Ox knee cartilage gomtang set at a Hongdae restaurant: Yukjeon Gukbap

A Hongdae favorite, Yukjeon Gukbap

As the cool autumn weather crept in, I suddenly craved a warm bowl of seolleongtang-style gukbap, so I headed to Yukjeon Gukbap.

It's a 24-hour restaurant, so it's a great Seogyo-dong spot for a stress-free meal from morning to late night.

I had a hearty meal of hambak gomtang — mild, savory boiled beef and doganitang with yukjeon piled on top — alongside a chewy, light buckwheat noodle dish with a deep perilla oil aroma 😍 Let's get into the review right away!👉

Where is Yukjeon Gukbap Seogyo Branch, and is it really open 24 hours?

Yukjeon Gukbap Seogyo Branch is at 1F, 9-1 World Cup buk-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, right by Exit 1 of Hongik University Station on Line 2. It's open 00:00-24:00, closed only on September 25 for Chuseok.

For reference, there are two Yukjeon Gukbap branches near Hongik University Station — Seogyo and Hongdae. This time I visited the Seogyo branch. Having another branch nearby shows how popular this place is.

Being open 24 hours makes it a great Seogyo-dong spot for a meal or a hangover cure anytime. True to its 24-hour operation, the sign lights up brightly even from far away.

Inside Yukjeon Gukbap: hanok touches, solo seats and a hall full of overseas visitors

The interior of Yukjeon Gukbap Seogyo Branch has a lot of hanok (traditional Korean house) design touches, giving it a warm, cozy feel. The hall is fairly spacious with plenty of tables.

There's a thoughtfully placed solo bar-style counter too, since many people come here alone for a hangover cure or a solo meal.

And here's something interesting! I'd heard the number of foreign tourists in Seoul had really grown lately, and I truly felt it eating at Yukjeon Gukbap this time. It was as if all the foreign visitors had agreed to meet here for a meal — the tables on both sides of me and even the one across were all foreign guests. They weren't just curiously trying Korean food; they were ordering warm gukbap with a bottle of soju and eating more naturally than a Korean person would. Really a fun scene to witness haha

The menu at Yukjeon Gukbap and how to order on the table tablet

You order easily using the tablet at each table. We ordered the hambak gomtang set with yukjeon and the perilla oil buckwheat makguksu.

• Meals: Beef gukbap, yukjeon beef gukbap, miso gomtang, hambak gomtang, makguksu (bibim/mul)
• Hot pots: Beef bulgogi hot pot, beef tripe hot pot, mixed yukjeon hot pot, spicy squid salad
• Fresh-fried dishes: Beef yukjeon, handmade beef meatballs, half-and-half yukjeon meatballs, mixed seafood scallion pancake, cheese seafood pancake, perilla leaf pancake, seafood kimchi pancake, cheese seafood kimchi pancake
• Makgeolli: Green grape/grapefruit/lemon, 3-glass sampler

With the holidays coming up, there are plenty of pancake dishes too, good for a meal or as a drinking snack, which is probably why so many people come in late at night.

Miso gomtang vs hambak gomtang: what's the difference?

Miso gomtang has only boiled beef, while hambak gomtang has both boiled beef and doganitang.

Side dishes and the self-serve refill corner

The basic side dishes that pair well with the gomtang are kimchi, kkakdugi (radish kimchi), and pickled onion.

I'll mention this again later, but the kimchi and kkakdugi here are both delicious. Even when I was already full, this kimchi-kkakdugi combo kept tempting me for one more bite.

There's also a self-serve corner, so you can freely refill side dishes there.

Everything we ordered arrived.

Freshly fried yukjeon, eaten on top of the gukbap

This restaurant's specialty, yukjeon, came out grilled to a golden brown.

It looked just as appetizing as the jeon (pan-fried pancakes) you'd eat during Chuseok or Lunar New Year, freshly cooked. It's delicious on its own, but placing it on top of the gukbap gives it a richer, deeper flavor.

Hambak gomtang, loaded with boiled beef and ox knee cartilage

Hambak gomtang comes with a milky broth loaded with boiled beef and doganitang. The meat was tender and free of any gamey smell, and the doganitang had a nice chewy, jelly-like texture.

Even sharing it between two people, the amount of meat was more than expected — a really hearty bowl of gukbap. Eating it together with this restaurant's kkakdugi gives it a refreshing quality that feels like you could eat it every day without getting tired of it.

Perilla oil buckwheat makguksu and how to eat it with the cold noodle broth

Rather than ordering two rich gukbap dishes, we wanted something light and refreshing too, so we tried the perilla oil buckwheat makguksu.

It's topped generously with roasted seaweed flakes and sesame seeds, and doused generously in perilla oil for a nutty aroma.

Interestingly, it comes with a naengmyeon (cold noodle) broth on the side.

If the noodles feel a bit stiff, pouring in a little of the broth and mixing makes them softer and even tastier.

Compared to other places, it's on the lighter side, so I think people who are watching their diet would really enjoy it. It's tasty on its own, but pairing it with yukjeon or the kimchi and kkakdugi makes the flavor even richer, so it's worth trying it a few different ways.

That's it for this Hongdae favorite, Yukjeon Gukbap. I'll be back with a review of another menu item next time!