Hapjeong Korean restaurant with freshly boiled bossam: Pyeongidambaek

My husband and I have a shared favorite dish — bossam! He's such a meat person that eating out almost always means eating meat somewhere. A few days ago we were talking about what to eat and he said, of course, let's go get meat again haha. So we settled on bossam, something we both love and can eat easily, and headed to Pyeongidambaek Ppyeo Kalguksu Main Branch, a Hapjeong spot not far from home.

Where is Pyeongidambaek, and what are its hours?

Pyeongidambaek Ppyeo Kalguksu Main Branch is at 84 Yanghwa-ro 7-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, between Hapjeong and Mangwon stations. Hours are 11:00–22:00, with a break time from 15:00–17:00, and last order at 14:30 / 21:30.

This Hapjeong spot sits between Hapjeong and Mangwon stations and is open from 11am to 10pm, with the menu posted on a standing sign out front. The name has 'ppyeo kalguksu' (bone-broth knife-cut noodle soup) in it, so you might assume it's just a noodle place, but besides kalguksu they also serve bossam (boiled pork wraps), skate salad, stir-fried squid, seafood chive pancake, acorn jelly salad, perilla-oil grilled tofu, and more.

10% off for firefighters, military personnel and police officers

There's a poster up saying firefighters, military, and police get a 10% discount here.

Inside Pyeongidambaek: atmosphere and seating

The main branch was spacious and clean, with lots of two- and four-person tables, so it works both for group gatherings and solo dining.

The restaurant was spacious with a clean, comfortable interior, and there were plenty of two- and four-person tables, so it seemed good for groups as well as solo diners. (These interior shots were taken after we paid and were heading out, so the place had already emptied out haha.)

What this couple ordered at Pyeongidambaek, and what it cost

We ordered the medium bossam for ₩42,000 and added anchovy kalguksu for ₩5,000, splitting it between the two of us. If you order bossam here, you can add anchovy kalguksu for just ₩5,000.

We ordered the medium bossam, and since ordering bossam lets you add anchovy kalguksu for ₩5,000, we got that too. It seemed like it might be too much food, but we both love kalguksu, so we just couldn't resist haha.

Heads up — if you leave a Naver receipt review, you get 3 dumplings on the house.

Fresh kimchi and diced radish kimchi come out with the order — the fresh kimchi looked so good, and it went perfectly with the bossam. Kimchi at kalguksu and bossam places is always so good.

Medium bossam suyuk, 42,000 won: how the freshly boiled pork tasted

The medium bossam was ₩42,000 and came out piled high on one plate. After eating nothing but delivery bossam lately, the difference with freshly boiled pork was unmistakable.

The bossam arrived soon after, a whole plate full, with a glossy sheen that made my mouth water.

The ratio of lean meat to fat was just right, so it wasn't greasy at all — clean-tasting and soft. Having only had delivery bossam lately, eating freshly boiled pork again was such a treat, so tender and delicious.

The slices had good thickness, tender and moist, clean-tasting and soft — it just melted in my mouth.

I'm usually too lazy to make wraps, but piling pork, salted shrimp, and radish salad onto a napa cabbage leaf was so good that I kept making them one after another haha. The pork pieces were big and thick, so even one bite filled my mouth with real bossam flavor — I loved that.

Was the 5,000 won anchovy kalguksu worth adding?

The ₩5,000 anchovy kalguksu we added to the bossam order surprised us — it came out as a proper full bowl. The broth was clean and the noodles had a nice chewy bite, pairing well with the bossam.

We ordered it as a ₩5,000 add-on, but it came as a full-sized bowl, which surprised us for that price. The broth was clean and light, so I kept spooning it up, and the noodles were nice and chewy in texture. It goes really well with bossam.

If you're looking for a good bossam spot around Hapjeong or Mangwon, I'd recommend giving Pyeongidambaek Ppyeo Kalguksu a try.