Jonggak Station Japanese restaurant with giant futomaki and uni: Ilpum

I visited Ilpum Gwanghwamun, a great spot when you want a proper kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) around Gwanghwamun. It's in the basement of Lemeilleur Jongno Town, so it's easy to reach from both Jonggak and Gwanghwamun stations, and the menu ranges from kaisendon to sushi and futomaki.

Ilpum Gwanghwamun, a Jongno Japanese restaurant featured on TV

Right outside Ilpum Gwanghwamun you can spot clips from TV appearances. It's known to have been visited by Lee Young-ja, famous for her mukbang, and actor Hwang Jung-min, which made me even more curious to try it.

Inside, there's a long bar seating area down the middle along with table seats. At lunchtime, even the bar seats were completely full — clearly a popular lunch spot for Gwanghwamun office workers.

Where Ilpum Gwanghwamun is and when it opens

• 223, B2, Lemeilleur Jongno Town, 19 Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• About 3–4 minutes on foot from Jonggak Station Exit 1
• Hours: Mon–Sat 11:00–21:30
• Break time: 15:00–17:30
• Last order: lunch 14:00 / dinner 20:00
• Closed every Sunday

Ilpum Gwanghwamun menu and prices

Warm chawanmushi (steamed egg custard) before the main dishes

While waiting after ordering, chawanmushi (steamed egg custard), soup, and seaweed came out first. The warm chawanmushi was soft with a rich, savory egg flavor.

The basic kaisendon: a bowl piled with sashimi

The basic kaisendon at Ilpum Gwanghwamun comes loaded with tuna, salmon, white fish, shrimp, and more, all piled over rice. It's not the style where the fish is sliced thin just to look like a lot — each piece has real thickness, so every kind of fish had a different texture as I chewed.

Premium kaisendon with uni and salmon roe

The premium kaisendon let me enjoy the soft, rich sweetness of uni, the salmon roe that popped with each bite, and thick-cut tuna, all wrapped in gamtae (sea lettuce) or seaweed in different combinations. I especially liked that there was plenty of fish, so it never felt like there was more seasoned rice than sashimi.

The futomaki roll too big for one bite

The futomaki came stuffed full of filling. I was genuinely surprised when I saw the actual size of this futomaki. It was so big that even an adult man would have a hard time eating it in one bite.

It's filled with salmon, white fish, rolled egg, and crunchy vegetables, and just two or three pieces left me completely full. I think women could easily manage with a half roll of futomaki.

Finishing with the mango-sauce dessert

After the meal, dessert arrived. The outside was topped with sweet mango sauce, and the inside had a soft, cold, creamy texture — a nice way to finish after all that seafood. Even after eating my fill of kaisendon and futomaki, there was still room for it, and it was a place I left feeling good about until the very last bite.

Who should eat at Ilpum Gwanghwamun?

• Days when you're craving kaisendon in Gwanghwamun
• A Japanese restaurant date spot near Jonggak Station
• A restaurant to know inside Lemeilleur Jongno Town
• A lunch option for Gwanghwamun office workers
• Uni and salmon roe seafood rice bowls
• Looking for a good futomaki spot in Jongno

With such a wide range of choices — from kaisendon to premium kaisendon to futomaki — this Gwanghwamun Japanese restaurant works well not just for lunch but also as a spot for a dinner date or a dinner meeting.

I was genuinely surprised when I saw the actual size of this futomaki. It was so big that even an adult man would have a hard time eating it in one bite.