Dongtan food court gomtang restaurant with a dumpling set: Baekok

Baekok Dongtan on B1 of Lotte Department Store Dongtan

It's autumn now. As the weather gets a bit cooler these days, I keep thinking about warm soup dishes haha. I was trying to decide what to eat while hanging out at Lotte Department Store Dongtan, and this time I picked guk-bap (soup with rice) — Baekok, a pork gomtang (pork bone soup) place on the basement level of Lotte Department Store Dongtan :)

Baekok Dongtan

Baekok Dongtan is located at 160 Dongtan-yeokro, Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, on B1 of Lotte Department Store Dongtan. It's open Mon–Fri 10:30–20:00 and Sat–Sun 10:30–20:30.

Where is Baekok Dongtan?

Baekok mainly serves pork gomtang, and since I love a clean-tasting gomtang broth, I'd been curious about this place for a while. Baekok is located on B1 of Lotte Department Store Dongtan. Since it's inside the department store, it wasn't hard to find at all!

It's in the food court, so it was super convenient to visit haha. Baekok sits right at the B1 food court area, so it stands out immediately — if you're browsing the basement food court in the department store, I think you'll spot it at some point while looking for other places!!

The pork gomtang and dumpling set menu at Baekok Dongtan

Baekok has several menu items built around pork gomtang. What especially caught my eye was a set that includes dumplings wrapped in cabbage leaves haha. Order the Yak Gomtang Set and you get the gomtang, 2 dumplings, and a drink — a really solid set!!!!

What is the 21,000-won Yak Gomtang Set like?

I ordered the Yak Gomtang Set for ₩21,000 that day! I was going to just get the gomtang alone, but since there was a set menu, I figured I'd go all in and pick the set haha.

When you hear pork gomtang, you might picture a slightly greasy or heavy broth, but it was much lighter and cleaner than I expected.

There was quite a generous amount of meat too. Softly cooked pork sat in the broth, which went great with rice. There was barely any gamey smell from the meat, and overall it felt clean!

Rather than being strongly salty or heavy, it had a clean, mild meaty flavor, so I kept spooning up the broth on its own haha.

The cabbage-wrapped dumplings served with the gomtang

And here's one reason I chose the Yak Gomtang Set — the dumplings haha. Just the gomtang alone felt like it might be a bit light, but with the dumplings included, it felt like a proper full meal.

The dumpling skin wasn't too thick and the filling was nicely packed, so it went well with the gomtang. The gomtang itself was good, but with the dumplings added, the portion was plenty for a satisfying lunch haha.

I think it's also appeared on a show with Go Kyung-pyo. A genuine gomtang spot that clearly earned its TV spot!!!!

• Broth that isn't overly strong
• Tender pork
• Dumplings that pair well with the gomtang

I'd strongly recommend Baekok Dongtan to anyone who prefers a clean, light gomtang over a spicy, heavy guk-bap! If you're looking for a Korean restaurant at Lotte Department Store Dongtan, or just craving a warm soup dish, a bowl of gomtang at Baekok might hit the spot :)