Late Compact · 18 stories

Late Compact, Seoul and Busan/Gyeongnam

Writes about restaurants, cafes, beauty spots and things to do around Seoul and Busan/Gyeongnam. · Writes about: Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons · Things to do · Cafés · Food & snacks

PlaceMapo, SeoulCafés

Yeonnam-dong garden-view café, butter einspänner: Butter & Shelter

Butter & Shelter Yeonnam is a European-style café and dessert shop in a converted house down a Yeonnam-dong alley in Mapo, Seoul. After lunch in Yeonnam-dong, the writer and her husband ordered a butter einspänner, a decaf iced café latte, a butter sand and an Earl Grey lemon cookie for 19,900 won in total and lingered at a window seat overlooking the garden. Butter & Shelter Yeonnam suits couples looking for an atmospheric dessert café after a meal in Yeonnam-dong.

Written May 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceEunpyeong, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Yeonsinnae hair salon: bob cut + gray-covering brown dye, Hannah Salon

Hannah Salon is a hair salon on the 2nd floor near Exit 3 of Yeonsinnae Station in Eunpyeong, Seoul. At Hannah Salon, the writer had 4 years of long hair cut into an above-the-shoulder bob, got a bangs perm and had an all-over chocolate brown dye to cover gray hair (cut ₩20,000, bangs perm ₩20,000, dye ₩70,000). For anyone who wants to trim damaged ends and change their look, Hannah Salon's bob cut and dye were a satisfying choice.

Written Oct 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Bukchon hanok restaurant for a date: kimchi puree pork jowl, Concasse

Concasse Anguk is a Western restaurant in a 100-year-old hanok on Bukchon-ro, near Anguk Station in Jongno, Seoul. On a Bukchon date, we sat at the U-shaped table wrapped around the courtyard tree and ordered the rolled fresh-pasta lasagna (23,000 won) and the pork jowl with kimchi puree (36,000 won); the lasagna never got tiresome, and the kimchi puree kept the pork jowl from tasting greasy. For a Bukchon date that calls for both hanok atmosphere and distinctive food, Concasse Anguk is a good fit.

Written Oct 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Hapjeong Indian restaurant for cilantro haters: turmeric rice, Mandala

Mandala Indian Lounge (만다라 인도 라운지) is an Indian restaurant run by Indian owners on the 3rd floor of a building near the Hapjeong café street in Mapo, Seoul. The writer and her husband had chicken tikka (₩16,000), chicken makhani (₩13,000) and turmeric rice (₩3,000) for weekend lunch, plus plain naan for leaving a receipt review, and the spices were mild enough that the writer, who can't eat cilantro, finished every last bit of sauce. In a bright, café-like room, this combo at Mandala Indian Lounge is an easy pick even for first-timers to Indian food.

Written Jun 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulCafés

Yeonnam-dong dessert café for chestnut terrine with Mom: Jitheunsan

Jitheunsan (짙은산) is a flourless terrine cake dessert café in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo, Seoul, at the end of a bamboo path near the Yeonnam underpass. On a visit with Mom, the order was Jitheunsan's signature chestnut terrine cake (8,500 won), a decaf iced americano (6,000 won) and a cold-brewed Earl Grey milk tea (7,500 won), and even Mom, who rarely enjoys desserts, praised the chestnut terrine cake. For a calm, uncrowded dessert café in Yeonnam-dong, Jitheunsan is a good fit.

Written Jun 26, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Texas BBQ in Sangsu, Seoul vs the Gyeongnidan-gil original: Locos BBQ

Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch is a Texas barbecue restaurant in a standalone two-story building one minute on foot from Sangsu Station Exit 4 in Mapo, Seoul. A couple who are regulars at the Gyeongnidan-gil original visited Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch during the day with their dog and ordered the 2-person sampler (₩49,900) with brisket, pulled pork, pork belly, spare ribs and 6 sides, and were struck by the brighter, roomier space and the separate room offered to guests with dogs. Locos BBQ Sangsu Branch is a Sangsu Station barbecue spot that suits dates, group meals and dining out with your dog.

Written Jun 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Hanok burger spot in Jongno, Seoul: garlic butter fries at Downtowner

Downtowner Anguk is a craft burger restaurant in Jongno, Seoul, near Exit 2 of Anguk Station, set in a space that keeps its original hanok (traditional Korean house) structure. At Downtowner Anguk we ordered the avocado burger (₩12,700), the Downtowner burger (₩9,900) and garlic butter fries (₩6,800); the burgers were packed with fillings yet easy to hold, and the garlic butter fries had enough sauce to stay tasty to the last bite. Downtowner Anguk is a good stop when a burger craving hits during a Changdeokgung or Bukchon outing.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
ProductGaru SeonsaengFood & snacks

Low-sugar matcha soy milk as a coffee swap: Garu Seonsaeng Jeju Matcha

Garu Seonsaeng Mix-and-Drink Raw Soy Milk in Jeju Matcha is a stick-type soy milk powder: one 20g packet is stirred into water or milk. The writer, who is preparing for pregnancy through IVF, drank Garu Seonsaeng Jeju Matcha in hot and cold water instead of coffee and found that the powder dissolved easily and the strong matcha flavor left almost no beany taste. It suits anyone cutting back on caffeine who wants a plain, low-sugar soy drink to replace morning coffee.

Written Jun 28, 2026Product provided
PlaceGangseo, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Magok lash salon: same-day lift for visible waterlines, Mio Brow Bar

Mio Brow Bar is an eyebrow, lash lift and waxing shop on the 1st floor of Daebang DMC City, by Exit 8 of Yangcheonhyanggyo Station in Magok, Gangseo, Seoul. The writer booked a same-day lash lift hoping for a tight, sharply lifted curl, but the Mio Brow Bar owner recommended a C curl as more natural for eyes where the waterline shows, and the treatment finished in under the usual 1 hour. Verdict: the drooping lashes now lift naturally without looking artificial, and the writer's eyes look clearly more defined.

Written Jul 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Yeonnam-dong donburi: katsuo hire nabe set & hire katsudon, Jongno

Jongno Donburi Yeonnam is a Japanese rice bowl (donburi) restaurant in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo, Seoul. In its wood-toned dining room, the writer had the katsuo hire nabe set (17,500 won), a shallow bonito-scented broth with a pork tenderloin cutlet, and the hire katsudon (14,600 won) with thick tenderloin katsu. Jongno Donburi Yeonnam is a good fit for a calm Japanese meal in Yeonnam-dong.

Written Jul 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Gyukatsu spot in Sangam-dong: hearty ₩17,000 lunch set, Izawa Sangam

Izawa Sangam (이자와 상암점) is a gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant in a two-story standalone building in Sangam-dong, Mapo, Seoul. A couple ordered two gyukatsu sets at ₩17,000 each for a weekday lunch and grilled the aged striploin cutlets themselves on a mini grill at the table, finding the portions generous and the smoke and smell almost nonexistent. For a filling lunch in Sangam-dong, the Izawa Sangam gyukatsu set is well worth recommending.

Written Jul 18, 2026Sponsored
PlaceEunpyeong, SeoulRestaurants

Couple's Korean BBQ in Yeonsinnae: galbisal and a huge stew, Golmokjip

Golmokjip Galbisal Yeonsinnae Main Branch is a retro beef BBQ restaurant on the Yeonsinnae Station food street in Eunpyeong, Seoul, open since 2016. A couple grilled 2 servings of marinated galbisal (boneless beef rib meat, 150g each, ₩19,900 per serving) over real charcoal with doenjang jjigae, rice and mul naengmyeon, and the stew and cold noodles were about double the size served elsewhere. If a 550g platter is too much for two, 2 servings of marinated galbisal plus a meal dish at Golmokjip Galbisal is the order to get.

Written Jul 20, 2026Sponsored