Double Pumper · 20 stories

The Second Pump

I write brief impressions of beauty products I use in everyday routines. · Writes about: Beauty products · Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Food & snacks · Home & living

PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Korean beef omakase in Gongdeok: signature lunch & sea bream rice, Usu

Usu is a hanwoo (Korean beef) omakase restaurant on B2 of the Lotte Castle President shopping arcade, right by Gongdeok Station Exit 2 in Mapo, Seoul, and every seat is in a private room. The lunch signature course at Usu serves about 110g of beef per person, but with a garnish, bite-size dishes, abalone five-color gardenia noodles, sea bream pot rice and seaweed soup it is genuinely filling. For a company meal or treating someone to a private beef lunch in Gongdeok, Usu's lunch course is a good choice.

Written May 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Dangsan hair salon: tie-back summer bob with volume blow-dry, Baekga

Hair Studio Baekga, Dangsan Station Branch is a reservation-only, one-on-one hair salon on the 2nd floor of an apartment shopping complex near Exits 9 and 10 of Dangsan Station in Yeongdeungpo, Seoul. Before summer, the writer, whose wavy long hair had gone untouched for over 6 months, got a scissor-only design cut at Hair Studio Baekga into a shoulder-length bob that can still be tied back, plus a volume blow-dry that took care of a thinning parting. Hair Studio Baekga is a Dangsan Station hair salon where the blow-dry gets as much care as the cut.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Yeouido tteokbokki bar: rich blood sausage for 3, Hyeonseonine

Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch is a tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) snack bar with a queue, in the underground passage between Yeouido Station and The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul. Three of us ordered the Hyeonseoni Set (23,000 won) plus extra tteokbokki and 2 eggs; the soupy wheat rice cake tteokbokki that recreates a childhood taste and the rich sundae (Korean blood sausage made with pork blood) stood out, and the portions were so big we took leftovers home. If you can't handle much heat but want tteokbokki with sundae and fritters, Hyeonseonine is the answer.

Written Jun 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Taiwanese stall in The Hyundai Seoul B1: Bao Seoul menu and prices

Bao Seoul The Hyundai Seoul is a Taiwanese food pop-up run from a food-truck-style stall on the B1 floor of The Hyundai Seoul in Yeouido, Seoul. The writer and a friend shared beef noodle soup (15,000 won), a Dongpo pork rice bowl (14,000 won) and a classic bao (8,000 won), and the tangy dried radish greens topping and shredded Dongpo pork stood out. At Bao Seoul, the Dongpo pork rice bowl and classic bao were the best, while the beef noodle soup has a distinctive, very Taiwanese flavor.

Written Jun 12, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Korean restaurant for three at Seoul Express Bus Terminal: Bapjangin

Bapjangin Express Bus Terminal Branch is a kimchi jjaglie (thick kimchi stew) and Korean set-meal restaurant on basement level 1 of Seoul Express Bus Terminal, on the Gyeongbu line side right in front of Shinsegae Factory in Seocho, Seoul. Three people ordered the two-person set and added squid stir-fry at 18,000 won, steamed egg and instant noodles, so the table also held jeyuk bokkeum (spicy stir-fried pork) and bulgogi bokkeum at 14,000 won, all full of smoky char. Bapjangin is an easy place to fill up fast before a bus or after shopping at the terminal.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored
ProductHEEDABeauty products

Skin brightening serum for combination dehydrated skin: HEEDA Glow

HEEDA Glutathione High-End Glow Serum is a skin brightening serum, tested here through winter on combination skin that is oily on the surface but dehydrated underneath. The water-glow texture of the HEEDA serum spread like water, the dropper stayed put and held its position, and layering cream over it after absorption felt light rather than heavy. A fuss-free glow serum step for oily-yet-dehydrated skin in cold weather.

Written Dec 22, 2025Product provided
ProductHEEDABeauty products

Cleansing balm duo for combination skin in summer: HEEDA Jirisan

HEEDA Jirisan Moist Charcoal Cleansing Duo is a set of a 150ml foam cleanser and a cleansing balm, used here on combination skin to remove summer makeup and sunscreen. The writer found the foam's dense lather, near-absence of scent and little tightness after washing the most notable points, and the balm made it easy to focus on the nose area. For combination skin in hot weather, the HEEDA duo covered both makeup removal and daily washing.

Written Aug 4, 2025Product provided
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