Insadong pork gomtang weekend lunch with a 13-month-old: Wolhadong

I went out for a city date in Seoul after a while — the weather's been so nice lately that it's great to get out and do outdoor stuff. My baby just passed her first birthday and started walking, so she's super active these days, which basically forces us out of the house. This weekend's outing was Insadong.

Now that she's 13 months old, she walks, runs, and eats regular baby food, so I don't have to lug around bags of baby supplies anymore — it's honestly a relief. While looking for an Insadong lunch spot where the baby could eat too, we headed to Wolhadong, a pork gomtang (pork bone soup) specialist. These days, when we go out to eat as a family, we tend to pick places where the baby can eat the same food as us.

Where is Wolhadong and what does it serve?

Wolhadong, a well-known pork gomtang spot near Anguk that's good for Insadong lunch, sits in a narrow alley. Wolhadong flavors its pork gomtang with a homemade cheonggeunjang (soybean paste).

With all the recent worry over Chinese-made kimchi, it was reassuring that Wolhadong's kimchi is made only with domestic napa cabbage, radish, and domestic chili powder.

Hanok seating with no baby chair — how it went with the baby

Wolhadong has a serene hanok (traditional Korean house) interior with bar tables, 2-seater tables, and 4-seater tables. Insadong lunch crowds were heavy that day. Unfortunately, there was no baby chair, which was a bit of a letdown.

Since the baby's too little to sit in a chair by herself, we had to take turns holding her while slurping down the soup. Luckily it wasn't served scalding hot, so we could eat it up quickly.

Wolhadong's pork gomtang is apparently known among foreign visitors too as a good spot near Anguk Station, and I saw quite a few foreigners eating solo. The bar table seats would be comfortable for a solo meal too.

Restroom is outside the restaurant

Wolhadong's restroom is located separately outside the shop, with just one stall each — small, but at least men's and women's are separated, so it was fine to use. Interestingly, the sink is mounted right above the toilet.

Wolhadong's QR ordering and the ₩30,000 set

Ordering at Wolhadong worked by scanning the QR code on the table. Once you open the menu through the QR code, there are also set menus available that aren't listed on the physical menu board.

We got the 2 Wolhadong gomtang + cold jeyuk (pork) tasting + 1 drink set for ₩30,000 total, which let us try a nice variety.

The taste of Wolhadong gomtang and cold jeyuk

The pork gomtang broth was mildly savory and really delicious. It looked like it had been made toryeom-style (rice pre-soaked and warmed in broth), since the rice was already inside the soup and warm, which was a good temperature to dig into right away.

They said Wolhadong has its own know-how for making the broth clear with no gamey pork smell, and it was indeed clean, tasty, and easy to digest — great for eating with the baby too. We also got to try the cold jeyuk (boiled pork), which you dip in the accompanying sauce — the special sauce was delicious too.

With how shocking the recent Chinese kimchi issue has been, I've felt a bit hesitant about eating kimchi at restaurants lately, but since this is domestic kimchi, I could eat it without worry.

Since it's cold jeyuk, I worried it might have a gamey pork smell, but there was none at all — it was clean, savory, and really delicious. I'd definitely recommend trying the cold jeyuk alongside the soup.

If you're stuck on what to eat for lunch in Insadong

At Wolhadong, the pork gomtang specialist, we finished a whole bowl of soup! Between wrangling the baby, I was a bit frazzled while eating, but we still drank the broth down to the last drop.

It's food that kids can eat easily too, so there were plenty of families around us. If you're wondering what to eat for lunch in Insadong, heading to a proper pork gomtang restaurant for a real bowl of soup is a solid choice.

Wolhadong, a favorite near Anguk Station / 1F hanok, 16-1 Insadong 8-gil, Jongno-gu / 11:00 – 21:00