Hongdae gukbap spot for a late dinner with a sick sibling: Yukjeon

How do you get to Yukjeon Gukbap Seogyo Branch?

Yukjeon Gukbap Seogyo Branch (육전국밥 서교점) is a gukbap (rice-in-soup) restaurant in Seogyo-dong, about a 10-minute walk from Hongik Univ. Station. I was in Hongdae for the first time in a while and wanted gukbap, so I searched and Yukjeon Gukbap came up.

There's parking for about 10 cars, and the place is easy to spot from outside. It's roughly a 10-minute walk from Hongik Univ. Station.

The menu is posted at the entrance.

What's the late-evening atmosphere and ordering like?

We went late in the evening and it was still packed. Some groups were having a company dinner, and most people were eating gukbap.

Paper cups, pepper and salt are already set on every table.

The whole menu is in photos, and you pay right at your seat. We wanted something warm, so we ordered gomtang (beef bone soup) and beef gukbap. See the drinks at the end of the menu? I really wanted to try the makgeolli set of 3, but my sibling was sick, so I gave it up this time T_T

The basic side dishes were kkakdugi, pickled onion and kimchi. The kkakdugi was so nicely aged that I kept scooping it up.

There are also outdoor tables where you can see out the window, and the lights above them were bright and fit the interior really well. It's good for eating or drinking solo, too! I'd passed Yukjeon Gukbap Seogyo Branch many times and kept thinking I should come for the yukjeon naengmyeon (cold noodles with beef jeon, pan-fried beef)... but this time I ate it more as a restorative hangover meal, haha. The first thing you notice walking in is how well the interior is done, with a lovely traditional tiled-roof feel.

I ordered the red one, and since my sibling was sick, we got a white soup for them. Next time I want to try the yukjeon naengmyeon, too.

How was the beef gukbap at Yukjeon Gukbap Seogyo Branch?

The beef gukbap is a red soup topped with yukjeon, packed with beef, bean sprouts and seasoned greens. Mine first! True to the name of this Hongdae yukjeon gukbap spot, it's topped with yukjeon, and there were more bean sprouts and greens than I expected.

The rice was fluffy, and the old-fashioned rice bowl had a nice feel to it.

As the name says, there's lots of beef, and it's super tender. Radish, beef, bean sprouts and siraegi (dried radish greens) make for a pretty generous bowl.

See the bean sprouts and greens? That's one big spoonful, and look how much it spread out.

I mixed it with the rice. I usually eat small portions and don't eat much, but that day I finished the whole bowl of rice.

The yukjeon was tender too, and it tasted different from the beef inside the soup, so it was a nice treat.

What is the hambak gomtang my sick sibling chose?

The hambak gomtang at Yukjeon Gukbap Seogyo Branch is a white-broth gomtang with suyuk (boiled sliced meat) and dogani (ox knee), and it's the shop's recommended dish. Now it's time to review the gomtang my sibling ordered.

I took a big spoonful of meat and topped it with pickled onion for one bite.

I added pepper and salt to season it, but it's seasoned well enough that most people wouldn't need to. The broth had real depth, which I loved. You know how white broth isn't strongly flavored, so it has to have depth or it doesn't work. As my body warmed up, it felt like I was getting a proper restorative meal.

We ate the combination of somyeon (thin wheat noodles), ox knee and suyuk together. I just love the somyeon in white gukbap...

What about the self-serve banchan corner and the kimchi?

All the side dishes are at a self-serve corner, so you can take as much as you like. I happily piled it on.

I learned from the sign there that they don't use Chinese kimchi, and that matters so much... No wonder it tasted so good.

Next visit: yukjeon naengmyeon, makgeolli and when to avoid the wait

Since it's summer, next time I want to try the yukjeon naengmyeon at Yukjeon Gukbap Seogyo Branch in Hongdae. I'll bring my sibling and try a bit of everything. And the makgeolli, definitely!! You may have to wait in the evening, so I recommend going very late like we did, or early.