Yellow chimney tteokbokki restaurant in Yongsan, Seoul: Hyeonseonine

This is a visit review of Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, a sweet-and-spicy instant tteokbokki (stir-fried rice cake) spot.

Hyeonseonine started as a street cart in 2004 and now runs 8 branches. It's a Yongsan restaurant where you can enjoy a whole lineup of nostalgic bunsik (Korean street food) menu items — instant tteokbokki, handmade mini gimbap (seaweed rice roll), handmade sundae (blood sausage), crispy fritters, and skewered fish cake.

Where is Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, and where do you park?

Come out of Exit 5 of Sinyongsan Station, walk straight about 5 meters, and turn into the alley between a beer pub and a real estate office — you'll spot Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch by its yellow chimney building.

There's no dedicated parking lot in front, but paid parking is available nearby.

• Restaurant name: Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch
• Main menu: Hyeonseoni Set, instant tteokbokki, fritters, gimbap
• Hours: 11:00–24:00 (last order 22:40)
• Address: 2-13 Hangangdae-ro 39-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Group seating available, takeout, delivery, separate restrooms, high chair, Wi-Fi

Takeout and delivery run until 22:40, so it's a great spot to order from if you want late-night food. The whole yellow chimney building was being used exclusively by Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch.

Inside the yellow chimney building: seating and atmosphere

The seating is spacious with group tables available, making it suitable for a workday lunch with coworkers, a family gathering, or a date. The staff seated us quickly, so even first-time visitors could order easily.

Choosing a spice level and ordering the 26,000-won Hyeonseoni Combo Set

Hyeonseonine's menu is broadly divided into single dishes, sets, and instant tteokbokki, and you can choose the tteokbokki spice level: mild, medium, or spicy.

• Mild: a sweet flavor even kids can enjoy
• Medium: slightly spicier than Shin Ramyun, said to be the most popular spice level
• Spicy: Hyeonseonine's signature — an extreme heat that even spice-lovers struggle with. Delicious, but seriously hot

The set menus and instant tteokbokki were what most customers around us were ordering. Wanting to try a bit of everything, I went with the Hyeonseoni Combo Set at ₩26,000! The combo set comes with 5 items: tteokbokki, sundae (blood sausage), fritters, mini gimbap, and fish cake. I asked for the tteokbokki mild and the sundae with mixed organs. The staff responded quickly, so there was no waiting around, which made for a satisfying experience.

I grabbed what I needed from the self-serve bar near the entrance. Pickled radish, fry batter, soy sauce, salt, small plates, ladles — everything was well stocked to make the bunsik taste even better.

Less than 5 minutes after we sat down and ordered, the Hyeonseoni Combo Set was ready. The portion is enough to fill up 2–3 people eating together.

If you love bunsik, Hyeonseonine's set menu is a must-try.

Mild soupy tteokbokki at Hyeonseonine

Hyeonseonine's mild tteokbokki came out with a sweet-and-spicy sauce, more of a soupy style.

The chewy rice cakes and fish cake were deeply soaked in the tteokbokki sauce.

A nostalgic flavor that couldn't possibly be bad. Even ordered mild, it was deliciously spicy.

Handmade mini gimbap in the combo set

The handmade mini gimbap pairs perfectly with the bold sweet-and-spicy tteokbokki sauce. It's filled with egg, pickled radish, ham, and imitation crab, and brushed with sesame oil for an explosion of nutty, savory flavor.

It's delicious on its own, but even more satisfying dipped in the tteokbokki sauce!

Handmade sundae with organs mixed in

The sundae (blood sausage) came out with thick slices of organs like lung and liver mixed in.

The chewy sundae and organs were tasty even though it had been a while since I'd had them. No gamey smell, nice and clean, so I ate them properly dipped in salt.

The best part of the set: assorted fritters

The assorted fritters were the best thing I ate at Hyeonseonine!

It comes with a variety of fritter types — squid, gimmari (seaweed roll), sweet potato, vegetable, mandu (dumpling), and more.

The fritters were extremely crispy on the outside as if freshly fried, with the oil well drained, so there was almost no greasy feeling.

Even dunked deep into the tteokbokki sauce, the fritters kept their crispy texture all the way through.

Crunchy like eating a snack, and packed with filling too. If you visit Hyeonseonine, tteokbokki and fritters are must-order items.

Squiggly fish cake skewers and the broth

The 3 pieces of squiggly skewered fish cake included in the Hyeonseonine combo set were also quite generous in size.

The fish cake broth had fried tofu and rice cake in it too, and the broth flavor was deep and refreshing.

Too much food for two: would we go back to Hyeonseonine?

The portion is really quite a lot for 2 people, so it would be better to get it packed for takeout and share with family.

I know Hyeonseonine has a few more locations, but the Yongsan Main Branch is clean and spacious, so I think I'll be back often. Every dish was fresh and delicious. I'd also recommend adding extra noodles or rice cake to the instant tteokbokki.

I ate at Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, said to be one of Korea's three great tteokbokki spots, and was satisfied — then went to rest at a basement café nearby before heading home.