Jongno Japanese restaurant with kaisendon set meals: Ilpum

I’m generally a big fan of Japanese food, so today I visited Ilpum Gwanghwamun, a well-known Japanese restaurant near Jonggak Station. It is on B2 of Le Meilleur Jongno Town, between Jonggak Station and Gwanghwamun Station.

This area is home to popular Gwanghwamun and Jonggak restaurants such as Gwanghwamun Mijin and Seorin Nakji. Ilpum Gwanghwamun is a Japanese restaurant in the Gwanghwamun area where you can have kaisendon (seafood rice bowl) and whole unagi don (eel rice bowl). With aged sashimi and plenty of fresh seafood on the kaisendon, plus a whole plump eel atop the unagi don, it was a great place for a filling meal.

Ilpum Gwanghwamun restaurant information

There is normally no time limit for dining, but if there is a reservation or a wait for the next seating, your table may be limited to 1 hour 30 minutes from the reservation time. Worth keeping in mind before you visit.

Kaisendon and eel rice bowl featured on TV

On one side of the restaurant, there was also a sign saying it had been featured as a restaurant on the first episode of KBS’s Baedal Wassuda. Hosts Lee Young-ja and Kim Sook visited it as a Gwanghwamun Japanese-food spot, and the kaisendon and eel rice bowl appeared on the program.

The wall farther inside was covered in celebrities’ signatures. It made me think this really is quite a famous Japanese restaurant in Gwanghwamun.

The atmosphere and how to get there

Ilpum Gwanghwamun is close to Exit 1 of Jonggak Station, so it was convenient to reach by subway.

It is on B2 of Le Meilleur Jongno Town. Since it is in the same building as Gwanghwamun Mijin, it was not difficult to find.

Once I went down to B2, I found Ilpum Gwanghwamun right away. The restaurant had an overall clean, tidy Japanese-dining feel. Perhaps because it is popular as a Gwanghwamun restaurant, there were waiting seats and a waitlist in front.

There were seats suitable for dining alone as well as tables for groups, so it looked like a nice option in Gwanghwamun for solo meals, office-worker lunches, or a date meal.

What I ordered and the prices

• Kaisendon: ₩26,000
• Whole unagi don: ₩40,000

When you order a Japanese main dish, chawanmushi, chilled udon with tempura, and a post-meal dessert are included, so the meal was more complete than I expected.

Ilpum is a kaisendon specialist with several locations in Seoul. At the Gwanghwamun branch, I found its signature kaisendon as well as a range of Japanese dishes including unagi don and sushi.

Tasting the kaisendon and whole unagi don

First came the chawanmushi and gim (roasted seaweed). The chawanmushi was much softer than ordinary steamed egg and moist like pudding—springy, soft, and delicious.

Next, the kaisendon arrived. Honestly, when I first saw it, the bowl looked smaller than I expected, so I wondered, “Will it be a little short on quantity?” But this really was not something to judge by looks alone. Once I started eating, there was quite a lot more rice and seafood than I had expected.

The tuna was delicious wrapped in gamtae (sweet seaweed) or gim with a little wasabi. It was topped with several kinds of seafood—salmon, tuna, scallop, cuttlefish, and more—so I could enjoy lots of flavors at once, and the pieces were large with a good texture. If you usually enjoy kaisendon, this is a menu item worth trying at least once. I was glad I had come looking for a good Japanese restaurant in Gwanghwamun.

Then the whole unagi don arrived, and the eel’s size caught my eye immediately. Just as its name says, a whole eel was laid on top, and it looked generous from the start. There was also more of the thick rolled omelet underneath than I expected; its soft, gently sweet flavor went well with the eel.

Eating a piece of eel with the rolled omelet and rice made for a lovely combination, and there was plenty of eel, so this too made for a hearty meal.

Karaage chilled udon also came out midway through the meal. Having cool chilled udon while eating the warm rice bowls felt like it refreshed my palate, which I liked.

For dessert after the meal, I had soft, sweet mango pudding. It was deliciously sweet without being overly sugary. I had visited expecting only the mains, but from the chawanmushi—far softer and moister than regular steamed egg—to the chilled udon, tempura, and mango pudding, I was pleased with the meal as a whole.

Things to know before visiting

Ilpum Gwanghwamun is at Unit 223, B2, Le Meilleur Jongno Town, 19 Jong-ro. It is within walking distance of Exit 1 of Jonggak Station and Exit 4 of Gwanghwamun Station; thinking of it as the basement of the building with Gwanghwamun Mijin makes it easy to find.

• Reservations/cancellations: No reservation deposit, and same-day cancellation is allowed. However, two accumulated no-shows after the reservation time may result in future reservations being declined.
• Parking: Up to 2 hours of free parking (cannot be combined with other discounts).
• Corkage: One bottle free upon request with a Naver reservation.
• Benefits/coupons: Coupons can be used with a Naver reservation, including 2 pieces of birthday nigiri sushi or 2 pieces of a selected sushi item for expectant mothers.

After finishing the meal, I walked all the way home. I was nicely full, and taking a slow walk to digest my food made me feel good too.

If you are looking for a clean Japanese restaurant near Jonggak Station or Gwanghwamun, Ilpum Gwanghwamun could be a good choice. It is also well located for continuing on to Gwanghwamun Square, Cheonggyecheon Stream, or Insadong for a walk after your meal, so it would be nice to make a little outing of the surrounding area too.