Korean restaurant near NC Department Store, Balsan Station: Mikodam

A Balsan Station Korean restaurant that's great for family outings — an honest review of Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch

I went out to browse the NC Department Store near Balsan Station on the weekend, and after spending so long looking around Modern House, I suddenly got really hungry. While searching for somewhere to eat nearby, a Korean restaurant caught my eye — even the photos showed a table packed with side dishes.

If you've searched for Balsan Station restaurants before, you'll know that finding a good spot isn't hard, but finding one with genuinely good value is surprisingly tricky. Honestly, I figured Korean restaurants are all pretty similar so I didn't expect much walking in, but we both ended up unzipping our pants and fully indulging by the end — let me break it all down below.

Mikodam's location, parking, and atmosphere near Balsan Station

Mikodam is about a 4-minute walk from Balsan Station, right near NC Department Store, so it was perfect for stopping by on the way home. There's a parking lot in the building itself, so bringing a car isn't much of a hassle — just ask for your parking ticket to be validated after eating.

True to a Korean restaurant, the interior was sleek and tidy, and the tables were nicely wide — fitting for a place known for its overflowing spreads. Toward the back there's a group room available by reservation, plus a main hall, so it seemed good for both group gatherings and family meals. We visited on a weekend evening when a lot of tables were reserved, but luckily there were still open seats and we could sit right away.

Being a popular spot, the restrooms were also separated by gender and kept clean, which should reassure anyone who cares about restroom conditions when dining out. They're located within the building itself, so access was easy too.

The Hansang-gadeuk 2-person set menu and what we ordered

Mikodam's menu has a variety of set-course options, but the Hansang-gadeuk (table-filling) set is the signature crowd favorite. Since we came specifically for a Korean set meal, we went straight for the 2-person set without much hesitation — you order according to your party size, and the set lets you pick 3 main dishes, which was great since we could tailor it to our taste. Here's what we ordered, and the combination turned out better than expected, so take note.

• Hansang-gadeuk Korean set for 2 (with abalone seaweed soup added): ₩46,000 + ₩4,000

Tasting the full spread and a few tips

Not long after ordering, the entire set arrived at once, and the spacious table filled up completely as the dishes were laid out.

Japchae and jeyuk

We first went for the japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) and jeyuk (spicy stir-fried pork) that had caught our noses. The japchae noodles held their chewy texture without going mushy, and the jeyuk had a great sweet-and-savory balance that paired perfectly with rice.

Jeju soy crab

Next up was the Jeju soy crab — visually stunning, with genuinely generous roe, and a seasoning that wasn't salty but had a subtle savory depth that kept us reaching for more. It was the kind of dish you could demolish a whole bowl of rice with.

Vinegar-seasoned cockles

Of everything we ate that day, the most memorable dish was the vinegar-seasoned cockle salad. I'd debated between soy sauce or vinegar seasoning, and the sweet-and-tangy vinegar dressing with the plump cockles turned out to be the right call — a real pat-myself-on-the-back moment. I've had cockle salads elsewhere where the seasoning and cockles didn't quite mesh, or the cockles weren't fresh, but everything here was excellent.

The ₩4,000 abalone seaweed soup add-on

The seaweed soup with abalone added came out in a generous stone pot, enough for two servings at once. It looked rich just from the color, and when I scooped a ladleful, I found two whole fist-sized abalones inside.

Well worth the ₩4,000 add-on, right? The texture was fantastic too — it felt like a proper health boost.

Grilled mackerel and rice wrapped in seaweed

After thoroughly working through the seaweed soup, we came to and tried the grilled mackerel next — not a hint of fishiness, crispy outside and moist inside, with a fantastic nutty flavor. It felt like something you could enjoy on its own as a drinking snack too.

The side dishes were so good that we finished them before the rice — a classic case of leftover rice. That's when I remembered the seaweed sheets, wrapped some rice in it, dipped it in soy sauce, and tasted a bit of nostalgia — a satisfying way to finish it all off.

The dessert corner and visiting tips

After finishing the meal and paying, I looked behind the counter and found a small dessert corner. Sikhye, maesil (plum juice), and roasted corn tea were all set out; since we were already full, we tried the maesil and sikhye, and their clean, refreshing taste helped with digestion too.

This was a place we thoroughly enjoyed to the very end — the portions are genuinely huge, enough for grown men to eat until they're stuffed. If you're visiting as a group of women, the portions might feel like a bit much, so I'd recommend arriving hungry. For this much food at this price, it's a pretty reasonable deal, and honestly stands out as good value among Balsan Station restaurants. If you're visiting with family, I'd recommend booking the private room in advance.

Eating until you're stuffed while trying every single side dish, versus ordering modestly and eating cleanly — which would you choose?