Korean bar in Guro, Seoul for braised pork: Mugeunji

A place near Sindorim Station for dinner and drinks

On a day when I had dinner plans in Sindorim, I was looking for somewhere with both food and drinks, plus a nice atmosphere, and ended up visiting Korean Suljip Mugeunji (한국술집 무근지). Rather than an ordinary restaurant that day, I wanted a Korean bar where we could slowly eat tasty anju (food served with alcohol) and have a good chat.

From its menu to its space, Mugeunji has an overall relaxed feel, so I recommend it for get-togethers with friends and even wedding-invitation gatherings. Of course, it also suited a Sindorim dinner date perfectly. Especially if you love having Korean dishes as drinking snacks, I seriously, seriously recommend it 👍 It’s a real hidden gem in Sindorim.

Location and access

Mugeunji is easy to reach from Exit 3 of Sindorim Station, so it was convenient by public transit. It is a handy place to arrange a meet-up around Sindorim Station, and Dorimcheon Stream and the International Food Culture Street are nearby too, making it nice to look around before or after your meal.

Sindorim is an area frequented by lots of office workers, so many people look for places for company dinners and gatherings. Mugeunji has a spacious seating area and quite a lot of tables, so it looked great for visiting with a larger group too.

It is nice for meeting friends for a drink in the evening, and because it is a space where you can chat at ease, I thought it would also be a good option when looking for a Sindorim date spot. I visited with my husband, and I loved that it had such a nice atmosphere for a drink as a couple too 🐥

A spacious, cozy Korean bar atmosphere

Once I went inside, there were even more seats than I expected, and the space was really generous. Near the entrance, there were window seats between the outside and interior; on a day with good weather, I thought I would want to sit there and enjoy the outdoor atmosphere too 🤍

Further inside, several tables were set up, making the layout comfortable for group visits. There was also relatively ample space between tables, so it looked suitable for wedding-invitation gatherings too.

There was plenty of seating farther inside as well. What I especially liked about the place overall was the lighting. It was not overly bright, but softly arranged, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere throughout.

Beans and pickled onions are served as the basic snack. Even the water had that pleasantly nutty taste fitting for a Korean bar.

Korean and fusion drinking-snack menu

Honestly, the menu photos I took are only the tip of the iceberg 😅 There were so many Korean and Korean-fusion dishes, including signature dishes, fresh dishes, jeon (Korean savory pancakes), soups and stews, side dishes, and a wide selection of alcohol.

We ordered the braised pork + pancake set, upgraded to the cheese kimchi pancake, for ₩42,900! And of course, drinks could not be left out. We had Jipyeong makgeolli (Korean rice wine) and Zero Coke too 😊

For some reason, I actually prefer drinking just the top layer of makgeolli before mixing it up, haha.

CHEERS!!!

Tender, soft special soy-sauce braised pork

Here are the special soy-sauce braised pork and cheese potato pancake—after I could not resist and had already eaten a few pieces.

Both were insanely delicious, but the one I sincerely, hugely recommend is the special soy-sauce braised pork… honestly, it was good enough that you would not need to go to a bossam restaurant 😋👍👍👍👍👍

It comes with tender napa cabbage, salted seafood, ssamjang (savory soybean dipping paste), raw garlic and peppers, plus crunchy and truly delicious dried radish strips. The pork is made with a special soy sauce and cooked for a long time ☺️

This braised pork is made with a special soy-sauce sauce, and the meat was so tender and soft that I could feel its juiciness from the moment I picked it up with my chopsticks 👍

The dried radish strips here were so savory that I practically cleared the whole thing 🐥 Their crunchy, crisp texture really came through, making a clear contrast with the soft braised pork.

There were so many ingredients to enjoy with the pork. Putting it on tender napa cabbage with salted shrimp or doenjang (fermented soybean paste), then adding garlic and thinly sliced Cheongyang chili peppers, made for such a great combination.

The soy sauce’s characteristic salty yet subtle savory flavor had soaked beautifully into the meat, so honestly it was sooo good even on its ownㅠㅠ And when wrapping it, there were so many ways to eat it that every combination was delicious 🤍

Crispy outside, soft inside: the cheese-filled Smile Potato Pancake

The Smile Cheese Potato Pancake is one of those dishes that simply has to be delicious from the way it looks.

I could see why this potato pancake is popular. The outside was fried crisp, while the inside was soft and moist—the literal crispy-outside, tender-inside texture was no joke.

Can’t you feel the crispness just from looking at it? 😂 Above all, it was packed with cheese. When I lifted it with chopsticks, the cheese stretched and stretched; there was so much that it was almost difficult to lift a single piece 👍

The cheese’s rich flavor joins the nutty, clean taste unique to potatoes, giving it a charm quite different from an ordinary potato pancake.

Even the sauces served alongside worked so well. Having it with the honey-like sweet sauce and a chili-sauce-style flavor created a sweet-salty, slightly spicy combination that kept me eating—and drinking—more and more 🤍

While the braised pork is a more filling and clean-tasting dish, the Smile Cheese Potato Pancake felt like a dish that livens up a drinking table with its fun look and stretchy cheese. In short: I highly recommend them both.

For Sindorim dates and gatherings

Mugeunji was a Korean bar where you can enjoy both dinner and drinks in Sindorim. It is easily accessible from Exit 3 of Sindorim Station, and above all, the venue is large with lots of seating. It works well for friend gatherings and company dinners, while its soft lighting also makes it a recommended spot for a Sindorim evening date. Personally, I recommend it for wedding-invitation gatherings too.

There are tasty Korean drinking snacks everywhere you look, along with a varied alcohol selection. It is a Korean bar we would very much like to revisit next time 🤍