Gondre pancake and corn dongdongju at Insa-dong restaurant Goshine

I was wandering around galleries in Insa-dong and got hungry, so I looked up a Korean restaurant near Anguk Station. Turns out Goshine Donghae Makguksu, famous in Gangneung, opened a directly-run branch in a stately hanok building in Insa-dong, Jongno — so I went to check it out!

Is there a wait at Goshine Donghae Makguksu at 5pm on a weekday?

Gangwon-do flavor, delivered straight to a hanok in Insa-dong, Jongno. I timed my visit for right after the break time ended, 5pm on a weekday, but somehow quite a few people were already seated. Seeing the spacious dining room fill up before the real rush hour even started made me think weekends must always have a wait.

If you're planning to visit on a weekend or during peak hours, using Naver reservations is a good idea.

I was shown to my seat by a friendly foreign staff member at the front desk who spoke excellent Korean — honestly better than me, a Korean office worker whose vocabulary keeps shrinking from the daily grind. Haha.

Who will enjoy this Insa-dong hanok restaurant?

• Anyone looking for a Korean restaurant near Anguk Station
• Anyone who wants a quiet date in Insa-dong, Jongno inside an atmospheric hanok
• Anyone who wants to taste deep, well-made Korean food in Insa-dong, Jongno
• Anyone who wants a neat, refreshing makguksu specialist in Jongno

Inside the hanok: chandeliers over wooden beams in Insa-dong

The Goshine Donghae Makguksu Jongno building is a serene hanok that fits perfectly into the Insa-dong streetscape. It keeps the warmth typical of hanok architecture while feeling spacious and comfortable. Located right at the heart of Anguk Station and the main Insa-dong street, it's easy to pair with gallery hopping or a date around Jongno, Seoul.

The window seats in particular, framed by neat wooden lattices, capture both the quiet charm of the hanok and the view of the street and passersby outside — a nice mood for a date in Jongno, Seoul.

On top of that, there's a chandelier hanging from the ceiling, so it's a Korean restaurant in Insa-dong — a makguksu place in Jongno — that pulls off a striking mix of hanok and modern style.

The inner seats felt a bit plainer compared to the window seats, but they're neat and there are plenty of tables, so it also looks like a good option for group gatherings or work dinners.

As you'd expect from a popular restaurant, they clearly put a lot of thought into workflow efficiency. Tablets at every table let you order and pay in one go, and you can freely grab side dishes or extra plates from the self-serve bar. The tables are covered with thick plastic sheeting, so cleanup after the meal looked quick and tidy.

Goshine Donghae Makguksu menu and what we ordered

Goshine Donghae Makguksu is a Gangwon-do buckwheat specialist that presses its own noodles fresh to order, apparently. Curious how their menu of traditional craftsmanship plus modern touches would taste, I ordered a good variety of their signature dishes.

A Korean meal with an Insa-dong mood to round off a gallery walk — here's what I ordered.

• Solo set (mul-makguksu + boiled pork): ₩21,000
• Pollock jeotgal bibim-makguksu: ₩13,000
• Flying fish roe buckwheat gimbap: ₩7,000
• Gonre (thistle) pancake: ₩9,000
• Corn dongdongju, 1 glass: ₩1,000

Flying fish roe buckwheat gimbap, 7,000 won

Served in a keto-gimbap style, this uses buckwheat noodles aged three times in black vinegar for a lively texture — a diet-friendly keto gimbap.

In place of rice, black-vinegar-aged buckwheat noodles were piled generously with orange flying fish roe. One bite and the roe popped cheerfully across my whole mouth, while the subtle tang of the black vinegar blended perfectly with the nutty flavor of the buckwheat — clean and neat overall.

Gondre (Korean thistle) pancake, 9,000 won

A pancake with a subtle aroma of Gangwon-do gondre (thistle greens), crisp on the outside and pleasantly nutty and soft inside.

Mild and clean, it made the perfect side to go with makguksu — looking around, I noticed pretty much every table had ordered one.

Mul-makguksu: cold buckwheat noodles in chilled broth

Mul-makguksu! The key to their buckwheat makguksu, apparently, is using only domestic organic perilla oil that's cold-pressed, giving it a whole different level of flavor.

Maybe because the noodles are pressed to order, I could feel their springy chewiness the moment they hit my mouth. Being served cold, they kept that chewy density all the way through the meal without going soft, which I really liked. The cold broth was clean, and the seasoning hit exactly the right balance — not too strong, not too bland.

The portion was quite generous — there's a double-portion option too — but I'd recommend ordering the regular size and trying a variety of sides like buckwheat gimbap, kimchi pancake, and the gonre pancake.

Pollock sikhae bibim-makguksu, 13,000 won

The pollock jeotgal bibim-makguksu comes with the broth served separately in a small kettle so you can adjust the seasoning to your taste. Umami-packed sauce paired with aged pollock jeotgal is a combination that's hard to get wrong, and it really got my appetite going.

Personally, the broth and noodles of the mul-makguksu were so refreshing and strongly delicious that if I come back, I think I'd go for the cold mul-makguksu instead.

Nothing to feel short-changed about — the solo set comes with boiled pork too, so you can try that as well.

Cold noodles and corn dongdongju to end the day in Insa-dong

Seeing the boiled pork naturally made me think of a cool drink to go with it. A whole bottle can feel like a bit much, so I was glad they sell it by the glass, just enough for a pleasant buzz.

The distinct nutty, sweet aroma of corn came through nicely, making it the perfect clean accompaniment to the meal.

After fully enjoying the neat, deep flavors of local Gangwon-do cooking in Insa-dong, the tired tail end of my day felt gently and richly filled back up.

A bowl of cool makguksu plus a sweet glass of dongdongju amid the elegant charm of a hanok — on this hot summer day, I felt both my mood and my energy lift!