Sinyongsan Station pork gomtang lunch with 100g pork: Baekok Yongsan

Why Baekok Yongsan was the first lunch idea near Sinyongsan Station

When I'm looking for lunch near Sinyongsan Station, picking a menu is oddly hard. I want something filling like guk-bap (soup with rice), but a heavy, rich broth feels like too much for lunch. Then again, if I pick something light, I'm hungry again by afternoon.

Baekok Yongsan struck that middle ground well. The broth looks clear and clean at first glance, but each bowl has 100g of pork, so I actually felt like I'd eaten a proper meal afterward. It's not heavy like a typical guk-bap, and the portion doesn't disappoint either — that's why this place became the first spot I think of as a lunch spot near Sinyongsan Station.

Where Baekok Yongsan is and what the dining room feels like

Baekok Yongsan sits in an alley behind HYBE, between Sinyongsan and Yongsan stations. The interior is a bit different from the rough, bustling vibe you'd expect at a guk-bap place. Orange-toned tiles, wood-tone tables, and an open kitchen flow together cleanly, making it comfortable for a solo lunch or a low-pressure date meal.

Among the restaurants near Sinyongsan Station, some are tasty for lunch but so hectic you end up eating fast and leaving. Here, I could eat a bowl of guk-bap while still sitting somewhat calmly — that turned out to be a bigger plus than I expected.

Baekok Yongsan menu and prices: pork gomtang at 11,000 won

The menu centers on pork gomtang, with eolgomtang and yakgomtang variations also available, and the basic pork gomtang costs ₩11,000. The first thing that caught my eye was definitely the broth's color.

Usually pork guk-bap brings to mind a milky, rich broth, but at Baekok Yongsan the broth was nearly transparent. At first I wondered if the flavor would be too light too, but one spoonful changed my mind.

How does an almost clear pork broth still taste savory?

If I'm choosing pork gomtang for lunch near Sinyongsan Station, I tend to judge it by how heavy I feel afterward rather than by the broth alone. Baekok's pork gomtang didn't lead with a greasy taste; instead, a clean meaty aroma and umami followed slowly behind.

Because the broth is clear, mixing in rice didn't make it feel thick or heavy, and it was easy to keep spooning up until the end. But clear didn't mean bland — if anything, it was better suited to lunch. If you've ever felt weighed down all afternoon after a rich bowl of guk-bap, this difference will feel even bigger.

100g of pork: why a clear soup lunch felt filling

And this place didn't stop at being a clean gomtang, thanks to the meat portion. Each bowl has 100g of pork, so even a single spoonful brought up several slices of meat at once.

The thinly sliced pork was tender, not dry or chewy, and paired well with the broth's clean flavor. Despite the clear broth, it wasn't a light, get-by kind of meal — eating enough meat left me surprisingly full. So I didn't have to separate 'days I want something clean' from 'days I need to be full' — this covered both.

Cabbage mandu, the side to order with Baekok Yongsan's pork gomtang

The cabbage mandu (dumplings) we ordered alongside also paired well with the pork gomtang. The filling — meat, kimchi, tofu, and glass noodles — comes wrapped in cabbage instead of a regular dumpling skin, giving it a much softer texture.

Eating only soup dishes can make the texture feel monotonous partway through, but the crunch of the cabbage and the clean filling kept things from overlapping with the gomtang's direction. Compared to a greasy fried mandu, this kind of light, clean side matched the clear pork gomtang much better.

Dinner at Baekok Yongsan: drinking dishes, traditional liquor and group meals

Another reason Baekok Yongsan stood out among restaurants near Sinyongsan Station is that it's not just a lunch spot. In the evening, there are dishes made for drinking, like cold jegyuk (boiled pork) or fire pig tail, plus a lineup of traditional Korean liquor.

• Evening drinking snacks: cold jegyuk, fire pig tail
• Traditional liquor lineup available
• Free corkage for wine and whiskey
• Private room available for 6–10 people

Wine and whiskey come with free corkage, and there's a private room for 6–10 people, making it a good option for office dinners or gatherings nearby. Lunch is a bowl of gomtang, and dinner covers drinking snacks and alcohol — the same space serving different purposes depending on when you visit felt quite practical.

A meal after I'Park Mall at Yongsan Station or the National Museum of Korea

If you're looking for a place to eat near Yongsan Station's I'Park Mall or the National Museum of Korea after a date, a clean guk-bap spot like this works well. Some days you don't need a fancy Western restaurant — you just want something comforting and filling.

Even though pork gomtang is a familiar dish, the space and menu at Baekok Yongsan aren't rough around the edges, so it didn't feel out of place as a date meal either.

Would I go back to Baekok Yongsan?

If I were choosing a restaurant near Sinyongsan Station again, I wouldn't recommend Baekok Yongsan just for its clear broth. The soup is clean, but 100g of meat kept it from feeling insubstantial, and the menu — from cabbage mandu to evening drinking snacks — gave clear options depending on the occasion.

If a rich guk-bap feels like too much and a light lunch leaves you wanting more, Baekok Yongsan's pork gomtang is worth considering for a proper meal. If I keep debating what to eat for lunch near Sinyongsan or Yongsan Station, I think I'd choose this clear pork gomtang again.