Cherry blossom ceiling pub at Konkuk Univ. with mango highballs: Dowon

I was looking for a bar with a nice atmosphere near Konkuk Univ. Station and ended up at Sinseon Sulzip Dowon Konkuk Main Branch. It's about a 5-minute walk from Exit 2, so it's easy to reach, and with the space split across the 2nd to 4th floors, it looked good for everything from dates to small gatherings to big company dinners for Gwangjin office workers.

We ate on the 2nd floor and ordered jokbal suyuk (boiled pork hock slices), assorted sundae (Korean blood sausage), avocado hanwoo++ yukhoe (seasoned raw beef) in a sinseollo pot, and the I'm Fine dessert. We also had mango highballs: one alcoholic, one non-alcoholic made with sparkling water. Above all, the moment we walked into the 2nd floor, the cherry blossom trees filling the ceiling caught my eye, and in person it was even more dazzling than in photos.

Sinseon Sulzip Dowon Konkuk Main Branch: location, hours and parking

Sinseon Sulzip Dowon Konkuk Main Branch is at 33 2, 3rd floor, Achasan-ro 33-gil, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, about 220m from Exit 2 of Konkuk Univ. Station, so it's easy to find by subway. Hours are Mon–Thu 16:00–05:00 the next day, Fri 16:00–06:00, Sat 15:00–06:00 and Sun 15:00–05:00.

• Last order: Mon–Thu and Sun 04:00 / Fri–Sat 05:00
• Groups welcome, reservations, Wi-Fi, separate men's/women's restrooms, waiting area
• Parking: no private lot; use nearby public or paid parking
• Gana Parking: 101 Dongil-ro 22-gil, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul

What is the cherry blossom 2nd floor at Sinseon Sulzip Dowon like?

The 2nd floor is an open hall decorated with cherry blossom trees across the ceiling, a waterwheel and plants. Right from the entrance, the vibe was very different from an ordinary bar.

Inside, you see wooden interiors and traditional props, and the ceiling is full of pink cherry blossom decorations, which gives the whole place a warm feeling. The 2nd floor, where I sat, is an open space, but the tables weren't crammed together, and walls and plant decor divide it up a bit, so I could eat more comfortably than I expected.

Walking through the middle of the place, there's even a small waterwheel, and with all the wood and plants, it felt like a place that put real effort into its interior rather than just somewhere to drink. Out of all of it, the cherry blossom trees were the prettiest, haha.

With the lighting on, it's great for photos at night, and when you sit and look up, you see blossoms everywhere, so I think people looking for a bar with a nice atmosphere in Konkuk will like it.

Restrooms stocked with mouthwash and a hair dryer

The restroom wasn't just a plain sink; they had extra supplies set out. There was mouthwash and disposable cups, and a hair dryer too.

It's rare for a bar restroom to have a hair dryer, and I thought it would come in handy for fixing your hair or touching up makeup. I was impressed that they'd looked after small details like this.

How many people can book a 3rd-floor hanok room?

On Naver reservations, the 3rd-floor rooms can be booked for 2 to 4 people, and I heard the 4th floor has a separate group space for larger parties. I took a quick look at the 3rd floor while eating, and the mood was a little different from the 2nd.

The 3rd floor is a semi-private room style with a hanok (traditional Korean house) feel. Doors and lattice-style partitions divide the space, so it looked clearly quieter for talking than the 2nd floor, where many tables share one space.

So for a quiet chat with friends, go for the 3rd floor; if you're looking for a group-room bar near Konkuk Univ. Station or a place for a large company dinner, you could ask about the bigger space.

What we ordered at Sinseon Sulzip Dowon and how much it cost

• Jokbal suyuk (medium) ₩23,800
• Assorted sundae (medium) ₩20,800
• Avocado hanwoo++ yukhoe in a sinseollo pot ₩24,800
• I'm Fine ₩12,800
• Mango highball ₩8,000 × 2

For the mango highballs, one was alcoholic and one was non-alcoholic, made with sparkling water. Once the dishes started coming out one by one, the table filled right up, haha.

Avocado hanwoo++ yukhoe in a sinseollo pot (24,800 won)

The avocado hanwoo++ yukhoe in a sinseollo pot was the dish whose look grabbed me first that day.

A generous mound of hanwoo (Korean beef) yukhoe sat in the middle of a black bowl, served with Asian pear, sprouts, egg yolk and more. The yukhoe was tender even picked up on its own, and eating it with the pear added a crunchy texture that went well.

I put the yukhoe and vegetables on a slice of pear, and sometimes dipped it lightly in the yolk. The seasoning wasn't heavy-handed, so I could taste the beef itself, and with the pear my mouth felt a bit cleaner.

Jokbal suyuk (boiled pork hock), medium (23,800 won)

I ordered the jokbal suyuk because it's said to be Sinseon Sulzip Dowon's signature dish. It's apparently boiled the same day and sold in limited quantities.

The meat came neatly arranged in a round steamer, set up to stay warm underneath. Picking it up, some pieces had lean meat and fat together, and the thickness varied a little from piece to piece.

The lean parts chewed tender and the pieces with fat were much juicier. It's fine on its own, but it went even better with the kimchi and vegetables served alongside.

I put a slice on what looked like aged kimchi, and also wrapped meat with garlic, chili and more in cabbage, and eaten that way, one bite was pretty filling. Since it's boiled the same day and sold in limited quantities, if you want the jokbal suyuk, it might be a good idea to check when you reserve.

Assorted sundae (Korean blood sausage), medium (20,800 won)

The assorted sundae (medium) is ₩20,800 and the portion was quite generous. It wasn't only regular sundae; it came with several kinds of offal too.

The sundae was packed full, and a bite didn't feel light and mostly glass noodles; there was a fair amount of filling. Each piece differed a little in shape and texture, with some soft parts and some chewy offal, so we alternated between them.

It was good lightly dipped in salt or the accompanying seasoning, and since it doesn't overlap with the suyuk or yukhoe, it's a good one to order when you're with several people.

Can you order the mango highball at Sinseon Sulzip Dowon non-alcoholic?

The mango highball (₩8,000) at Sinseon Sulzip Dowon can be made non-alcoholic if you ask for it with sparkling water. That day we ordered one alcoholic and one non-alcoholic.

The non-alcoholic one had the sweet taste of mango with fizz, which made it easy to sip lightly while eating the side dishes.

It's nice that people who drink and people who don't can come together and still order in the same mood. The alcoholic highball wasn't overly strong either; the mango flavor came first, so it was easy to drink with food.

Dessert: I'm Fine pineapple bingsu (12,800 won)

I'm Fine is a ₩12,800 dessert of snowflake pineapple bingsu (shaved ice) served with pineapple sherbet and cube pineapple, and it was the last thing we ordered that day.

It was generously topped with yellow pineapple. At first I thought I'd be too full after all the side dishes, but once I started eating, there was room again, haha.

The pineapple was sweet and tangy, so it was good for cleansing the mouth after the suyuk and sundae. With cold shaved snowflake ice and pineapple sherbet together, it was much more refreshing than just fruit, and there was quite a lot of cube pineapple too.

I also liked that you can eat a hearty meal of side dishes and finish with dessert all in one place.

Which gatherings suit Sinseon Sulzip Dowon Konkuk Main Branch?

Personally, what stayed with me about Sinseon Sulzip Dowon Konkuk Main Branch was the atmosphere of the space more than the food. The 2nd floor has cherry blossom trees, a waterwheel and plant decor, so it's good for photos and relatively comfortable for eating while chatting, and the 3rd floor has rooms for a quieter visit.

So it looked fine for anything from a casual meetup of two or three people to a group-room bar near Konkuk Univ. Station or a Gwangjin office dinner, depending on your numbers. It's also not far from Konkuk University Hospital and Konkuk Univ. Station, so it's an easy place to stop by if you're looking for dinner near the hospital and want a drink with it.

If you share several dishes like we did, jokbal suyuk, assorted sundae and hanwoo yukhoe, you get a good spread of Korean bar food, and people who don't drink can order the non-alcoholic highball, so it was a safe pick for a gathering. Next time, the blossom-filled 2nd floor is lovely, but if a few of us have something to talk over quietly, I'd like to try booking a 3rd-floor room, haha.