Drawer Dweller · 63 stories

Vanity Drawer

I write about my first-hand beauty experiences in Seoul. · Writes about: Hair & beauty salons · Restaurants · Cafés · Shopping · Bars

PlaceJongno, SeoulCafés

Seochon bakery café boxed takeout: olive cheese ciabatta at Respire

Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon is a salt bread bakery café in an alley below Cheong Wa Dae, along the Gyeongbokgung walking route in Seochon, Jongno, Seoul. On a clear weekend, the writer ordered original, chocolate and myeongnan (pollock roe) potato salt breads plus an olive cheese ciabatta at Respire Bakery Cafe Seochon, packed in the box offered for orders of 4 or more breads. The verdict: Respire's original salt bread, crisp outside and chewy inside with a rich gourmet butter flavor, was the clear standout.

Written May 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Jonggak Korean BBQ, naengmyeon pork belly wraps: Gogikkun Kim Chunbae

Gogikkun Kim Chunbae Jongno (고기꾼김춘배 종로직영점) is a charcoal-grill Korean BBQ restaurant on the 5th floor of a building tucked inside Youth Street, near Jonggak Station Exit 4 in Jongno, Seoul. The 2-person recommended set (99,000 won) brings today's hanwoo (Korean beef), pork neck and pork belly, grilled at the table by staff, and the meal finished with kkakdugi (radish kimchi) fried rice and half-and-half naengmyeon (cold noodles). With partitioned seats and full grilling service, Gogikkun Kim Chunbae Jongno suits everything from dates to family gatherings and company dinners.

Written May 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangjin, SeoulCafés

Guui Station café: strawberry latte and two scones at Center Coffee

Center Coffee Guui East Pole is a specialty coffee café in the Lotte Castle East Pole shopping arcade at Guui Station in Gwangjin, Seoul. On a day that called for a sugar fix, the blogger ordered a warm vanilla latte, a strawberry latte packed with strawberry pulp, and a chocolate scone and a plain scone at Center Coffee Guui East Pole. With roomy seating, soft lighting and scones that are crisp outside and tender inside, Center Coffee Guui East Pole is a good spot near Guui Station for coffee and dessert together.

Written May 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Family bossam lunch before Starfield Goyang in Wonheung: Park Man-bae

Park Man-bae Arirang Bossam, Wonheung Station Branch is a bossam (boiled pork wrap) restaurant near Exit 2 of Wonheung Station in Goyang, Gyeonggi, serving bossam made from boiled gabrisal (a marbled pork cut). Before heading to Starfield Goyang, the writer came at 11 a.m. on a weekend with her husband and child, ordered the small half-and-half bossam for 42,000 won and received a free crab, seafood and clam kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup). Odor-free, chewy gabrisal and a refreshing kalguksu broth made Park Man-bae Arirang Bossam a satisfying family lunch with a child.

Written May 30, 2026Sponsored
PlaceMapo, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Hapjeong hair salon root straightening for curly hair: Pieum Hair

Pieum Hair Hapjeong Main Branch is a hair salon in the Mapo Hangang Prugio 2nd complex commercial building near Hapjeong Station Exit 8 in Mapo, Seoul. The writer, who struggled with frizzy curly hair, got a haircut, root straightening and roller bangs volume from Manager Jihyeok and ended up with a layered style that doesn't lie flat at the crown. Even days later, a quick blow-dry kept the style in place and cut the writer's morning routine in half.

Written May 31, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Gwanghwamun sushi with high chairs & yogurt ice cream: Elephant Sushi

Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun is a sushi restaurant serving sushi on wooden boards, on B1 of the KT Gwanghwamun branch building in Jongno, Seoul, linked underground to Gwanghwamun Station Exit 2. The writer's family ate there with their child, ordering the Elephant B set, 2 futomaki (thick sushi rolls), gyoku (sweet egg omelet) for dessert, potato croquettes from a review event, and green tea and blueberry yogurt ice cream. With high chairs, tabletop kiosk ordering and 2 hours of free parking, Elephant Sushi Gwanghwamun made for a satisfying sushi meal with a child.

Written Oct 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceEunpyeong, SeoulRestaurants

Family Korean BBQ in Eunpyeong: highchairs & free parking, Yukjjeup

Yukjjeup Nokbeon (육쯥 녹번점) is a Korean BBQ restaurant on Eunpyeong-ro in Eunpyeong, Seoul, near Nokbeon Station on Line 3, serving pork aged in Jirisan. On a family meal out with a young child, the writer ordered the Yukjjeup Sampler (600g), kimchi stew, a bowl of rice and the free kids' rice for children 7 and under. Staff grilled the meat and a highchair was available, so the family could look after the child and still eat comfortably. Yukjjeup Nokbeon is a solid pick for families with kids or anyone looking for a group dinner spot.

Written Oct 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Sinseoldong hair salon Tricyscore clinic for brittle hair: Salon de L

Salon de L is a hair salon on the 2nd floor of Tenzhill Mall on Majang-ro in Seongdong, Seoul, near Exit 10 of Sinseoldong Station. The writer booked the Tricyscore clinic (100,000 won) for dry, damaged hair that snagged on the brush. After the senior designer's hair diagnosis and a step-by-step treatment, hair that fingers could barely get through turned soft and glossy. For careful damaged-hair care, the Tricyscore clinic at Salon de L is worth getting regularly.

Written Oct 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceJung-gu, SeoulRestaurants

Gimbap shop in Euljiro 3-ga for a ₩40,000 family meal out: 29 Tamago

29 Tamago Euljiro Branch is a premium keto and fusion gimbap (seaweed rice roll) shop on the 2nd floor of a building near Exit 12 of Euljiro 3-ga Station in Jung-gu, Seoul. For a family meal out, the writer ordered four dishes for 40,000 won: apple-carrot soup tteokbokki (rice cakes in broth), tuna-packed gimbap, rice paper rolls with extra cheese and keto veggie gimbap with extra cheese, all made to order, fresh and easy on the stomach. 29 Tamago Euljiro Branch is a wholesome gimbap spot worth recommending to anyone tired of heavy, spicy meals out and to people on a diet.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Italian near Yeouido Station: apricot burrata and vongole, Cuisine R

Cuisine R (퀴진 알) is an Italian restaurant on the 2nd floor of the Baeksang Building near Yeouido Station Exit 5 in Seoul, open for over 15 years. At Cuisine R we had a burrata cheese salad topped with homemade apricot dressing and a vongole pasta generous with clams; both were rich in flavor, yet our stomachs felt comfortable afterward. For a reliable date or blind-date restaurant in Yeouido, Cuisine R is our recommendation.

Written Jun 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Cheongchoho restaurant in Sokcho: kids' seaweed soup at Geu Badaro

Sokcho Geu Badaro (속초그바다로) is a Korean restaurant serving seafood jang (soy-marinated seafood) and pot rice on Ekseupo-ro in Sokcho, near the Cheongchoho Lake park. A family with a young child, looking for something other than raw fish or mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), ordered the seafood jang potato pot rice set for 2 (70,000 won). They found the seven kinds of jang neither salty nor fishy, and the staff even brought seaweed soup for the child. For a gentle seafood jang meal near Cheongchoho, Sokcho Geu Badaro is worth a stop.

Written Oct 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Kid-friendly Sokcho noodle shop: high chairs, jang kalguksu, Topgol

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch is a makguksu (buckwheat noodle) and kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) restaurant on Haeoreum-ro in Sokcho, Gangwon, known for deulmemak (perilla oil buckwheat noodles) and old-style jang kalguksu (soybean paste noodle soup). On a family trip, we ordered deulmemak, old-style jang kalguksu and a large suyuk (boiled pork); our child ate the mild deulmemak straight from the bowl, and my husband called the jang kalguksu broth rich and deeply savory. With high chairs and 2 hours of free parking, Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch is an easy meal stop for a Sokcho trip with kids.

Written Oct 21, 2026Sponsored