Goyang Korean restaurant for special gomtang and meat kimchi pancake: Doonjeong

Isn’t the sky so pretty lately? Staying home on a day like this is practically a crime! So I’ve been diligently going out every weekend. Today I happened to be in Deogyang-gu, too. For lunch, I ate at Doonjeong (도온정), a restaurant in Hyang-dong that’s famous in Deogyang-gu.

Seeing the Blue Ribbon sign at the entrance, I thought, wow, this place really must be famous. The kids like Blue Ribbons even more, haha. Whenever they see a place with lots of Blue Ribbons, they say we should eat there. Kids... those places have enormous waits... As a Blue Ribbon favorite, Doonjeong had a wait too, but thankfully I visited around 2 PM, after lunch, so I didn’t wait long.

It was my first time in Deogyang-gu, and this is what it feels like. A new-town kind of feel? Haha. While waiting outside, I saw that Doonjeong’s gomtang uses female Korean beef cattle.

While you wait outside, a staff member kindly asks you to write your name on the waiting list. Just do as you’re told.

Doonjeong parking information

While waiting, I realized you really need to be careful about parking. These days, even without enforcement officers, people often report cars through dashcam footage, so always be careful, careful, and careful again. You check your mailbox without thinking, then spot that ominous piece of mail—ugh, heartbreaking. 😱 Hangdong No. 1 Public Parking Lot is not far away. They also provide partial support for the parking fee, so I recommend parking safely at the public lot.

As I was playing around taking sky photos, they called my name loudly. Finally, I was entering Doonjeong, Hyang-dong’s popular restaurant!!

Doonjeong’s neat, polished atmosphere

It was so hard to take photos without anyone appearing in them. The restaurant is kept very clean, and its gray-and-brown interior feels both upscale and comfortable.

The display cabinet was styled thoughtfully too, fitting for a Korean restaurant.

The sunlight coming through the windows made this such a pleasant space, too.

Here is Doonjeong’s menu; its name means “a bowl that shares warmth.” Beyond gomtang, there were Korean beef yukhoe bibimbap and hot-pot options, plus several dishes to have alongside the soup, such as a meat-and-chive pancake and seasoned meat.

An interior that considers even the little things

They’re salt and pepper shakers, but even these looked so upscale and neat.

A napkin with Doonjeong neatly printed on it, with the spoon and chopsticks placed on top. You could really feel the care put into things like the utensils and bowls. Heavy bowls may make serving difficult, but from the diner’s perspective, I was so pleased.

From special gomtang to spicy Korean beef gomtang

Two delicious types of kimchi were already set on the table. They looked so good that I tried them before the food arrived, and wow—the flavor was no joke. I kept picking at them one by one, then asked for a refill as soon as our dishes came out...

We ordered special gomtang, gomtang, spicy gomtang, and a meat-and-chive pancake.

The special gomtang is on the left, and the regular gomtang is on the right. You can see the difference, right?

Special gomtang, ₩16,000. It had a wide variety of meat cuts, making it especially fun to eat. You can dip the meat in the soy sauce served separately. You can’t see it because it’s covered by meat, but there is rice underneath.

Regular gomtang, ₩13,000. It has less meat than the special gomtang, so you can see the rice here, right? But the regular gomtang was still generously filled with meat. The pieces were large, so I cut them up to eat. I don’t know the exact cuts, but as I ate, I think there were some cuts I really like. There were several cuts, including chewy arongsatae (beef shank with tendon) and beef shank, which made it even more enjoyable.

Spicy Korean beef gomtang, ₩15,000. This isn’t just gomtang—it’s Korean beef gomtang. The rice came separately with this one. I only thought of it after finishing, but I should have asked for more green onion. I was eating so enthusiastically because it was delicious that later I thought it would have been nice to add more green onion.

Such a neat full spread even looking at it again; I finished every drop of the broth.

A meat feast that seemed to go on no matter how much I ate.

Meat kimchi pancake that makes you want a drink

The meat kimchi pancake—this menu item, seriously ㅠㅠ You absolutely have to get it. It’s a kimchi pancake with meat inside, golden-brown enough that you can’t tell where the meat is, but once it hits your mouth, the chewy meat and crisp kimchi create total chaos in the best way.

It was quite thick and crisp, so it felt like a generous portion. You really have to order it. It wasn’t spicy, and unusually, it included seafood as well as meat. The kind of dish that makes you think of a drink.

Doonjeong also sells a varied selection of alcohol. If you’re looking for a nice place for drinks in Hyang-dong, Doonjeong could be worth visiting.

We scraped the plate clean.

Thoughtful service even with a child

Because we came with a child, they brought us a sauce without Cheongyang chili peppers, asked whether it was okay to add green onion, and showed thoughtfulness in so many ways. One small act of consideration makes all the difference. A restaurant like this can’t possibly be empty. That’s why there has to be a wait.

The kitchen is open too, which makes me trust the place even more. The weather will gradually turn chilly now, and whenever it does, I think I’ll remember a steaming bowl of Doonjeong’s gomtang. From my apartment balcony, I can see the Deogeun district, and every time I see it, I think I’ll remember Doonjeong. I had a satisfying lunch at Doonjeong in Hyang-dong, took a quick look around the neighborhood, and headed home. Weekends go by so fast. I’ll work hard again for another week.