Insa-dong gomtang restaurant after a gallery visit: Wolhadong

Wolhadong: a gomtang restaurant for lunch after an Insa-dong gallery

When I visit just one gallery in Insa-dong and wonder what to eat afterward, the place that immediately comes to mind is Wolhadong (월하동), a Korean gomtang restaurant near Anguk Station!

It's honestly just really good pork gomtang.. and the broth is so refreshing that you absolutely have to go in summer. At lunchtime, a lot of office workers eat at Wolhadong, and it's the perfect Insa-dong Korean gomtang after visiting a nearby gallery :)

If you like clean, mild food, I really hope you'll visit! Lately I keep having dinner with a drink on the side, so I've been craving cool, soupy dishes like this.

I went after a gallery trip with my younger sister, and it was so good that we said "let's come back here" several times. So let me tell you about it.

What comes in the Wolhadong set menu?

The Wolhadong set menu was two bowls of gomtang plus a drink and extra meat. Honestly, these days even a bowl of gomtang is almost over ₩15,000, but Wolhadong is such good value. Having a set menu also makes it easier to choose ;)

I was going to just get two bowls of gomtang this time, but I went with the set menu instead. Two bowls of gomtang with a drink and extra meat was really great ;) It feels like I saved so much!

Hanok interior: a nice atmosphere even for your parents

Wolhadong is a hanok (traditional Korean house) with a really stylish interior, and the food looks pretty too. Honestly, I think you could bring your mom here. Good food is the kind you want to share with your parents, right?! That's exactly the feeling.

A lot of food these days feels like it was made quickly, but Wolhadong's gomtang is made with time and care, so I think older people would like it too.

How are the Wolha Gomtang broth and kimchi?

The Wolha Gomtang broth isn't refreshing because it's spicy; it's genuinely clear and still cool-tasting. The kimchi side dishes go so well with the gomtang that I was honestly surprised. The more you eat, the more you reach for them, and with the sides your mouth feels clean, so it feels perfect as a hangover soup the day after drinking..

This is what I really wanted to say earlier.

They say Wolha Gomtang tastes so good because Wolhadong gets its own savory depth from cheonggeunjang (a sauce made from fermented radish) and gansu (bittern, the brine left over from making salt).

You can taste domestic chili powder, radish and kimchi, so you can feel the higher quality. Oh, and Wolhadong's gomtang is toryeom style (hot broth repeatedly poured over the rice), which may feel unfamiliar at first, but it really suits an Insa-dong Korean gomtang.

Changing the flavor with cheonggeunjang and chili oil

With Wolha Gomtang, you can eat the meat plain, then with cheonggeunjang, and when you're about halfway through, adding chili oil changes the flavor completely. I tried the meat on its own, then the meat with the cheonggeunjang they serve alongside, and so on,

and when I added chili oil about halfway through, the flavor changed again and it felt like eating a different dish.

It felt like enjoying many different dishes from a single dish, which I found so fascinating.

Is there a menu for evening drinks too?

Wolhadong also has dishes like cold jeyuk (cold boiled pork) and squid chocomuchim (tangy squid salad) that are great for a light drink with friends in the evening. If you stop by Wolhadong when you come for lunch in Insa-dong, you can taste all these flavors in a single meal, so I think you really get the feeling of Insa-dong embraced in one meal.

So honestly, I thought I'd have to come again. The jeongol (hot pot) looks great too, and you can enjoy it together with the dishes I've tried so far.

Hanok bar seats, good for a foreign friend

From the entrance onward, Wolhadong's interior makes good use of the charm of a hanok, so I think it would be a great place to bring a foreign friend. It has a tranquil feel, neat tables, and bar seats where the strengths of a hanok show best!!

If you're craving a clean-tasting broth, I think Wolhadong, a great Insa-dong Korean gomtang restaurant, is worth a visit.