Pick different dinner sets at a Gwanghwamun hanjeongsik: Modam Dining

It's surprisingly hard to find a formal Korean restaurant near Gwanghwamun that works for a matchmaking meeting or a first-birthday party. I heard Modam Dining Gwanghwamun has a variety of hanjeongsik menus in a classy private-room setting that isn't too over-the-top, so I went for dinner.

How to get to Modam Dining Gwanghwamun, and where to park

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun is a 9-minute walk from Exit 6 of Gwanghwamun Station on subway Line 5, located on basement level 1 of Deoksugung D Palace. If you drive, you get 2 hours of free parking at the basement level 3 parking lot of Deoksugung D Palace.

✅ Parking info If the lot is full, you can use the parking lot at the Concordian Building across the street, but note that on weekdays before 6pm, parking fee support isn't available there.

Inside the Modam Dining room that suits family introduction dinners

Q. What kind of place is Modam Dining? Modam Dining Gwanghwamun is a modern Korean dining restaurant with both private individual rooms and group seating. It's a course-style hanjeongsik restaurant near Gwanghwamun, great for family gatherings like matchmaking meetings or first-birthday parties.

The interior had a trendy, clean feel, with beige and wood tones giving it a cozy, comfortable atmosphere. The restaurant is divided into a large hall and rooms, and even the hall seats were partitioned off like booths, which made it good for a quiet family meal.

The room was spacious enough to easily fit 20 people, which would also work well for a company dinner, and it seemed more than big enough for a family's first-birthday party too.

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun menu and set meal prices

• Hanwoo grill set ₩88,000
• Hanwoo 1++ bulgogi/gopchang jeongol ₩39,000
• Hanwoo 1++ gopchang jeongol ₩39,000
• Modam set ₩19,900
• Sura set ₩64,000
• Gwanghwamun Juansang ₩88,000
• Charcoal-grilled deodeok jeyuk set — lunch ₩27,000 / dinner ₩32,000
• Jindo scallion crisp bulgogi set — lunch ₩29,000 / dinner ₩34,000
• Bori-gulbi set — lunch ₩32,000 / dinner ₩37,000
• Abalone tteokgalbi set — lunch ₩35,000 / dinner ₩40,000
• Abalone shrimp jang and butter rice set — lunch ₩38,000 / dinner ₩40,000

The two sets we ordered and the order of the courses

For dinner, we each ordered a different set: the charcoal-grilled deodeok jeyuk set for ₩32,000 and the Jindo scallion crisp bulgogi set for ₩34,000.

✅ Course order Seasonal porridge → cheongyang mul-kimchi (watery kimchi) → seasonal salad with yuzu dressing → mustard vegetable salad with pine nut sauce → flounder sashimi and pickle ceviche → Modam tempura → perilla oil capellini → main dish → rice course (white rice + soup or stew of the day + four side dishes) → dessert

It started with pumpkin porridge that settled the stomach, followed by a salad topped with refreshing yuzu dressing, cool mul-kimchi, and mustard vegetable salad. It was a nice touch that they gave us shared chopsticks each time a new dish came out, so we could serve ourselves hygienically!

The flounder sashimi had a nice crunchy texture — really fresh and delicious.

The perilla oil capellini topped with sweet shrimp was basically perilla oil mak-guksu (cold buckwheat noodles) made with capellini noodles — you mix it with the toppings of seaweed flakes, perilla leaf, egg garnish, and ground perilla seeds. The combination of perilla oil and ground perilla seeds gave it a rich, nutty flavor that was still light and not too strong, so it's a dish even kids would enjoy.

The Modam tempura was a whole shiitake mushroom deep-fried, keeping the mushroom's aroma alive with a crispy, chewy texture — a healthy fried dish that even people who aren't fans of fried food could enjoy.

The mains: crisp bulgogi and charcoal-grilled deodeok jeyuk

The main dish came out together with the rice course, so we could eat it with rice and soup. Four side dishes — kimchi, seasoned radish, seaweed stem, and stir-fried anchovies — came out along with lettuce wraps, so you could wrap the meat or just eat it as a side. Either way, delicious!

The crisp bulgogi's kick was the sweet, not-too-strong sauce — a rice-thief classic that grandparents and kids alike would love without exception. It's great eaten plain, but even better wrapped in lettuce.

The jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork) was charcoal-grilled, so it was full of smoky flavor, mildly spicy, and with the distinctive aroma of deodeok added in, the flavor really stepped up into something luxurious.

Dessert was plum tea to refresh the palate and wrap up the meal!

Verdict: a hanjeongsik where each diner can choose a different course

Eating our way leisurely through the course, two hours flew by before we knew it — that's how relaxed and unhurried the meal felt. Having been there in person, even though it's a hanjeongsik restaurant, it wasn't old-fashioned or stuffy at all — it's a clean, modern dining spot that would work really well for gatherings.

But the biggest advantage was that, while hanjeongsik menus usually require everyone to order the same course, at Modam Dining each person can choose their own course, so you get to try a variety of dishes together.

With plenty of rooms and a wide range of hanjeongsik menus, it's a great choice for occasions that call for some formality, like a matchmaking meeting, a family gathering, or a company dinner. If you're looking for a good hanjeongsik restaurant near Gwanghwamun for a matchmaking meeting, Modam Dining Gwanghwamun is worth comparing.