Hongdae Korean restaurant for a gentle meal when your stomach hurts

Looking for somewhere to eat in Hongdae, I ended up going to Baengni Gomtang for gomtang (Korean beef bone broth soup) this time!

🗺️ Location

You walk out of Exit 6 of Hongik University Station and it takes about 5 minutes. It's close to the station so it was easy to find!

👀 Gomtang in Hongdae! Baengni Gomtang exterior

Turn into the alley and Baengni Gomtang is right there! Beef gomtang and yukhoe bibimbap are the mains, and there's also beef yukhoe, tteokgalbi, and beef hot pot. Felt like a good spot in Hongdae when you want a warm soup instead of a bar or a meat place.

🪑 Interior

This is the vibe once you're inside! Overall clean, and the tables were more spacious than I expected. Hongdae is always so crowded, but eating here felt comfortable and easy.

What's on the menu?

I sat down and checked the menu first — gomtang and yukhoe bibimbap are the mains! The yukhoe bibimbap lets you choose soy sauce or gochujang (red chili paste) sauce. My friend ordered the large beef yukhoe bibimbap and I ordered the beef gomtang. We wanted to try both, so that's how we split it haha.

How it tasted

The first thing I noticed the moment the food arrived was the sprout ginseng on top!!

The side dishes that came with it were kkakdugi, potato salad, and seasoned octopus jeotgal. The kkakdugi went so well with the gomtang that I basically cleaned the whole bowl — not a secret, lol.

Beef yukhoe bibimbap (large)

It's different from a regular yukhoe bibimbap. It comes with sprout ginseng on top too!! Inside there's lettuce, sprouts, and gungchae (a leafy green), plus beef yukhoe on top! Eating the yukhoe with the vegetables was delicious, and it wasn't as strongly seasoned as I expected.

When I eat bibimbap I'm not really into anything too salty or spicy, and this one leaned mild rather than sharp. Eating the yukhoe with the vegetables gave it a nice crunch, and the gungchae added a good bite here and there.

I also tried the sprout ginseng — since it's ginseng, there's a faint aroma, but it wasn't as off-putting as I expected. Actually paired pretty well eaten together with the yukhoe bibimbap.

Beef gomtang

And then the beef gomtang arrived! This one also had sprout ginseng on top, so the gomtang looked great too lol. The broth is clear and clean, with beef pieces inside. Topping it with kkakdugi made it just right and delicious. Overall the seasoning was mild!

So if you want a richer flavor, you can add the salt or pepper on the table. But since I had stomach cramps that day, I ate it plain without adding either ㅠㅠ

At first I thought it might be too bland, but after a few spoonfuls, the cleanness actually felt good. Especially with kkakdugi on top, it was just right and delicious!! A spoonful of gomtang broth followed by a piece of kkakdugi paired really well.

I also tried the beef inside — it was tender, so it went well with rice!!! I tried the sprout ginseng with the gomtang too, and personally I found it easier to enjoy with the gomtang than with the yukhoe bibimbap~~!!

There's a slight ginseng aroma, but since the gomtang itself is so clean, it didn't stand out much. And even though I wasn't feeling great that day, the warm broth kept me eating. In the end I finished the broth completely lol.

Ordering the yukhoe bibimbap and gomtang together was a good combo — one side gives you a tangy, spicy bibimbap, and in between you can have warm gomtang broth.

Took a quick photo on the way out to wrap up~ If you want a filling meal in Hongdae, give Baengni Gomtang a try, go go.

So would I recommend it?

If you want gomtang or yukhoe bibimbap in Hongdae, I think it's a solid choice! Especially since I had stomach cramps that day and couldn't handle anything more intense than usual, the mild gomtang was easy to eat as is. Of course, if you like stronger seasoning, adding salt or pepper is a good idea! The yukhoe bibimbap isn't heavily seasoned either, so if you like eating mild like me, it should work well.

If you're always eating meat or drinking snacks in Hongdae and want a warm meal for once, Baengni Gomtang could be a good option!