Balsan Korean restaurant, 4-story parking tower, 3 free hours: Mikodam

Hi everyone! I was looking for a good Korean restaurant near Balsan Station a while back and ended up at Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch after seeing decent reviews. Bottom line first: the portions were seriously generous and every single side dish was seasoned just right, so I left very satisfied.

If you're looking for a clean, well-put-together Korean restaurant near Balsan Station, I'd highly recommend this place!!

Parking at Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch: the 4-story tower and 3 free hours

Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch has a dedicated parking lot right to the right of the store — it's a spacious 4-story building, so parking was easy. It's also a very convenient location by public transit, but if you're driving, it's just as easy.

They give you 3 whole hours of free parking after your meal, so you can eat and chat leisurely without watching the clock~

• Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch
• 42 Gangseo-ro 54-gil, 1F Unit 2, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• 11:00–22:00
• Delivery, reservations, parking available

What comes in the Mikodam set for two?

No need to agonize over the menu — there's a well-composed set menu, so I went straight for the set for two.

• Seaweed soup (choose 1): beef / flounder / abalone (+₩4,000)
• Cockle bibim (choose 1): soy sauce / vinegar
• Side (choose 1): beef jeon / soy sauce crab / LA galbi (+₩20,000)

I went with the combo of beef seaweed soup + soy sauce cockle + beef jeon!

A Mikodam spread that fills a four-person table

After ordering, it wasn't long before the food arrived!

I was genuinely surprised that it filled up an entire four-person table 🔥 As Korean food lovers, we couldn't help but smile.

Overall the food wasn't heavy or salty at all — this is exactly the clean, well-balanced style of Korean cooking you want near Balsan Station!!

1. Beef seaweed soup

This is absolutely not one of those seaweed soups that's just simmered too long and salty! It wasn't heavily seasoned but had a deep, rich flavor that felt easy on the stomach. The seaweed was piled in generously too, so I scraped the pot clean to the bottom. 👍👍

2. Soy-sauce cockle bibim

A total rice thief.

Plump cockles packed with fragrant chives — mixed into rice, you even get that crunchy texture!

Scoop up a big spoonful of the cockle rice and wrap it in the seaweed that comes with it — the seasoning is spot on.

3. Yukjeon (pan-fried beef)

I was really glad I chose beef jeon (thin beef pancake) as my side.

It wasn't the kind of pre-made, chewy, cold beef jeon — the savory, tender texture was fully intact.

Top it with the onion-chive relish that comes alongside and — ooh 👍👍 — the combination is amazing.

Side dishes that eat like mains, plus sikhye and plum tea

Beyond the main menu, Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch's basic spread was genuinely excellent.

Grilled fish comes as a basic side, and it was quite large with thick, meaty flesh.

On top of that, there was spicy stir-fried pork, japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), three kinds of seasoned vegetable sides, pickles, and even seaweed — quality good enough to sell as main dishes!

There was so much to eat among the side dishes that we got full and had to leave some behind — still a bit of a shame thinking about it now. 🥲 With this level of composition and care, it's a Magok-area Korean restaurant anyone would rate highly.

After the meal, there was sikhye (sweet rice punch) and plum tea set up on one side of the store for a clean finish — perfect right to the end.

Final verdict: would I go back to Mikodam?

The food was clean, the seasoning spot-on, the store comfortable, and even the parking was easy — hard to find a drawback here.

A neat and generous spread like this is guaranteed to score points if you bring your parents. I'm 100% going back again and again 🔥

If you're near Balsan Station looking for a delicious, generous Korean restaurant, make sure to check out Mikodam ✨