Mother-daughter dinner course at a Gwanghwamun hanjeongsik: Modam

It's been a while since I had dinner with my mom, and while looking for a spot I found Modam Dining Gwanghwamun! It's a Korean restaurant, but it's course-style, so it's apparently famous for family gatherings, engagement dinners, and matchmaking meetings.

• 📍 Location 10 Saemunan-ro 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, B1F B102/B103, Deoksugung D Palace, South Korea
• ⏰ Hours Mon–Sun 11:00–22:00 / Break time Mon–Fri 15:00–17:00 / Last order Mon–Sun 20:10
• 🚗 Parking available (free 2 hours in D Palace building B3)

Where Modam Dining Gwanghwamun is and where to park

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun is about a 9-minute walk from Gwanghwamun Station Exit 6. It's on the basement floor of the D Palace building, but you can also reach it by heading down the outdoor basement stairs on the left before entering the building!

If you're driving, parking in the D Palace building's B3 level gets you 2 hours free, and if it's full you can use the Concordian Building's underground parking. Just a heads up — the Concordian Building doesn't support parking before 18:00 on weekdays. Definitely check ahead!

The entrance feels more upscale and calm than your typical Korean restaurant, more like a fine dining spot. Even the logo is so classy 👍

You walk through this path to get in, and it's so pretty! haha

Hall seats and private rooms: is Modam Dining good for a group?

Seating at Modam Dining Gwanghwamun is split between the hall and private rooms, and once inside, the space is pretty spacious. Overall it's calm and clean, blending that traditional hanjeongsik feel with a modern interior, so it never felt too old-fashioned.

There are Korean objects and decorations scattered throughout, and the materials used on the ceiling and around the space made it fun to look around. 😆

The hall has just as much spacing between tables as the rooms do, and the partitions divide the space enough that even without a private room, it was comfortable to eat and chat.

The rooms are set up clean and simple, which seemed perfect for family gatherings, matchmaking meetings, or company dinners. Personally, it felt so upscale and easy to talk in — totally satisfied!! 🤎

What is on the dinner menu at Modam Dining Gwanghwamun?

Modam Dining has a variety of dishes you can enjoy course-style, on top of the usual hanjeongsik menu. We ordered the evening abalone tteokgalbi set and the evening abalone shrimp jang and butter rice set.

First course: seasonal porridge, seasonal salad, pine-nut mustard greens and cheongyang water kimchi

First up were seasonal porridge, a seasonal salad with yuzu dressing, pine-nut mustard salad, and cheongyang chili water kimchi.

Since the food comes out in servings for two, they gave us an extra pair of chopsticks for each dish, thinking we might want to share. I think that's a nice touch unique to Modam Dining. haha 🤍

Seasonal porridge

The seasonal porridge is finely ground chestnut porridge, nutty and smooth.

Seasonal salad with yuzu dressing

The seasonal vegetables were so fresh with a great crunch, and the yuzu dressing was tangy enough to really whet the appetite.

Mustard greens in pine-nut sauce

This is almonds, cucumber, lotus root, broccoli and other ingredients tossed in a nutty pine-nut sauce, and it must have had a lot of pine nuts because it was really nutty. On top of that, there was a subtle, zingy mustard flavor.

Cheongyang water kimchi

It's refreshing and clean at first, but as you keep eating, the cheongyang chili's heat comes through subtly, giving it a bit of a kick. Great for cleansing the palate in between dishes!

Second course: ceviche, Modam fritters and perilla oil capellini

Next came seasonal raw fish and pickle ceviche, Modam fritters, and perilla oil capellini.

Ceviche of seasonal raw fish and pickled vegetables

This is fresh seasonal raw fish topped with finely chopped pickles and a tangy sauce, and the fish was soft yet chewy. The sour, salty pickles gave it an extra kick, making the dish clean but also really appetite-boosting.

Modam fritters

These are mushroom fritters, and they're crispy outside, tender inside — the real deal. And the sauce that came with them was seriously so good. I wanted to scrape up every last drop and keep eating... lol

Perilla oil capellini

The noodles had a subtle, nutty perilla oil flavor soaked in, and combined with seaweed flakes and vegetables, it had a unique taste. Eating it with the shrimp on top made it even better!!

The mains: abalone tteokgalbi and abalone shrimp jang with butter rice

Once that round of eating wraps up, next comes the main dishes — abalone tteokgalbi, abalone shrimp jang and butter rice, rice, today's soup or stew, and four side dishes, followed finally by dessert.

The four side dishes were all seasoned just right and delicious overall.

Abalone tteokgalbi (grilled short-rib patty)

The abalone was tender, not chewy at all, and the tteokgalbi (grilled meat patty) was large with insane juiciness. The sauce was just sweet and salty enough and soaked in well, making it great with rice.

Abalone shrimp jang (soy-marinated shrimp)

The seafood is generous, and the size of the abalone and shrimp is insane!! 🫢

First they mix butter into the rice, then add the chopped seafood, and you season it with soy sauce to your taste and mix it all together. It was springy and well-seasoned — so delicious! My mom said she liked the abalone shrimp jang even more than the tteokgalbi and finished every bit of it! haha And by the way, the radish soup was also really tasty. ☺️

Dessert and plum tea

We finished up with plum tea to help with digestion!

Why Modam Dining Gwanghwamun works for a hanjeongsik gathering

I was already satisfied with the interior atmosphere at Modam Dining, but the menu lineup — the most important part — was great too, and the food was clean yet luxuriously delicious, which I personally loved. Kind of like being treated to something special, you know? haha Next time, I think it'd be great to book a room for my parents' birthday or another special occasion with the whole family. Or it'd be nice to go with my partner on an anniversary too! haha

If you're looking for a hanjeongsik restaurant in Gwanghwamun where you want to be satisfied with both the atmosphere and the food, I recommend Modam Dining Gwanghwamun. Revisit intent 10000000%!! 🙌🫶