Sangsu open-roof bar with a four-party 8pm wait: Kkoko Land

After a day trip to Ganghwa Island on a Saturday evening, I landed in Hongdae absolutely craving chicken !! So I went to an outdoor bar in Hongdae — here's my write-up of this Sangsu spot where the kalbaengi (whelk noodles) and charcoal barbecue were amazing !

Where Kkoko Land is and when it opens

Kkoko Land is located at 18 Wow-san-ro 19-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul. Hours are weekdays 15:30-02:00, weekends 12:00-02:00 the next day.

That day, I was in the mood for something else... I love fried chicken too, but I was really craving charcoal-grilled barbecue chicken. So I arrived at Kkoko Land, home of spicy, delicious barbecue chicken. If you're taking the subway, it's a short walk from Sangsu Station Exit 2 !

Honestly, the vibe was already great before we even walked in. I just loved the waterwheel and the flowing water.

The roof here is completely open, so apparently it's quite famous as an outdoor bar in Hongdae.

How long is the wait at 8pm on a weekend?

We arrived at Kkoko Land just after 8pm on a weekend, and there were about four parties waiting ahead of us. Still, we got seated pretty quickly. Honestly, I thought it'd be empty — but there was actually a wait past 8pm on a weekend? The weather was nice, so waiting wasn't hard at all.

Wow, great seat, great vibe !! Everything was good, but since it was so crowded I figured it might get loud, so I planned to eat fast and head out.

But surprisingly, since the roof is open, it wasn't as loud as I expected — that really surprised me. There's also a big TV, which seems perfect for watching baseball or soccer. Watching baseball with a screen that big and clear would be quite the experience !!

We were seated at the very last table !! The vibe was so good, seriously..❤️

Welcome drink, free starter snack and QR ordering

At Kkoko Land, once you sit down you're first given a welcome drink, and a basic snack of chicken-leg-shaped crackers. Orders are placed through the QR code at your table.

First, they gave us the welcome drink. They said it was orange juice, but it tasted more like a non-alcoholic orange cocktail?! It was so good I finished it the moment I got it !!

Kkoko Land's basic snack is chicken-leg-shaped crackers. They had a bit more of a punchy, tasty flavor than regular crackers ! Even the free snack was delicious, so it already passed the test.

They set up our plates like a tray, with three sauces — spicy, salt, and sauced. I dipped the chicken-leg crackers in the spicy sauce and it was so good !! Ordering at Kkoko Land is all done through the table QR code !

Since we'd already had makgeolli earlier in the day, we ordered a zero-sugar cola ! Kkoko Land doesn't just hand you cola as-is either — they serve it in an insulated cup so it stays cold the whole time !! They add ice too, absolutely perfect..

Seogyo-dong kalbaengi (whelk), 20,000 won

Seogyo-dong kalbaengi (whelk noodles) is ₩20,000. It's thin wheat noodles with big chunky whelk pieces, along with carrot, cabbage, and cucumber. How am I supposed to resist this?

I meant to wait until the chicken arrived, but it looked so good I just dug in right away.. and wow.. it was genuinely so delicious !! The sauce was perfectly sweet and tangy, amazing. It must be Kkoko Land's own secret recipe sauce, right..? My husband loved it too, and we both slurped the noodles down.

Signature sold out: charcoal-grilled sauced chicken barbecue, 24,000 won

The charcoal-grilled sauced chicken barbecue is ₩24,000. The signature menu was sold out that day, so we ordered this one instead !! It had a nice smoky charcoal aroma, and the meat was incredibly tender. It was basically sous-vide texture !!

The sauce was spicy and sweet at the same time, so it wasn't too hot and it worked really well !! It came with egg salad, corn, and cabbage too, so the egg salad + chicken combo was great !!

Add the tortilla: chicken barbecue that eats like a kebab

If you order the chicken barbecue at Kkoko Land, ordering extra tortillas is the right call. My husband felt something was missing and ordered extra tortilla ! Eating it together with the chicken and egg salad is seriously amazing — you have to try it. At first I thought, what kind of combination is this..? but once I actually tried it, it was so good. The combo of spicy sauce and tortilla was the best. It really felt like eating a kebab !

The staff at Kkoko Land were so friendly and all the food was delicious — a fully satisfying visit to this outdoor bar in Hongdae ! If you're looking for a place in Hongdae with a great outdoor-seating vibe, I strongly recommend it !!