broth like this made me feel like my body, worn down from a summer of nothing but cold drinks, was getting healthier again~

Once the chicken was fully cooked, we ate it with the tangy, spicy vegetable sauce~ The flavor was so clean that the two of us polished off the whole dak hanmari~ We kept enjoying the warm broth so much that, sadly, we didn't get to the kalguksu noodles~

Why Sunhuine works for lunch, plus the Naver review freebie

Sunhuine Bindaetteok Dak Hanmari Dongdaemun, a favorite for Dongdaemun dak hanmari lunches, is open from daytime, so it works well for lunch too~ Foreign visitors seem to enjoy dak hanmari more than you'd expect~ Now that the weather is turning cooler, it's also a great dish for nourishing a body worn out by the heat.

Leave a Naver review and you can enjoy a free makgeolli, draft beer, or drink on the house~ Don't forget to take advantage of it~ It's also a great menu for people who can't handle spicy food — if you're visiting Dongdaemun or Jongno, be sure to stop by the dak hanmari alley~ Let dak hanmari's warm broth comfort your body after a tiring summer~