First bori-gulbi on a date at a Gwanghwamun Korean restaurant: Modam

Ever been stuck wondering where to take an old friend, a coworker, or a business contact when you want somewhere with a good atmosphere to treat them well? If you're looking for a restaurant near Gwanghwamun that's good for hosting, I'd recommend Modam Dining.

We had the bori-gulbi set and the abalone tteokgalbi set, and honestly, both the food and the atmosphere made it a really good place to dine even with someone you don't know that well yet.

Where is Modam Dining Gwanghwamun? Deoksugung D Palace basement, Exit 6

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun is on the basement level (B1) of Deoksugung D Palace, 10 Saemunan-ro 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. It's near Exit 6 of Gwanghwamun Station, so it wasn't hard to find.

It's open daily from 11am to 10pm, with a break time from 3pm to 5pm. Parking is free for 2 hours at the D Palace building's B3 level, but since spaces aren't that plentiful, I'd recommend booking ahead and confirming before you go.

The interior was clean and sophisticated in tone — the moment we walked in, it felt like a place suited to a more formal occasion.

Bori-gulbi set vs abalone tteokgalbi set: order one each and share

If you're torn over which set to pick at Modam Dining Gwanghwamun, ordering different sets and sharing like we did is a good option. My boyfriend and I ordered one bori-gulbi set and one abalone tteokgalbi set so we could share easily. The table next to us ordered three bori-gulbi sets alone, so it seems to be a popular choice.

Both sets started with seasonal porridge, followed by pre-meal side dishes like chungyang water kimchi, a yuzu-dressed seasonal salad, and a pine-nut mustard salad. Then came rice, soup, and side dishes, before the meal wrapped up with plum tea — a full course format.

Every single side dish came out neatly plated, and I genuinely felt taken care of the whole time we ate.

What is bori-gulbi? Tasting the dried yellow croaker for the first time

Bori-gulbi (barley-aged dried croaker) isn't a fish you'd normally run into. It's made by salting yacho croaker, drying it to a firm, half-dried texture, then aging it buried in barley.

📍TIP As it ages in the barley, the fishy smell fades and the savory flavor deepens. Tasting it myself, there was no fishiness at all — just a chewy texture and rich umami, so even people who don't usually eat gulbi could probably enjoy this without any hesitation.

The abalone tteokgalbi had that signature soft tteokgalbi texture, elevated by the added abalone for a more upscale feel.

Is Modam Dining Gwanghwamun good for hosting guests? Final verdict

To sum up, Modam Dining Gwanghwamun has a neatly composed menu and a calm atmosphere, making it a genuinely great place to dine with someone you're not fully comfortable with yet. Whether it's an old friend, a coworker, or a business meeting, if you need somewhere that covers both hosting and atmosphere, this place is hard to beat.

The food and atmosphere were both so good that I'd confidently recommend it for a meal with my parents next time too. I'd especially recommend this to people like these:

• ✅ Looking for a good restaurant near Gwanghwamun to host guests
• ✅ Want a quiet place for coworkers or a business meeting
• ✅ Want a calm meal with an old friend you're meeting after a while
• ✅ Trying to decide where to take your parents or elders

If you're trying to figure out where to take someone near Gwanghwamun, I'd recommend visiting Modam Dining. A neat hanjeongsik course is bound to leave a good impression no matter the occasion. Which do you prefer for hosting — hanjeongsik or another kind of course meal?