Jongno hanok bar for an alcohol-free date: persimmon platter at Hanuk

A Jongno date day with a friend I love so much 💗 While we were going through her saved list of places she wanted to try, Hanuk (하눅) caught my eye. A hanok-style (traditional Korean house) interior 💗 with cocktails and whisky in it!! So we hopped in a car and headed straight to Hanuk, the Jongno bar... 🚗🚗

Hanuk location, opening hours, reservations and parking

Hanuk is at 18 Samil-daero 19-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, in the basement, and it's open every day from 7 pm to 2 am the next day (last order 1:30 am). Groups and reservations are welcome (group seating for 6 to 20 people), and there's a bar table too.

• 📍 Address: 18 Samil-daero 19-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, basement level 1
• ⏰ Hours: daily 19:00 to 02:00 the next day, last order 01:30
• ✔️ Groups and reservations welcome (group seating for 6 to 20), bar table
• 🔸 Reservations: Catch Table online booking or Instagram DM
• 💵 Prices: whisky ₩15,000 to ₩50,000, dried persimmon platter ₩17,900
• 🚙 Parking: not available; use Jongno Building parking lot / public roadside lot (268 Gwancheol-dong, Jongno-gu)

Is there really a hanok bar in the alleys near Jonggak Station?

Hanuk is hidden in a basement among the yajang (outdoor street pub) alleys of Jonggak Station. We went on a weekday night and the roadside lot had space, so we parked and walked. Was Jonggak Station always this hot? The street stalls were SO crowded, and the chicken places were packed with office workers fresh off work.

90s songs were playing, so we sang along while following the map, and both of us were like "There's really a Hanuk here...?" hahahaha From the photos I'd have guessed it was somewhere in Seochon 😆

Found the sign!! Ha-nuk! 🎀

It's basement level 1, so we headed down the stairs. And the moment I stepped on them, a lovely scent hit me.... I became a woman time-slipped back to the Joseon dynasty... 🌺

The door into Hanuk 🚪 Think of it as the Leaky Cauldron pub entrance to Diagon Alley. Open the door and it's a totally different world - 🌟

The source of that lovely scent was this incense burner by the door 🪻 I hadn't even gone into Hanuk yet and I was sobbing like Westerners seeing silk for the first time...TT Amazing! Gorgeous! 😭🌟

Inside Hanuk: daecheong-maru (wooden hall) decor and screened table seats

Inside, Hanuk is split into a bar table and table seats on the right, with a daecheong maru (traditional wooden floor hall) objet space behind the bar. Each table has a fabric screen, which gave it a private feel.

The view as you open the door and walk in (there are seats on the left too, but guests were there so I couldn't photograph them!)

The table seats are on the right like this, and the daecheong maru objet space behind the bar was so pretty too. 👍 We'd just walked down a street playing Tashannee's song "Didn't you really know we'd meet~~~🎵" and is this even allowed? I love it so much 😭👍 This twist had to be the Hanuk owner's grand plan, right...?

Our table. If you come here on a Jongno blind date, I think you'd fall in love💞

Celadon objet details 👍 Every seat has a fabric screen like this, which made it feel private and even better. * It felt a little like a traditional bamboo blind. (No foot, Yes screen) *

Hanuk's menu and how to order

At Hanuk, once you sit down, a staff member brings the menu, water and a lemongrass-scented wet towel, and you order through the QR code inside the menu.

The staff told us the water for the towel is made with lemongrass, so it smells of lemongrass, and to enjoy the scent too. It's the exact smell from the fancy massage shop when I got a massage in Bangkok!!!!!!!!! I love it, Hanuk is truly the best 😭✨

A boring menu is no fun, right? The menu opens like a door too. 🚪 From the name Hanuk to the logo, the interior and the moments you experience inside the bar, everything runs in one direction, and I loved that.

There's a QR inside the menu, and you pick your items through it. From the non-alcoholic cocktails, we ordered Dongbaek and Tarak, both non-alcoholic!

• Tarak - non-alcoholic
• Dongbaek - non-alcoholic
• Hanuk noodles
• Dried persimmon platter

Welcome sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch), yakgwa (honey cookie) and the dried persimmon platter

At Hanuk, after you order, a welcome drink of sujeonggwa (cinnamon persimmon punch) and yakgwa (honey cookie) comes out first. The dried persimmon platter (₩17,900) that followed had four items: persimmon jar, persimmon roll, dried persimmon strips and persimmon orim.

The welcome drink and snacks that came out soon after: sujeonggwa and yakgwa. There's just no way not to take photos. Eat the yakgwa, finish neatly with the sujeonggwa, and then the dishes start arriving 💞

The dried persimmon platter, from the left:

• Persimmon jar: dried persimmon stuffed with nuts
• Persimmon roll: dried persimmon rolled around walnuts
• Dried persimmon strips
• Persimmon orim: dried persimmon with pine nuts

I can't believe you can make such a variety of sweets from dried persimmons. My friend and I thought the persimmon jar was SO SO good that we inhaled it. 😆👍

What does Hanuk's non-alcoholic Tarak cocktail taste like?

Hanuk's Tarak is inspired by tarakjuk (milk porridge) and is a Korean reinterpretation, using brown rice, of the Mexican drink horchata. Having it non-alcoholic, it tasted like a fancy Morning Sun (a Korean rice drink): light, refreshing sweetness.

Finally my cocktail "Tarak" arrived. That's how the staff explained it. One sip and it's simply delicious 😭😭😭 It's really a fancy Morning Sun, sweet but light and refreshingly sweet! Totally my taste!! Highly recommended 💞

The meaning behind Hanuk's non-alcoholic Dongbaek (camellia) cocktail

Hanuk's Dongbaek (camellia) is a cocktail capturing the scent of Jeju camellia flowers; the coconut foam on the soda represents snow, and the petals on top represent camellias on snow. My friend ordered it non-alcoholic.

Camellia is also called "tamchunhwa", meaning a flower that covets spring 🌺 💫 💫 The meaning totally blew me away, crazy 💫 💫 The faint camellia grass scent and gentle sweetness from the soda seemed like they'd go well with the food too.

Even looking again, what a pretty spread!!

Pretty? Then let's cheers hahahahahaha After one sip of either cocktail you can turn into Gil Ra-im (from the drama Secret Garden), so the two of us played around taking Gil Ra-im photos.

Do I look like Gil Ra-im right now, ugh...ugh, I mean really

Hanuk noodles: soybean broth with seaweed pesto as a Korean bar snack

Hanuk noodles are noodles in a soybean broth base, tossed in gim (seaweed) pesto and topped with gosari (bracken), chives and ground pine nuts. No single ingredient stood out, and it had a gentle savory depth.

Mid-sip of the cocktail, the gorgeous-looking Hanuk noodles arrived ✨ No ingredient stood out too much; everything blended in harmony for a gentle savory depth. Isn't this basically fine dining...? 😹💗

This one spread alone made today's Jongno date so romantic & a success 💖👍

Hanuk review event: free perilla oil rice gelato

I heard that at Hanuk, if you write a review they give you a "perilla oil rice gelato" for free. Rice gelato AND perilla oil.... this crazy combo sets off my piggy appetite 🐷 We were so full we were about to burst, so we couldn't have it 😹 Please write a review and try it, everyone 💞

Who is Hanuk in Jongno best for?

• If you're looking for a K-bar with a clear atmosphere and concept, a special space rather than the usual Jongno drinking spot, Hanuk is recommended!
• There are non-alcoholic cocktails you can enjoy without drinking, plus visual details in the space and a prettily laid-out spread, so it's recommended as a date spot too 👍

We went just for a casual cocktail with a friend and ended up fully enjoying the hanok concept, the food and the whole experience 💖 If you want to properly introduce Korea to a foreign friend, or you're looking for a slightly special Jongno date or Jongno blind date spot, Hanuk seems like a really good choice! 💞