Hongdae Korean restaurant with soft yellow hanok lighting: Anok

I went to Anok, a new spot in Hongdae 😊 There have been so many new restaurants popping up in Hongdae lately that I had a hard time deciding where to go, and this time I picked the newly opened Anok.

What does the hanok interior at Anok in Hongdae feel like?

Even though Anok sits right in the middle of Hongdae, the space has been styled to bring out the feel of wood and hanok (traditional Korean house). The moment I walked in, I felt a mood a bit different from your typical Hongdae restaurant, and the first thing that caught my eye was the stylish hanok-inspired interior 🏡 It felt a little unusual to find this right in the middle of Hongdae. In particular, the space uses soft yellow lighting throughout, giving it a warm and cozy atmosphere ✨

The lighting wasn't too bright, which actually made it easier to focus on the food, and the space itself had enough atmosphere to make for good photos 📸 It would probably be fine during the day too, but personally I think visiting in the evening would suit the soft lighting and hanok mood even better.

The three dishes ordered at Anok

That day I ordered three dishes: Pyongyang naengmyeon, clear pork gomtang, and pork tail jjim 🍽️

Pyongyang naengmyeon: mild, clean-tasting buckwheat noodles

I started with the Pyongyang naengmyeon (buckwheat cold noodles). It had that distinct plain, understated flavor typical of Pyongyang-style naengmyeon, without being too strongly seasoned, so it was clean and easy to eat 🥢 At first the plainness stands out, but as you keep eating, it's the kind of flavor you find yourself reaching back for. I think it would suit people who prefer clean flavors over rich, intense ones 😊

Clear pork gomtang: broth as clear as the name suggests

Next was the clear pork gomtang (pork bone soup) 🍲 When you hear "pork gomtang," you tend to picture a thick, heavy broth, but Anok's version lives up to its name — the broth was clear and clean. Eating the pork together with the warm broth felt light yet more filling than expected. If you like a gomtang where you can taste the pork's flavor through a clean broth rather than a heavy one, this should work well.

Pork tail jjim: the rich dish that balances the meal

And the most interesting dish of the day, the pork tail jjim (braised pork tail) 🐷 If the Pyongyang naengmyeon and clear pork gomtang are the light dishes, the pork tail jjim is the one that brings in a richer flavor as a counterpoint. The tender, well-cooked pork tail came coated in sauce, and it was good to alternate between it and the naengmyeon or gomtang. Ordering all three together made for a fun meal since each dish had such a different mood 😋

If you're visiting as a pair, it might be nice to order several dishes and share. Pairing the plain naengmyeon and gomtang with the pork tail jjim let us enjoy contrasting flavors all in one sitting.

Why Anok stayed memorable

The food was good, but personally, the space itself is what I remember most about Anok 🌿 These days Hongdae has a lot of trendy, flashy-looking restaurants, so it was striking that Anok used hanok elements to create a calmer, more subdued feel. Add the soft yellow lighting on top of that, and the atmosphere felt even warmer. Rather than feeling overly decorated, it felt like a comfortable space that also makes you want to take photos 📷

This time I tried three dishes — Pyongyang naengmyeon, clear pork gomtang, and pork tail jjim — and since each one had its own character, I got to enjoy a more varied meal 🍴 The plainness of the naengmyeon, the clean broth of the gomtang, and the rich flavor of the pork tail jjim each had their own appeal, so ordering several dishes together seems like a good idea.

Most of all, since it's a newly opened place, I got to eat in a clean space, and I liked the mood created by the hanok interior and the soft lighting 😊 If I visit again, I'd like to try the other dishes I didn't get to this time. This was Anok in Hongdae, where I got to enjoy the atmosphere of the space just as much as the food 🏡✨