Gwacheon seaweed soup restaurant, birthday-week ₩30,000 set: Haenon

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch for mom's birthday week

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch is a seaweed soup set-meal Korean restaurant on Araetbaeraengi-ro in Munwon-dong, Gwacheon. I was out and about wondering where to eat to celebrate my mom's birthday week, so I stopped by.

You can't skip miyeokguk (seaweed soup) on a birthday, right! I figured if I made it myself it might not taste great, so I decided to just buy her a good one instead haha.

• ⏰ Hours: 11:00 - 21:00
• Weekday break time: 15:00 - 17:00
• Parking available

What about parking and location

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch is located near the art museum area, and since it opened in March, the exterior looked clean and the parking space was quite spacious.

That said, the parking lot can fill up completely during peak meal times, so I'd recommend giving yourself some extra time when coming.

Check the birthday cake and abalone events in advance

Walking in, I noticed an event sign near the entrance, but I only saw it after paying and heading out.. ㅠㅠ If you have a birthday person in your party, make sure to note it in the request field when making a Naver reservation! There's apparently a free cake event, and also an abalone (1 piece) event for pregnant guests or those who verify a birthday!

A store atmosphere great for family gatherings

Walking inside, there are tables lined up on both sides, and the tables themselves plus the spacing between them are wide, making it good for family visits! Also, a signature feature of Haenon Miyeok is the self-serve banchan (side dish) bar — the banchan came out looking as neat as a proper Korean restaurant, so it seemed well-suited for a meal with parents or a family gathering.

Ordering the ₩30,000 sea urchin roe and ₩19,000 scallop sets

Haenon Miyeok doesn't just do the beef seaweed soup we usually know — you can try seaweed soup sets made with all kinds of ingredients like scallop, flounder, dried pollack, and sea urchin roe. You order via tablet at your table, and it's worth reading the notes that pop up after ordering!

This time, I confidently told my mom to order whatever menu she wanted to celebrate her birthday!

• ✔️ Sea urchin roe seaweed soup set ₩30,000
• ✔️ Scallop seaweed soup set ₩19,000

At first I thought the seaweed soup seemed a bit pricey, but it doesn't come out alone — it's served as a full spread with banchan, so it turned out to be much more filling than expected and felt worth the price! Everything is refillable except the mustard chicken breast salad, grilled flounder, and the kimchi pancake (review event)!

With warm seaweed soup, rice, and neatly arranged banchan all laid out, I felt like this was actually a great choice for a relaxed birthday meal with my parents. Seaweed soup for mom's birthday, of course♡

How does the sea urchin roe seaweed soup taste?

First up, the sea urchin roe seaweed soup that really sets the birthday mood! It's definitely different from the beef seaweed soup I usually eat. With sea urchin roe added to the milky white broth, an ocean-specific richness came through, making the broth feel deep, and it paired well with the soft, well-simmered seaweed.

Since I almost never make seaweed soup with sea urchin roe at home, it felt like a menu you'd only have on special occasions. Sharing a bowl of warm seaweed soup together made it feel all the more meaningful.

Comparing it to the scallop seaweed soup

With scallop added, you get a savory seafood-specific umami, and the broth is on the cleaner side, so it's easy to keep spooning up without feeling heavy. The chewy texture of the scallop also added more fun to chew on compared to soup with just seaweed. The rice served alongside is also refillable, and it's seaweed-mixed rice served in its own bowl, giving it a hanjeongsik (full-course Korean meal) kind of vibe!

Ordering both menus together meant we got to share bites and compare them, which was fun too. If you like a rich ocean flavor, go for the sea urchin roe; if you want something a bit cleaner and easier to eat, the scallop might suit your taste better.

Packing leftover soup costs ₩1,000 for the container

You can take home any leftover soup, and since the takeout container costs ₩1,000, it's a good idea to bring your own Lock&Lock container from home! In the photos the stone pot looked small, but the portion was generous and the pot was actually large! Plus, with all the banchan and rice refills, you inevitably end up with leftover soup.. haha.

I had a lot of soup left over, so I bought a container and packed it to bring home! (Container ₩1,000)

To sum up

A warm bowl of seaweed soup to celebrate mom's birthday at Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch. The spacious parking lot made it easy to visit by car with my parents, and the interior was wide and clean, with seaweed soup plus various banchan enjoyed as a full spread — a satisfying family meal.

Having menus like sea urchin roe seaweed soup and scallop seaweed soup, which aren't things you'd normally get to try, made it feel a bit more special! If you're in Gwacheon looking for a good Korean restaurant to visit with your parents, a family gathering spot in Munwon-dong, Gwacheon, or a place for a parents' birthday meal, try the warm seaweed soup set at Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch💛