Yeouido tteokbokki restaurant, wheat rice cakes for two: Hyeonseonine

I recently tried Hyeonseonine's tteokbokki in Yongsan for the first time and it was SO SO good that I even went with friends to the Euljiro Ipgu branch afterward — I'd stumbled onto one of Korea's three great tteokbokki spots. This weekend, Hyunji and I were heading to a café in Yeouido and got hungry beforehand, so we looked up what to eat, and wouldn't you know it — there's a Hyeonseonine in Yeouido too?! I've completely fallen for Hyeonseonine!! We visited Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch, one of Korea's three great tteokbokki restaurants and a Yeouido tteokbokki favorite!

Where is Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch, and what are its hours?

• 📍Location: IFC Mall B2, 10 Gukjegeumyung-ro, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul
• ⏱️Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 / Sat–Sun 12:00–21:00 (last order 20:40)
• 🚗No parking available

How to find the restaurant in the IFC Mall arcade, and what the space feels like

Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch, a Yeouido tteokbokki favorite, sits in the underground passage that runs from Yeouido Station toward IFC Mall and The Hyundai. Walk straight along the passage and you'll spot Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch on your left.

Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch, a snack restaurant favorite near The Hyundai.

Twenty years written in tteokbokki — becoming a Yongsan icon.

Hyeonseonine is a snack restaurant with a long history. Starting as a street cart in 2004, it became a Yongsan icon on the strength of its spicy tteokbokki alone. To keep quality and service consistent, all branches are company-operated — including this Yeouido tteokbokki favorite, Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch.

Inside there are 2-seat and 4-seat tables, and if the indoor space is full, you can also eat in Hyeonseonine's outdoor area. It looked like an outdoor space shared with the neighboring convenience store.

A self-serve bar tucked in one corner of the restaurant! Water, cutlery, pickled radish, salt, wet wipes — everything you need for the meal is set up, so just grab as much as you need.

Why order instant tteokbokki instead of a set menu?

The menu at Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch. Hyeonseonine sells à la carte items, set menus, and instant tteokbokki. On my previous two visits I'd ordered a set both times, so this time I decided to try the instant tteokbokki I hadn't had before!

Ordering what you want through the kiosk at the store entrance.

An induction burner at every table. Since Hyeonseonine sells instant tteokbokki, every seat comes equipped with one.

What we ordered was the instant tteokbokki. Inside the pot: tteokbokki rice cakes, dumplings, jjolmyeon noodles, egg, and cabbage, all in even proportions.

We also ordered a spicy-tangy fish cake broth and one cider on the side.

It looks SO good already. While waiting for it to boil, we just sat there laser-focused, willing it to hurry up.

Look at the instant tteokbokki all boiled down~! The color is so gorgeous, so gorgeous~~~~ It looks SO delicious >_< Yeouido's tteokbokki favorite is, as expected, Hyeonseonine.

How the wheat rice cakes, jjolmyeon noodles and egg tasted

It's a tteokbokki place, so rice cake first! Hyeonseonine uses wheat rice cakes, and the sauce soaks in beautifully, showing off the soft, chewy charm of instant tteokbokki at its best! People split into wheat rice cake camp and rice rice cake camp — if you're on Team Wheat, head straight to Hyeonseonine~~!

This jjolmyeon is the real delicacy among delicacies. It soaks up the sauce beautifully too, but the noodles softened at just the right level — twirl them together with the tteokbokki sauce and slurp, and the tteokbokki tastes amazing on its own while the jjolmyeon tastes amazing on its own too.

You know you're supposed to break the egg into the sauce and mix it all in, right~? We ordered instant tteokbokki for two and shared it, and we ended up SO stuffed at Hyeonseonine. Need I say more about the tteokbokki — living up to its name as one of Korea's three great tteokbokki restaurants and a Yeouido tteokbokki favorite, Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch was so, so good. I think I'll keep thinking about Hyeonseonine for a while...