Yongsan tteokbokki from my school days, back with kids: Hyeonseonine

What kind of tteokbokki restaurant is Hyeonseonine?

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch (현선이네 용산본점) is an instant tteokbokki and bunsik (Korean snack food) restaurant tucked in an alley off Hangang-daero 39-gil in Yongsan, its trademark yellow chimney marking the spot. When I transferred to a Seoul high school, my friends used to say "let's go eat tteokbokki-tteokbokki-tteokbokki-fried food-sundae at Hyeonseonine~" and I'd think to myself, 'who's this Hyeonseon friend I don't know?!?!' haha. Turns out it wasn't a person's name at all — it was the name of the tteokbokki restaurant, 'Hyeonseonine!' Once I figured that out, it became the tteokbokki spot my friends and I visited constantly, full of memories.

Years passed, and now I'm the one dragging my own kids along, saying "let's go eat the tteokbokki mom ate SO much of in high school!" I was curious whether the taste I remembered would hold up, and whether my kids would even like it. Here's how our visit with the kids went.

How to find Hyeonseonine on Yongridan-gil

The walk to Hyeonseonine used to feel quiet, but these days Yongridan-gil has become a hot spot and the whole area feels lively. If you're taking the bus, get off at 'Yongsan Post Office' and it's a short walk from there.

Between all the fancy buildings, that tall chimney is the trademark landmark. Just look for the yellow chimney, haha. Even my kids said, "we have to get a picture of that chimney!!" lol. We arrived on purpose around 2pm, past the lunch rush, but there were already 3 delivery riders and 3 waiting parties ahead of us in front of the restaurant. 😵

Waiting via CatchTable: choose your tteokbokki when you sign up

To join the waitlist at Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, walk in and register at the CatchTable kiosk right by the lower right side of the entrance. I was so surprised by the long wait even past lunchtime that I fumbled around and nearly missed registering! And here's an important point ☝🏻: you have to decide in advance, while registering, whether you'll be eating instant tteokbokki or original tteokbokki.

Why does it matter? Because the tables are different. Those who choose instant tteokbokki get seated at the tables on the left with induction burners, while those who choose original tteokbokki are seated at the regular tables on the right.

When your turn comes, order your menu and pay at the kiosk to the left of the self-serve bar, then sit at your assigned table. The self-serve bar has aprons, small plates, ladles, sundae salt, soy sauce, and more.

What we ordered at Hyeonseonine and what it cost

• Instant tteokbokki for 2 (₩22,000)
• Curly fish cake, 1 serving (3ea) (₩4,500)
• Sweet potato fritters x2 (₩2,400)
• Squid fritter x1 (₩1,500)
• Fried rice (₩3,500)

Here's everything we ordered, all served out together at once.

Adjusting the flame on the instant tteokbokki

No matter how delicious the instant tteokbokki is, if you mess up the flame control you'll miss out on that great taste. Just follow this for the important part!

They even gave us yakimandu (pan-fried dumplings) with our 2-serving instant tteokbokki! Of course — it just wouldn't feel right without yakimandu, right?! haha

While the tteokbokki cooks, we start off with the curly fish cake, eating it up neatly.

Doesn't that bubbling, boiling tteokbokki look amazing?

Fried rice with mashed boiled egg stirred in

Hyeonseonine's fried rice is ₩3,500, finished off by frying it in the leftover tteokbokki sauce. As we ate the tteokbokki, we found ourselves craving fried rice, so we scooped the remaining sauce into a bowl.

My second kid, who'd been happily eating the tteokbokki, got worried the fried rice would be too spicy, so with everyone's agreement we mashed in one of the boiled eggs from the tteokbokki and fried it together 🤣 And the taste?!

See how completely empty it is?! haha We scraped it clean and ate every last bit.

After finishing the curly fish cake, we found a mini water rice cake hidden inside like a little treasure, and the kids absolutely loved it 👍

Naver review event: a free slushie at Hyeonseonine

At Hyeonseonine, writing a Naver review gets you a choice of a refreshing slushie or a size-up on your tteokbokki, so of course we went with the cool slushie!

There were two flavors — coolpis (a sweet yogurt-flavored drink) and papaya — and since I can never decide, I asked for both 🤣

A cold slushie after tteokbokki was truly the perfect choice 👍 The kids ate so well they scraped their bowls clean, and by the time we left there was no one waiting outside, so my second kid said "mom! we have to get a picture of this!" — so we took one last commemorative photo before heading out.

Is Hyeonseonine a good place to bring kids?

Hyeonseonine's tteokbokki comes in mild, medium, and spicy options, which made it a great spot to bring along young kids. Even after more than a decade, Hyeonseonine has kept the same taste. My kids happily ate the tteokbokki I used to eat as a kid, and now they've made the same memories of their own.

If you're craving tteokbokki, why not give Hyeonseonine a try today?