Yongsan Korean restaurant near the fireworks festival with a kid

You know how we flew back from Jeju and didn't even stop home before heading straight to Seoul? All to catch the Seoul fireworks festival. Our family's wanderlust is really something, haha. This time we were headed to Ichon-dong's Hangang Park to watch the fireworks — back when I lived in Yongsan, my sister and I used to watch every year from that same park. Since it's such a packed day, we figured we'd head to Yongsan a bit early, eat dinner, and then move — but time turned out tighter than expected.

Why Baekok Yongsan before the fireworks festival

Since fireworks were the whole point, we couldn't spend too much time on dinner — we needed something quick to eat but still filling, and that's how we landed on Baekok Yongsan. On a day like this, a one-bowl meal beats a place with a complicated menu, honestly.

I found Baekok while searching for restaurants near Yongsan Station. The location was perfect too — right on the way from Yongsan Station toward Ichon Park. That day we ordered three things: pork gomtang, yeol-gomtang, and yak-gomtang.

Comparing pork gomtang, yeol-gomtang, and yak-gomtang

Pork gomtang is a rich broth with domestic sow foreleg meat,

and yeol-gomtang is the basic gomtang with spicy seasoning and cheongyang chili added.

Yak-gomtang has neungi mushroom, milk vetch root, and other herbal ingredients added, so I was curious and ordered one to try. With all three lined up together, you can clearly see the broth colors differ, right?

According to the menu, Baekok cooks the meat at a low temperature for a minimal amount of time to protect the texture — and sure enough, the meat had no gamey smell and was soft and savory. Really tasty :)

Just one side dish, kkakdugi — which was actually great when time was tight

And the side dishes were genuinely as simple as it gets — just kkakdugi. At first I wondered if that was really all that was coming, but that day I actually liked this setup. We were pressed for time before the fireworks, so there was no need to linger over a spread of banchan — we could just slurp down a bowl of gomtang and get moving right away.

A ₩2,000 glass of baekjabaegi, too

And then a glass of baekjabaegi rice wine on top of it all. While we were eating, I noticed a sign posted on the wall — a baekjabaegi promotion! They were selling it by the glass for ₩2,000, and I couldn't pass that up, so I ordered one. Just the one glass, since we still had fireworks to get to. Since I figured traffic would be a mess that day, we took public transit, which meant I could actually have a drink — so nice.

Pairing traditional rice wine with gomtang turned out to go better than I expected. And at ₩2,000, it was easy to try without a second thought. The restaurant also had a promotion for Baekseju posted up, and it looked like a solid spot for pairing anju (drinking snacks) with traditional liquor in the evening too.

Pork gomtang worked well for eating with a kid too

Siwoo took a spoonful of the warm broth first, and clearly liked it, because he went to town on the kkakdugi too. The broth was clear and milky-white with plenty of pork piled on top, and since the meat was sliced thin, it was easy to eat along with the broth.

The broth wasn't harsh at all, more on the mild and clean side, so it was easy to finish a whole bowl without feeling weighed down. We wanted to feed him something filling before the fireworks, and since gomtang isn't spicy and he could eat the meat too, it turned out to be a great meal to share with a kid. Time was tight that day, but Siwoo ate so well that I could relax and just enjoy the fireworks afterward.

A little pepper on the yeol-gomtang — my personal favorite

What I ordered was the yeol-gomtang. Even in photos you can see the red seasoning on top, looking spicy, right? Tasting it, it was even more pleasantly fiery than I expected. With cheongyang chili mixed in, the broth itself had a slight kick and a clean, refreshing finish.

It was good on its own, but I tried sprinkling on some pepper from the table. Wow — with the pepper, it was next level. I guess I really do need pepper in a spicy broth like this. Scoop up a big bite of pork with the broth, and with the rice already mixed in, it was quick and filling all at once.

Yak-gomtang tastes like neungi mushroom baeksuk broth

Yak-gomtang tastes like neungi mushroom baeksuk (whole chicken soup) broth?? With the herbal ingredients in there, the first thing that came to mind when I tasted the broth was exactly that — neungi mushroom baeksuk broth. It's clear but has a quietly deep flavor, with a distinct herbal medicine aroma. It tastes like it's good for you, and it's genuinely delicious too.

Picking a bowl by taste

• If you like a mild, clean broth: pork gomtang
• If you're craving something spicy: yeol-gomtang
• If you like a deep broth like neungi mushroom baeksuk: yak-gomtang

It was nice being able to pick based on our own preferences. If you're near Yongsan Station looking for a hearty soup for lunch or dinner, this place is worth a stop — and it's a good option, too, if you're eating in Yongsan before heading off to another plan, like we were.

We filled up on gomtang and had just the one glass of baekjabaegi before heading to our real destination, Ichon-dong's Hangang Park. After staking out a spot in the crowd and waiting it out, we got to see the fireworks properly. We stumbled onto this place while looking for a restaurant near Yongsan Station, and it turned out to be a pretty satisfying spot for a simple, filling meal in the middle of a busy schedule. And if I go back, I'm ordering the yeol-gomtang with pepper on top, no question.