Gwacheon Korean restaurant for takeout seaweed soup: Haenon Miyeok

A seaweed soup restaurant in Munwon-dong, Gwacheon with easy parking

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch (해논미역 과천직영점), in Munwon-dong, Gwacheon, is near Government Complex Gwacheon Station and the Munwon-dong Community Service Center. It only opened this March, but the building was so shiny and new that I had been noticing it whenever I passed by✨

The parking lot in front is spacious, so it was easy to visit by car. It would also be convenient for a family gathering in Gwacheon where everyone drives separately🚗🚜

The interior had high ceilings and was gorgeous, too. Media art covered every wall, so it felt like I had walked into a media exhibition hall. It was busy when I visited on the weekend. Naver reservations are available for parties of two or more, so I recommend reserving for a weekend visit.

You can order from the kiosk at each table.

Flounder and beef seaweed soup for a weekend dinner

Here is the Haenon Miyeok menu. I visited on a weekend evening, and the mussels were sold out. Still, the flounder and beef I wanted most were available, so I ordered them~

I ordered the boneless flounder seaweed soup set for ₩19,000 per person and the beef seaweed soup set for ₩20,000 per person~

The seaweed soup arrives bubbling away in its ttukbaegi (earthenware pot). It is not made ahead and ladled out; each bowl is richly cooked to order.

Set-meal side dishes and the self-service station

The side dishes included salad, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), grilled flounder, sweet-and-sour eggplant, and seasoned scallops—items you do not often see as everyday banchan (side dishes).

The sweet-and-sour eggplant had crispy-outside, tender-inside fried eggplant with a sweet tangsuyuk-style sauce, so it was the kind of flavor everyone, young or old, would enjoy.

The seasoned scallops were something I refilled again and again! Dressed in a sweet vinegar-gochujang base, they were sweet, spicy, chewy, and such a rice thief~

Dongdong carefully deboned the grilled flounder for me❤️

This side dish was delicious, almost like eating chicken: flounder fried until crisp, brushed with a sweet-and-spicy fried-chicken-like sauce, then topped with crunchy fried bits~

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch has a self-service station, so you can bring back as much as you want~ I refilled the sweet-and-sour eggplant and seasoned scallops.

Rich beef seaweed soup and boneless flounder seaweed soup

This was the beef seaweed soup I ordered with confidence because it is familiar. There was far more soup than you would get in gukbap (rice soup).

It had several large pieces of beef, giving it a great chew. The meat was springy and tasty without any unpleasant smell.

The broth was on the rich side! Perilla seed powder made it even thicker and richer. It was nutty and deeply savory, like a nourishing meal.

The flounder seaweed soup was easy to eat because it used boneless fish. It was packed with deboned flounder and seaweed, so the portion was generous. The flounder was so tender and went wonderfully with the soup.

With so much nutritious seaweed in it, this is a great restaurant to bring older family members to.

The flounder seaweed soup had a slightly milkier-looking broth than the beef version. Its broth was also rich and nutty, making it feel like a nourishing meal~

The rice comes as hijiki rice, and you can get unlimited refills!

How to pack up leftover seaweed soup

Policies differ by Haenon Miyeok branch, but at Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch, you can bring your own takeout container or purchase one for ₩1,000.

The portions of seaweed soup were so large that I packed some up. A ladle and small bowls are provided from the start so you can serve yourself, which also made it easy to pack up~

The owner and staff were kind, making it such a pleasant meal. The main seaweed soups and every single side dish were delicious, so it is the kind of good restaurant that anyone you bring along would be happy with.