Half Mirror Walker · 19 stories

Half Mirror, Seoul and Incheon Rounds

Writes about restaurants, beauty spots, bars, and things to do around Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Gangwon. · Writes about: Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons · Bars · Things to do

PlaceSiheung, GyeonggiRestaurants

Eel buffet in Siheung Baegot after an Oido drive date: Songnim Bok

Songnim Bok Jangeo is an all-you-can-eat freshwater eel restaurant, a directly run branch in Baegot, Siheung, Gyeonggi. On a drive to Oido, the writer stopped at Songnim Bok Jangeo and grilled as much eel, pork belly and duck neck from the self-serve bar as they liked, finding the eel meaty and bone-free and going back for the aged kimchi (mukeunji) and other side dishes several times. Verdict: Songnim Bok Jangeo broke the stereotype that all-you-can-eat means low quality, and it is a Siheung eel restaurant worth revisiting with parents.

Written Jun 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Mapo Station gyukatsu: well-done grilling & king prawn fry, Gyudo

Premium Gyukatsu Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch is a company-run gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant on basement level 1 of the Obelisk shopping arcade, connected to Exits 1 and 2 of Mapo Station in Seoul. At a weekend lunch the writer ordered the gyukatsu set (2 smoked gyukatsu meals plus drinks) and cooked every slice well done on a personal grill. The meal ended with a king prawn fry from the review event and pot rice made with Sindongjin rice, eaten as sungnyung (scorched-rice tea) and ochazuke. Even the rice at Gyudo Mapo Gongdeok Main Branch is delicious, so it suits both dates and solo lunches.

Written Jun 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongsan, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Hannam hair salon men's shadow perm with side down perm: ONLY FOR YOU

ONLY FOR YOU Hannam Main Branch is a hair salon on the 3rd floor of 70 Dokseodang-ro, Yongsan, Seoul, near Hannam Station. After a long gap between salon visits left the writer's hair overgrown, head designer Bandal gave a cut plus a men's shadow perm combining a side down perm, a top iron perm and a cold perm. A past cold perm had failed, but this time the curls looked satisfying even in unretouched photos, making ONLY FOR YOU Hannam a solid pick for a men's perm in Hannam.

Written Jun 13, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Gyukatsu dinner at Seoul Station: heaping rice & butter grill, Ichigyu

Ichigyu Seoul Station Branch is a Japanese gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant on basement level 1 of the LG Seoul Station Building, near Seoul Station Exit 10 in Jung-gu, Seoul. The writer visited at dinnertime and ordered the striploin gyukatsu (₩19,000), which arrived quickly with a heaping bowl of rice; butter is melted on the hot plate to grill the cutlet. Crispy outside and tender inside, Ichigyu's striploin gyukatsu with wasabi cuts the richness, making it a solid pick for gyukatsu near Seoul Station.

Written Jun 17, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeodaemun, SeoulBars

Sunday date bar in Sinchon: gopdoritang with udon and cheese, Yeokjeon

Yeokjeon Pojangmacha Sinchon Branch (역전포장마차 신촌점) is a retro pojangmacha-style (street-tent style) Korean pub on the 2nd floor in the Yeonse-ro food alley near Sinchon Station in Seodaemun, Seoul. To end a Sunday-night date, the blogger took a window seat at Yeokjeon Pojangmacha and ordered hanwoo gopdoritang (Korean beef offal and spicy chicken stew) with udon noodles and cheese added, plus a flying fish roe rice ball, and said the daechang (beef large intestine) melted in the mouth. With soju at 3,900 won and draft beer at 2,900 won, Yeokjeon Pojangmacha is an easy, affordable Sinchon bar for gopdoritang and a drink.

Written Jun 22, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulBars

Charcoal izakaya in Yeouido: Set 1 with baby octopus jjamppong, Sodam

Robadayakki Sodam Yeouido Branch is a Japanese-style izakaya specializing in charcoal-grilled skewers, located on the first floor of the Seorin Building in Yeouido's office district, Seoul. After work, the writer ordered Set 1, swapped the oden nabe for flame-cooked jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup), and added mixed skewers. The roe-filled baby octopus in the jjamppong and the charcoal-scented skewers stood out. With good food and a pleasant atmosphere, Robadayakki Sodam is a Yeouido izakaya worth recommending for a date or a company dinner.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho perilla oil makguksu before beach season, XXL pancake: Topgol

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch is a makguksu (cold buckwheat noodle) restaurant right in front of Sokcho Beach in Gangwon, specializing in deulmemak, buckwheat noodles dressed in perilla oil. On a Friday before the beach opened for the season, two people ordered basic buckwheat makguksu, deulmemak, a one-person serving of suyuk (boiled pork) and a potato pancake. The nutty deulmemak, the XXL potato pancake and yeolmu (young radish) kimchi refilled several times stood out. If you pick one makguksu restaurant in Sokcho, the deulmemak at Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch is worth trying.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonBars

Date-night bar in Sokcho: spicy baby octopus set at Seo Jubang

Seo Jubang (서주방) is an atmospheric Korean pub on the Yeongnang Beach pojangmacha (street bar) strip in Sokcho, Gangwon. On the last night of a chilly late-June trip, the writer ordered Seo Jubang's signature drinking set with spicy jjukkumi (baby octopus) as the main and got squid sukhoe (blanched squid), abai sundae (Sokcho-style stuffed sausage), steamed scallops and myeongran (pollock roe) on one tray. Seo Jubang is a calm, unrowdy bar with great seafood dishes that suits a date.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho market stall's nurungji squid sundae vs Gangneung's: Ddogi-ne

Ddogi-ne Twigim (똑이네튀김), the stall featured on the TV show Seomin Gapbu, sells squid sundae (stuffed squid) and fried food in Dakgangjeong Alley at Sokcho Jungang Market in Sokcho, Gangwon. The writer waited 30 minutes around 5:30 pm on Saturday, June 27 to buy nurungji squid sundae, which is griddled with a crispy scorched-rice crust. The writer also tried a free sweet pumpkin sikhye (rice punch) from the stall's review event. Verdict: the nurungji was chewier and the squid more tender than the squid sundae at Gangneung Jungang Market, so the writer would buy from Ddogi-ne Twigim again.

Written Jun 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

After-work tonkatsu in Yeonnam-dong, loin & cheese: Katsu Monster

Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch is a tonkatsu (breaded pork cutlet) restaurant in an alley in Yeonnam-dong, Mapo, Seoul, near Exit 3 of Hongik Univ. Station, with menu prices from 14,000 to 19,000 won. The writer went after work around 8pm on a Wednesday, ordered the loin katsu and the cheese katsu, and was happy with both the thick loin katsu and the cheese katsu's long, stretchy cheese. Katsu Monster Yeonnam Main Branch is a quiet place to focus on the food and a recommended Yeonnam-dong date-night dinner.

Written Jun 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulRestaurants

Solo gyukatsu at the bar, medium-well, near DMC Station: Izawa Sangam

Izawa Sangam is a gyukatsu (breaded beef cutlet) restaurant near Digital Media City Station in Sangam-dong, Mapo, Seoul. The writer dined alone at a 1st-floor bar table, ordered the gyukatsu set (₩17,000) and grilled the beef medium-well on a personal grill. Verdict: the beef at Izawa Sangam was tender, the grill kept it warm to the last piece, and the writer would gladly return for a solo meal in Sangam.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoseong, GangwonRestaurants

Goseong pork galbi restaurant, no-wait Sunday lunch: Yongchon Gogi-jip

Yongchon Gogi-jip (용촌고기집) is a charcoal-grilled pork galbi restaurant in Toseong-myeon, Goseong, Gangwon, near the border with Sokcho. The blogger gave up on Saturday at 7 pm because of a 10-party wait, then returned for Sunday lunch on the last day of the Sokcho trip, walked straight in and ordered 2 servings of marinated pork galbi (18,000 won per serving, reportedly 250g of meat alone) plus kimchi stew with fresh pork. Thanks to the honest portions and subtle charcoal aroma, Yongchon Gogi-jip served the most filling meal of the whole Sokcho trip.

Written Jun 30, 2026Sponsored