Gwacheon Korean restaurant with review-event kimchi pancake: Haenon

A recently opened Korean restaurant in Gwacheon

Haenon Miyeok

An honest review that no Korean person could dislike

Where is Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch, and how do you book?

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch is located at 67 Araebaeraengi-ro, 1st floor, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, open daily from 11:00 to 21:00 with a weekend break time of 15:00–17:00. Free parking is available on-site, and both group seating and Naver reservations are possible.

• Address: 67 Araebaeraengi-ro, 1st floor, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do
• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00 / Weekend B.T. 15:00–17:00
• Parking: Free parking available on-site
• Group seating available
• Naver reservation available

New restaurants keep popping up in the neighborhood!! There are more and more of them, so it's fun to go hunting — this time I visited a place famous for seaweed soup. Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch.

It's already establishing itself as a go-to Korean restaurant in Gwacheon — my husband had already been to another branch once and raved about it again and again and again. The site was bigger than I expected, maybe because it's a bit away from the main downtown area.

Why a Naver reservation is the safe move at peak hours

There was plenty of parking too, so no worries there, nice and comfortable to use — good good. I'd seen a lot of reviews saying it's always crowded, so I booked ahead through Naver reservation, but since we visited during peak time, it still felt even busier than expected.

If we hadn't reserved, we might have ended up waiting — so if you're planning to go, I'd definitely recommend booking ahead! Being a Korean restaurant, a lot of families visited, and I saw many people there with their parents too.

The spacious, comfortable feel from outside carried right through to the interior, with an upscale atmosphere added on top — perfect for a meal here at Haenon.

Beef seaweed soup set 20,000 won vs flounder set 19,000 won

At Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch you order using the tablet at each table. We went ahead and ordered the two set meals.

• Beef seaweed soup set: ₩20,000
• Boneless flounder seaweed soup set: ₩19,000

It didn't feel like just a filling meal — even though it's seaweed soup, it felt more like a nourishing tonic dish. With quality seafood like abalone, oyster, and dried pollack going in, it seemed like eating it would restore not just fullness but energy too.

The self-serve banchan bar changes daily

What was unique was the self-serve bar set up inside the restaurant, with banchan (side dishes) neatly arranged. From kimchi to japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) and more, the selection varies day to day.

The day we visited, everything happened to be exactly my style, so I ended up loading up on banchan too haha.

Of course the basic side dishes were generous too — flounder, salad, japchae, real home-cooked-meal vibes.

Add in the unbeatable combo of white rice and seaweed soup, and you've got a spread that no Korean person could fail to love.

The main dish — seaweed soup — served piping hot and full in a stone pot. Just looking at it, the portion was really generous; already felt filling.

How does the beef seaweed soup broth taste?

This is the beef seaweed soup I ordered. The broth's dark color already looked delicious, and the rich flavor came through exactly as expected.

The broth itself was really the real deal — so rich and heavy that it went down smoothly. It didn't taste like MSG-driven savoriness — it was the kind of flavor that kept pulling me back, genuinely delicious.

There was plenty of seaweed in it too, adding a healthy feel as a bonus. The nutty aroma of sesame oil made it even better to eat. Next up, my husband's boneless flounder seaweed soup. The flesh comes fully deboned and easy to eat, and there was a generous amount of flounder in it too.

The moist flounder flesh soaked up the seaweed soup broth nicely, making this another very tasty option. The clean, refreshing flavor was great — the versions with dried pollack or abalone seemed like they'd be even more than double as refreshing.

Next time I visit, I'm definitely, absolutely going to try a seafood-focused seaweed soup.

Free rice refills and the review-event kimchi pancake

At Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch, you can grab unlimited rice from the self-serve bar, so there's never a shortage. One bowl of rice wasn't nearly enough and it disappeared fast — they were also running a review event, which I took part in, requesting kimchijeon (kimchi pancake)!

It was a freshly griddled kimchijeon, and even though it was a review-event item, the quality was so good it was genuinely delicious. Great taste and generous portions with nothing lacking — Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch is a great option if you want home-style Korean food.

Is Haenon Miyeok worth it when you're craving Korean soup in Gwacheon?

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch is a restaurant that everyone would probably agree deserves to be called a go-to Korean restaurant in Gwacheon, no argument there. As the weather warms up during the day but turns chilly morning and night, the season for craving soup dishes is coming — and this place would be perfect for exactly that.

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch, a go-to Korean restaurant in Gwacheon — an honest review, fully satisfied and definitely planning to return. End.