Tonkatsu near Seoul Botanic Park: truffle salt katsu set at Katsuryun

Magok has a ton of offices, so of course it's full of office workers! And I heard there's a spot here that's earned a reputation as a top tonkatsu place in Magok, so I had to check it out. Tonkatsu is basically soul food for me like it is for a lot of guys, so once I hear there's a good one, I have to go try it haha. This is Katsuryun, a Seoul Botanic Park favorite.

Where is Katsuryun, and what are the hours and parking?

Katsuryun is located at 1F 101, 10 Magok-jungang 6-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, and parking is free for 2 hours if you use the Prugio lot next door. Hours are Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00 (break time 15:00–17:00), Saturday 11:30–19:00, and closed on Sundays.

• Address: 1F 101, 10 Magok-jungang 6-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Hours: Mon–Fri 11:00–21:00, break 15:00–17:00 / Sat 11:30–19:00 / closed Sundays
• Parking: Free for 2 hours at the adjacent Prugio parking lot

It's also close to Magok Station and Magoknaru Station, so it's easy to reach by subway, and since there's parking right next door it's just as convenient by car — a real Seoul Botanic Park favorite.

Inside Katsuryun: is it good for eating alone?

The inside of Katsuryun was clean and comfortable, and there were tables facing the window that were great for eating alone!

I visited a little past 1pm, and even outside the lunch peak, people kept coming in from 1:30pm all the way up to break time — a proper Magok tonkatsu favorite.

Katsuryun menu and prices

Katsuryun's menu has loin katsu for ₩12,000, tori katsu (chicken cutlet) for ₩13,000, tenderloin katsu for ₩14,000, ryun-byeolseon for ₩15,000, ryun-teukseon for ₩17,000, and Sapporo cheese curry for ₩3,000.

• Loin katsu ₩12,000
• Tori katsu ₩13,000
• Tenderloin katsu ₩14,000
• Ryun-byeolseon ₩15,000
• Ryun-teukseon ₩17,000
• Sapporo cheese curry ₩3,000

Katsuryun serves both pork-based loin and tenderloin katsu, as well as chicken-based tori katsu.

Ryun-byeolseon vs ryun-teukseon: what's the difference?

Katsuryun's ryun-byeolseon is a set where you pick two out of four options — tenderloin katsu, loin katsu, tori katsu, and shrimp katsu — while ryun-teukseon lets you try all four.

I went with the ryun-byeolseon and chose tenderloin and loin.

What comes with the 15,000-won ryun-byeolseon set

Katsuryun's ryun-byeolseon was a hearty spread — the two katsu I chose came with soup, rice, and cabbage salad. Three sauces are provided: tonkatsu sauce, truffle salt, and wasabi.

After ordering, I could hear that crisp frying sound, and it genuinely sounded like rain falling! If I hadn't been able to see outside, I might have actually thought it was raining haha. Anyway, here's what I ordered — loin and tenderloin, plus soup and rice, a really generous ryun-byeolseon.

For dipping the tonkatsu, you get tonkatsu sauce, truffle salt, and wasabi. The truffle salt especially had an incredible truffle aroma that made the crispy tonkatsu taste even more upscale!

The cabbage salad was finely shredded so it was easy to eat, and it had yuzu and yuzu dressing, which I love — it was so refreshing that even I, who's not really a salad person, kept picking at it! And the soup had a clean flavor plus that soft bite of fried tofu, which was really appealing.

Loin katsu: light and not greasy

Between the loin and tenderloin, my chopsticks reached for the loin katsu first. No real reason — the tenderloin came in two pieces so I wanted to save it! Right away, the clean yellow breading and white loin meat caught my eye.

I love dipping tonkatsu in salt first because it really lets you taste the meat properly, so I tried it that way at Katsuryun too, and the truffle flavor in the salt was seriously impressive. The loin itself is clean and light, not greasy — it might feel a bit plain on its own, but the truffle aroma gave it a genuinely upscale taste!

I also tried it with the tonkatsu sauce, which had a fairly strong tangy flavor — you could tell the owner put effort into offering a range of flavors.

Tenderloin katsu with wasabi and truffle salt

The tenderloin also looked incredibly appetizing, with juices glistening inside crispy breading. I wish I could share the crunchy sound when you break through the breading with your chopsticks, but sadly I can't....

I think the best way to enjoy Katsuryun's tonkatsu is the wasabi + truffle salt combo. On top of the savory, soft, juicy tenderloin, the wasabi isn't too spicy but gives a nice tingle, and then that rich truffle flavor I keep raving about on top of it! Even looking at the photo now makes me want to eat it again.

Is Katsuryun worth a second visit?

Katsuryun is one of the few tonkatsu places where I finished even the salad.

Deep meaty flavor and juicy meat, thin but crispy breading, and sauces plus truffle salt that bring out the tonkatsu's flavor even more! It felt like this one plate had everything I love — a real Seoul Botanic Park favorite.