Gwacheon Korean restaurant with a self-serve banchan refill bar

Have you ever been to the Gwacheon racetrack on a weekend? I went and warmed up from the inside out with a healthy seaweed soup set near Let's Run Park Seoul Gwacheon. The weather was great and I had such an exciting day — here's the review.

Yay haha, I didn't really know much about it but got excited anyway — the Gwacheon racetrack. We ate lunch nearby first before heading over.

Location and parking at Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch / 67 Araetbaeraengi-ro, Gwacheon-si, Gyeonggi-do 🎂 Free birthday cake with Naver Reservation within 7 days 🚗 Easy parking ✅ Group reservations available

Look at those clouds haha, so pretty, I felt like I was floating on air 🫶🏻 Haenon Miyeok only operates direct-run branches and is a Gwacheon seaweed soup Korean restaurant. Parking is easy since there's plenty of space in front of the store.

High ceilings, great for group gatherings or birthdays

The ceiling is really high, the giant screen wall gives it such an open, upscale Korean restaurant feel — perfect for group gatherings or a special day like your parents' birthday.

This Gwacheon seaweed soup restaurant "doesn't ladle out soup that's been simmering all day" — each bowl is boiled fresh the moment you order, so it comes out rich and restorative, like a tonic lunch. The stone pot (ttukbaegi) is extremely hot, please do not touch it 🙏🏻 Yes, yes, understood.

Naver Reservation birthday perk and how to order

If you book through Naver Reservation and it's within 7 days of your birthday, they give you a cake — and even abalone! What a generous event (pregnant guests, eat that abalone for strength!!!!)

For the seaweed soup set, one menu item per person is required, but rice refills are unlimited if you run out.

Boneless flounder seaweed soup set / Scallop seaweed soup set / Beef seaweed soup set

Since there were three of us, we got a full spread with six basic banchan plus salad, seasoned flounder, and chicken breast salad — a total royal feast. The fried flounder was seriously, seriously good.

The seasoned flounder came with two whole fish, plenty for three people, and everything from the kimchi to every single side dish was delicious. This Gwacheon restaurant started in Busan in 2015 with a concept of restorative seaweed soup, carefully simmered, and it's continued that way ever since.

These are the banchan served on large plates. Everything except the items that vary by headcount can be refilled.

All six delicious refillable side dishes. The scallop salad and fried eggplant especially are a must.

As a seaweed soup lover, I was happy just looking at it. One bite in and I knew it was the real deal — I ate and ate until it was all gone. I was so full, but seaweed digests easily so my stomach felt fine even after that weekend lunch.

Scallop vs. flounder vs. beef seaweed soup: what's the difference

The scallop soup is packed generously all the way to the bottom of the pot. Personally, scallop seaweed soup is my number one!! The broth gets cleaner and more refreshing the more you drink it. It has such a refreshing flavor that my own order — the scallop soup — was the best for me.

And the boneless flounder seaweed soup has a texture so soft it melts in your mouth. Unlike the scallop version, it has a deeper, richer flavor — maybe a bit heavier? My mom really enjoyed her boneless flounder seaweed soup.

The beef seaweed soup was slightly the weakest of the three for me. You can choose from several types of seaweed soup depending on your taste, and since each comes in its own individual stone pot, it's a great spot for group gatherings or parents' birthdays — seaweed soup for a birthday celebration is such a fun and delicious choice.

Jeju seaweed texture and seaweed mixed into the rice

Just eating it plain, you can tell the seaweed is different. It's not the kind that's been soaking so long it falls apart mushy — it's soft yet the seaweed itself keeps its own texture. This is what proper Jeju seaweed feels like.

This Gwacheon restaurant's rice is different too — even the rice has seaweed mixed in. From the soup to the rice to the side dishes, they put so much care into making everything healthy.

The self-serve banchan refill bar

A refill bar with carefully made side dishes, served clean and generous

I loved the gungchae (stem lettuce) and the seasoned kkarigi. They keep the self-serve bar really clean and well managed.

Warm dishes are kept warm separately so they taste as good as when they were first served. Highly recommend the fried eggplant too!!!

Look at how rich that seaweed soup broth is 🥹 A precious restorative soup boiled fresh bowl by bowl — I had the scallop seaweed soup. Take one spoonful of the broth and you'll think, wow, I've never had seaweed soup like this before. The portion was huge too, so I stayed full even while wandering the racetrack afterward haha.

Such good seaweed, don't waste any of it, eat it all. The chicken breast salad is protein too haha. This Gwacheon seaweed soup restaurant is easy on the diet-conscious as well — a lunch that felt good for the body and left me feeling full and satisfied.

For the last bit, I poured the broth over rice and slurped it up — stone pot cleared. So full, and what an incredible meal!

A lunch stop before Let's Run Park Seoul

Since it's near Let's Run Park Gwacheon, if you're heading to the Seoul racetrack, make sure to have this seaweed soup lunch first. It's the kind of place that'll come to mind even more as the weather turns chilly — with my dad's birthday coming up soon, I'm already planning to go back.