Jongno Korean restaurant for family gatherings: Modam Dining

This time, I visited a place that was so perfect for a family gathering in Gwanghwamun. I was completely satisfied with the atmosphere, private rooms, service, and the taste and composition of the set meal, which was practically at course-meal level!

Finding Modam Dining from Gwanghwamun Station

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun, a great Korean restaurant in Gwanghwamun, is on B1 of the Deoksugung D Palace building behind the Heungkuk Life Insurance Building, by Exit 6 of Gwanghwamun Station. Parking on B3 is free for two hours; if it is full, you can use the underground parking at Concordian Building. (Parking support is unavailable at Concordian Building before 18:00 on weekdays.)

The modern, upscale, yet calm interior was impressive. The dining hall itself is spacious, with plenty of distance between tables and well-placed partitions, making it comfortable to chat over a meal. Hours are 11:00–22:00, last order is at 20:10, and there is a weekday break from 15:00–17:00.

There are private rooms along one side, too, so it looked great for Gwanghwamun family gatherings, all kinds of get-togethers, company dinners, business entertaining, or even meetings between the families before a wedding.

What comes with the Korean beef bulgogi hot pot set meal

Korean beef 1++ bulgogi hot pot · ₩39,000 per person (minimum order of 2)

Some Modam Dining dishes are available only at weekday lunch, while others are available on weekday evenings, weekends, and public holidays. We chose the bulgogi hot pot, which can be ordered all day. It arrives like a Korean table set, but it is almost 10 courses when you count it that way—the lineup was seriously so good!

Starting the meal with seasonal porridge and salad

Seasonal porridge

We gently started the meal with warm, nutty mung bean porridge. :)

Seasonal salad with yuzu dressing

A salad where the fresh vegetables went so nicely with the bright yuzu dressing. Honestly, I am not usually a fan of yuzu dressing, but Modam Dining's was completely different—no artificial sweetness, just really fresh and delicious. haha

Chilled vegetable salad with pine nut sauce

The nutty pine nut sauce and slight kick of the mustard vegetable salad came together beautifully; this was my companion's favorite dish.

Cheongyang pepper watery kimchi

Watery kimchi with a clean, refreshing taste.

The porridge and salads arrived one after another like light appetizers, whetting our appetite. 😊

Fried dishes and fresh sashimi appetizers

Modam-style fried dishes

The fried shiitake mushrooms were crisp outside and moist and chewy within, and even the sauce was absolutely delicious.

Seasonal fresh fish sashimi and pickled-vegetable ceviche

The flounder sashimi was served with tangy pickled-vegetable ceviche, and together they had a complex harmony of flavors that felt almost fine-dining level. 😋

How is every single dish at this great Gwanghwamun Korean restaurant, Modam Dining, so neat and delicious?

Perilla oil capellini bursting with nuttiness

Perilla oil capellini

This perilla oil capellini, topped with sweet shrimp, was bursting with nuttiness. Mix in the perilla leaves, perilla seed powder, egg, and everything else, and it becomes a nutty yet clean-tasting noodle dish that really sticks with you. :)

Some people find course meals a little frustrating because each dish comes out one at a time and never feels quite enough. At Modam Dining, though, you get the feeling of a course meal with the generous abundance of a Korean table set, so it is very satisfying. 👍

A generous Korean beef bulgogi hot pot and meal

Next came the bulgogi hot pot and the meal.

Steamed rice + four side dishes

You can have a hearty meal with the side dishes and rice while enjoying the bulgogi.

Korean beef 1++ bulgogi hot pot

The bulgogi hot pot was packed with vegetables, mushrooms, and Korean beef graded 1++! We let it bubble away at the table, and the meat quality was good and the portion was generous, so we could really enjoy a feast. :)

Especially, the broth was seasoned just right: sweet but deep and clean, with the perfect sweet-savory balance. It was good-good even with rice mixed into the broth. I think it was one of the best bulgogi hot pots I have tried.

A comfortable meal right through dessert

Dessert

For the final dessert, we had sweet and tangy maesil-cha (green plum tea). :) The bulgogi hot pot set had such a great composition and every dish was delicious, but everything was also so clean and neatly prepared that it was a strange experience: I was full, yet my stomach felt completely comfortable, with none of that greasy or heavy feeling afterward!

That is why I think it would be great for bringing older family members, and I really want to recommend it for a Gwanghwamun family gathering. 👍 I am planning to reserve a room at Modam Dining Gwanghwamun for my next family get-together too, haha.