Hongdae bar with 120-seat group booking, private rooms: Kkoko Land

Hi, this is Gurime, your neighborhood drinker. I heard a new chicken place opened up in my home turf of Hongdae, so I rushed over with Uyu to check it out.

Let me introduce a Hongdae bar that's great for groups while keeping that outdoor-market feel, a place that shows baseball games or the World Cup on screen, and where the barbecue chicken neck is genuinely delicious.

Kkoko Land's location and hours

• Address: 18 Wausan-ro 19-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st-2nd floor (near Hongik Univ., Sangsu, Hapjeong stations)
• Hours: Weekdays 16:00-02:00 / Weekends 12:00-02:00, no regular holiday
• Parking: No parking; use nearby paid lots
• Group seating, reservations available, high chairs available

The menu, as you can see, is mostly the kind of fried dishes you'd expect at a beer bar.

You have to go up a staircase to get in. Strollers or wheelchairs would have a hard time. A big giraffe doll greets you at the entrance.

The interior vibe and 120-person group rental

The interior is massive. They say you can rent out the whole place for up to 120 people.

There's a private room space up a half-flight of stairs too, which looked useful for group gatherings or wedding-invitation meetups on their own. The room fits a minimum of 6 to 8 people.

There are seats that fully capture that outdoor-market feel, plus seats further inside, so you can pick whichever suits your mood.

Restrooms and smoking area

One thing that really surprised me was the restroom. Maybe because the place just opened, but it's very clean and well kept. I love that each stall has its own sink.

There's a separate smoking area too, nicely set apart from the seating. Several high chairs are available as well.

Welcome drink and basic side snack

Now let's get into the menu properly. As soon as you sit down, they give you a welcome drink — orange juice. I recommend ordering a drink to mix in with it, haha.

True to the name Kkoko Land, the basic side snack is a chicken-leg-shaped cracker. It had a bit of spice mixed in, which I liked.

Kirin draft beer

I had a cold Kirin draft. It's great that they have three kinds of draft beer. The Kirin was cold and crisp — really nice.

Signature charcoal-grilled chicken neck (seasoned)

It took quite a while to arrive, so I was pretty hungry by the time it did — and wow, it was really good! Boneless, so it was easy to eat.

The charcoal aroma really comes through, with a subtle but distinct spiciness and a sweet sauce flavor that just calls for a drink. The chicken was tender too, so the texture was great.

The side salad and sweet potato and corn that come with it help balance out the spice, and the combo is so good you keep reaching for more.

Amazing slushy-ice makguksu

The makguksu (buckwheat noodles) arrived with an incredible visual — piled high with slushy ice. They give you disposable gloves. It's so cold that mixing it makes your hands go numb~

If you need something refreshing and you're visiting with a group, I'd recommend ordering this.

Fried chicken gizzards

Since I wanted to eat a bit more, I ordered a fried dish right away. The chicken gizzards came up still steaming hot. They're really good at frying here. The texture was plump and chewy, which made it fun to eat.

Final verdict: if you're sick of regular fried chicken, try Kkoko Land

Hongdae never had a bar this spacious and comfortable that still gives you that outdoor-market feel — I'm glad one finally exists. It would be great for hosting group gatherings here too. And of course, definitely order the signature dish. The chicken neck was so good I want to come back and eat it again!

Plenty of families come here too, and it's perfect even if you just want to swing by for chicken. Bonus points for the spotless restroom.