Yongsan tteokbokki set with sundae and Coolpis smoothie: Hyeonseonine

Where Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch is and when it opens

📍Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch info

• Address 2-13 Hangang-daero 39-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours Daily 11:00 – 24:00
• Signature menu Hyeonseonine Set / Hyeonseonine Combo Set / Baby Set / instant tteokbokki / tteokbokki / sundae / fried snacks / kkoma gimbap, etc.
• Notes No parking / takeout available / delivery available

※Menus and hours can change, so I'd recommend checking before you visit :)

Today I'm sharing my review of Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, which I visited because I was in Yongsan and suddenly craving tteokbokki so badly.

If you've ever searched for a great tteokbokki spot in Yongsan, you've probably heard of Hyeonseonine at least once. It started as a street-cart-style snack stand and has grown into a shop serving all kinds of bunsik (Korean snack food) — tteokbokki, instant tteokbokki, sundae, fried snacks, kkoma gimbap (mini seaweed rice rolls) and more.

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch in particular is located right in Yongsan, and the posted hours are daily from 11am to midnight, so it's a solid option from lunch through dinner and even late at night.

I was going to just get regular tteokbokki that day, but I was craving instant tteokbokki so badly that I ordered that instead.

What we ordered: the Hyeonseonine set plus instant tteokbokki

The menu I ordered

To sum up what I ordered that day

• Hyeonseonine Set
• Instant tteokbokki
• Sundae (half order)
• Cool Piss smoothie
• Added fried rice

That's what I went with.

The Hyeonseonine Set is listed as a combo of tteokbokki, sundae, fried snacks and kkoma gimbap, so I thought it was a great option for when you want to eat a bit of everything alongside tteokbokki.

For anyone like me who feels like just tteokbokki alone isn't quite enough, ordering the set menu is a good way to taste a little of several dishes.

Instant tteokbokki simmered right at your table

The instant tteokbokki looked delicious just from the visuals

Once the instant tteokbokki I ordered arrived, it really did feel different from regular tteokbokki. All the ingredients go into a pot and you simmer it yourself at the table, so I was already excited before even taking a bite.

Instant tteokbokki is described as coming with rice cakes, fish cakes, vegetables and various add-ins (sari), and reviews mention things like yaki-mandu (pan-fried dumplings), instant ramen noodles, or jjolmyeon (chewy noodles) being added too.

At first the ingredients look a bit calm since nothing's cooked yet, but once you turn on the heat and it starts bubbling, that tteokbokki smell hits you all at once. That's when I really start wanting to eat it fast haha.

As it bubbles away, the broth soaks further into the ingredients and the rice cakes soften up, and just watching it made my mouth water. When I eat instant tteokbokki, I prefer it when there's still some broth left rather than boiling it down until it's all reduced, so I kept simmering it little by little as I ate.

Half a plate of sundae, dipped in the tteokbokki broth

Eating it this way, the combo really works. Tteokbokki, sundae, and fried snacks are the classic trio for bunsik, I think.

Sundae is already good on its own, but dipping it lightly into the tteokbokki broth gives it a whole different flavor, right? I kept reaching for it — a bite of rice cake, a bite of sundae, then a sip of broth, on repeat.

Hyeonseonine sells sundae both as a standalone dish and as part of the set menu, so it was easy to order alongside the tteokbokki. The currently confirmed price for the handmade sundae is ₩6,500.

A Coolpis smoothie to cool down the spicy tteokbokki

While eating the tteokbokki, I also ordered a drink — the Cool Piss smoothie.

After eating spicy tteokbokki, having something cool and sweet really resets your palate, so a drink feels essential when I'm eating tteokbokki haha.

Especially on a day like this when I was working through tteokbokki, sundae, and fried snacks, I needed a sip of the drink in between to keep going. A cool sip, then back to the tteokbokki... and the food just kept disappearing.

Fried rice stirred into the leftover tteokbokki broth

And the one thing you absolutely can't skip: fried rice

This was the dish I was most looking forward to that day — the fried rice. I'm the type who believes instant tteokbokki isn't complete without fried rice at the end, so I planned to add it from the start.

Honestly, after the tteokbokki, sundae, and the whole set, I was already pretty full. So in my head I was thinking,

'I'll just eat a little bit of the fried rice.'

...but the moment the fried rice arrived, that plan changed completely haha.

Once you've eaten through some of the tteokbokki, frying rice in the leftover broth smells amazing right away. The broth soaks into the rice, turning it an appetizing color, and taking that first spoonful of well-fried rice confirmed I was right to save it for last.

With instant tteokbokki, eating the rice cakes and add-ins first is great, but the meal only really feels complete once you get to the fried rice at the end. It's the kind of flavor that keeps you eating even while you're saying you're full haha.

And you know the crispy bits that stick slightly to the bottom of the pot are even better when you scrape them up? I made sure not to miss those either.

Is Hyeonseonine worth it near Yongsan and Sinyongsan Stations?

Eating through tteokbokki, sundae, fried snacks and gimbap, then finishing with fried rice made for a genuinely filling meal. Best of all, cooking the instant tteokbokki right at the table was fun, making it a good spot to eat slowly while chatting with a friend.

If you're looking for a tteokbokki restaurant near Yongsan Station or Sinyongsan Station, this is worth a visit. Personally, I'd like to try other menu items next time.

After eating tteokbokki and then fried rice on top, I was so full that I didn't think about tteokbokki for a while haha. Though I have a feeling that in a few days I'll be craving it again... bunsik really is the kind of food you never get tired of, no matter how much you eat :)