Hapjeong gukbap restaurant in Seoul: bossam add-on at Haejeongjip

Haejeongjip, famous as one of the Korean restaurants in Hongdae.

I finally went on a date after what felt like a million years 💛 I used to be at Hongdae and Hapjeong constantly, but now it takes real effort to come here. Since we were finally out, I wanted somewhere popular with great food, so we went to Haejeongjip, a Hapjeong/Hongdae Korean restaurant that's super hot right now! We had gukbap (soup with rice) and bulsji (beef tendon hot pot), and both were hearty and delicious. Let me tell you about it :)

Where is Haejeongjip and what are its hours?

• Address: 45 Yanghwa-ro 6-gil, 1st floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: 10:00–23:00
• Weekday break time: 15:00–17:00
• Last order: 22:00
• Other: reservations, delivery, takeout, parking

Walking to Haejeongjip from Hapjeong Station

You can find Haejeongjip easily by coming out of Exit 2 or Exit 6 of Hapjeong Station. There's a big banner outside too, so it's visible from far away.

There's an image showing all the signature menu items sold at this Hongdae Korean restaurant, and honestly everything looks delicious without exception. It's a hard place to narrow down a menu choice.

There's also a menu board at the entrance. If you're having trouble deciding, checking the board should help :)

Saturday afternoon wait and seating at Haejeongjip

The first thing you see walking in is the waitlist sign-up sheet — proof that this place has a wait! When you write your phone number, please write it clearly enough for everyone to read. Someone's 9 looked like a 7... the staff must have been so confused. Write it neatly, folks!

We visited at 2pm on a Saturday and the place was completely full. I was surprised it was still so busy even after lunch hour. Guests kept coming in the whole time we were eating. There were a lot of Chinese visitors too — apparently fans have been coming after a famous idol posted about this place on Instagram.

This was the prettiest table in the whole place — sunlight streaming in, a view outside too. But it only stayed empty for a moment before someone else took it. (I caught it just in time, haha.)

There's also a room-like separated space. If you want to eat somewhere a bit quieter, that spot looks like a good option :)

There's writing about Haejeongjip on the wall that felt really warm and personal :-) You can sense the sincerity behind it.

Haejeongjip's naengmyeon (cold noodles) is also popular, with 3 varieties to choose from. And ube banana makgeolli — of all things! Ube has been trending lately, so it was fun to see it in makgeolli (rice wine) form too. Makgeolli always pairs so well with Korean food~

What is on the Haejeongjip menu?

There's a wide range of meal options — naengmyeon, gukbap, kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), other cooked dishes and more. Take a slow look through the photos alongside this.

There's soju, beer, makgeolli and soft drinks too. Good food pairs perfectly with a drink, so check the options out.

What we ordered at Haejeongjip and what it cost

Kimchi that comes with the gukbap order! Both cabbage kimchi and radish kimchi arrive at the table. Kimchi needs to be good alongside gukbap, and Haejeongjip's kimchi pairs really well with it.

• Rich haejeong gukbap ₩12,000
• Bossam add-on ₩5,000
• Spicy bulsji ₩29,000
• Cheese add-on ₩5,000

We wanted to eat generously, so we ordered a lot. First out were the rich haejeong gukbap and bossam. They also gave us somyeon (thin wheat noodles) to add into the gukbap.

Bossam add-on for 5,000 won: six slices of pork

Bossam (boiled pork wraps) could be added when ordering the gukbap, and since it was only ₩5,000, we added it on. It comes with six pieces of meat, which was the perfect taster amount given how much other food we had ordered.

Wrapped with radish, it was savory and delicious. Bossam is always good, honestly. If you love bossam, definitely add it on~

Rich haejeong gukbap, 12,000 won

The rich haejeong gukbap (₩12,000). Since we ordered the spicy bulsji, we chose the non-spicy option for the gukbap.

It's fine to eat as is, but I added extra salt and pepper to adjust it to my own taste.

The somyeon noodles came separately so I added them into the gukbap, which already had meat in it. I poured a whole bowl of rice into the soup without hesitation and ate it with the kimchi — the savory depth was outstanding. It wasn't heavy at all, just a clean, comforting gukbap.

Spicy bulsji, 29,000 won, at spice level 1 with cheese

The dish I was most excited about — spicy bulsji (beef tendon hot pot, ₩29,000). I heard adding cheese (₩5,000) makes it even better, so I ordered it without a second thought. There are spice levels 1 through 3, and since I'm a spice wimp, I went with level 1.

Rice cakes, beef tendon and jjolmyeon noodles come as the base, and with the cheese we ordered piled on top, the visuals were incredible. The flavor was intensely bold. As someone who likes spicy food, it wasn't actually spicy to me — just extremely bold and punchy...! My spice-wimp husband said he did feel some heat. This was my first time eating beef tendon prepared this way, and it was really captivating. It's the kind of dish I'll think of whenever hormones make me crave something intense.