Weekend Jonggak Korean date lunch: non-spicy octopus, Bonghyejane

Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch: hours and info

Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch is open 11:00-21:00 on weekdays and 11:00-20:00 on weekends, with a break from 15:00 to 16:30. Last order is one hour before closing. Groups are welcome, corkage is free for up to 2 bottles, and parking is available (first 90 minutes free).

I had lunch last weekend at Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch, a Korean restaurant in Jonggak! It got busier and busier as peak time came, so let's jump right into the story~

Bonghyejane Jubang inside Jongno Tower: is it hard to find?

The restaurant is on B2 of Jongno Tower, so you just take the escalator down to B2 and you'll find it. I thought a restaurant inside a tower would be hard to find, but it wasn't hard at all!

Just ride the escalator down to B2! Or, since it's connected to Jonggak Station, you can come through the connecting passage too!

Bonghyejane Jubang also serves hearty set meals (jeongsik, a full spread of rice and side dishes), so I think it works for a solo meal near Jonggak Station too!

Besides the set meals, they also sell donkatsu (breaded cutlet) and hamburg steak!!

Inside Bonghyejane Jubang: seating and atmosphere

Inside the Jongno Tower branch there were tables for 2 up to 4!! Maybe because it's a Jonggak rice spot, there were people dining solo and lots of customers around my parents' age haha.

The name Bonghyeja combines the characters for peak (bong), gracious (hye) and generous (ja), and apparently means "a link that connects people's stories" haha.

If you join the review event, you get one bottle of alcohol or a drink for free!

Bonghyejane Jubang menu: bansang, yorisang and janchisang

The main menu at the Jongno Tower branch is divided into bansang (standard set), yorisang (dish table) and janchisang (feast table).

The main menu has banse sang, yorisang and janchisang!

Sides, extras, drinks and alcohol

There were plenty of side and extra dishes too! There's a separate drinks and alcohol menu as well.

Octopus stir-fry set spice level: is non-spicy okay?

The octopus stir-fry set is ₩16,000 and comes with fire-grilled stir-fried octopus, mushroom perilla soup and pumpkin porridge. You can choose mild or non-spicy, and mild is said to be about as spicy as Shin Ramyun. I went with non-spicy!

When I lifted the octopus plate, a bowl of rice appeared underneath ⭐️

I scooped the octopus and onions onto the rice, drizzled on the mill-pressed sesame oil sitting on the table, and took one more photo haha.

The octopus was really springy, great texture 👍 I mixed it all up and dug in, yum! Since it's fire-grilled I expected a strong smoky flavor, but it was subtle, which was a little disappointing. Still, there was a generous amount of octopus and I enjoyed it! I'm bad with spice so I ordered non-spicy, but I think mild would have been fine too haha.

Side dishes and mushroom perilla soup

The sides were kongjaban (sweet braised soybeans) and baek-kimchi (white kimchi), and they were perfectly seasoned and tasty too!

This is the mushroom perilla soup included in the octopus set! It was thick and nutty, with rice cakes inside, and I liked it.

Pumpkin porridge: appetizer or finish?

I recommend having the pumpkin porridge from the octopus set at the end. I actually debated whether to eat it as an appetizer or to finish with it, and went with finishing...!! I'm glad I did. It was sweet and just right for cleansing the palate haha.

Charcoal bulgogi set and a double order of muk-sabal

The charcoal beef bulgogi set my boyfriend ordered is ₩14,000 and comes with muk-sabal (chilled acorn jelly soup) instead of the mushroom perilla soup.

Not knowing that, we ordered muk-sabal (₩3,000) again,,, I'm not really a muk-sabal person, so my boyfriend ate all of it ^_^

The charcoal bulgogi had a sweet and salty marinade that was pretty good! Total rice thief haha!! My boyfriend said, "I wish there were more meat than cabbage."

I'd finished taking photos and was just about to take my first spoonful, and my boyfriend had almost finished his, can you believe it lol. Who was the one complaining again,,, 😅😅

Who is Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch for?

• It serves full set meals, so I think it's a good solo lunch spot for office workers!
• The food comes out neatly plated, so it would be good to take your parents too!
• Overall the seasoning isn't harsh or intense; it tastes like home cooking!

If you're looking for a good Korean restaurant near Jonggak Station, give Bonghyejane Jubang Jongno Tower branch a visit~