Hyunjoo Sagong · 25 stories

A Brazier Plate in Yangdong

Writes about small restaurants and market eateries around Gwangju and the Jeolla region. · Writes about: Restaurants · Things to do · Cafés · Bars · Hair & beauty salons

PlaceYeoju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Yeoju Korean restaurant: packed first dinner seating, Nadeulmok

Nadeulmok Yeoju Ssalbap is a Korean set-meal restaurant on Sejong-ro in Yeoju, Gyeonggi, serving stone-pot rice made with Yeoju rice near Yeoju Premium Outlets and Arizi CC. The writer arrived for the first dinner seating as the break time ended and ordered the braised cutlassfish set (25,000 won), with generous side dishes, crispy sweet potato chips, thick braised cutlassfish with no fishy smell, glossy stone-pot rice and nurungji (scorched rice). Nadeulmok Yeoju Ssalbap is a solid choice for a Korean family meal before or after shopping, golf or a hot spring visit.

Written Jun 4, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho makguksu lunch before snorkeling: potato pancake to go, Topgol

Sokcho Topgol Makguksu Main Branch (속초탑골막국수 본점) is a dog-friendly makguksu (buckwheat noodle) restaurant right next to Sokcho Beach and the Sokcho Eye Ferris wheel in Sokcho, Gangwon. On a late weekday lunch, the couple walked in without a wait and ate deulmemak (perilla oil buckwheat noodles), buckwheat makguksu with seasoned raw pollack, potato pancake and sweet pumpkin sikhye (rice punch), then took more potato pancake back to their lodging. Sokcho Topgol Makguksu replaced Gogiri Makguksu as the couple's all-time favorite makguksu.

Written Jun 9, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHanam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Japanese spot by Misa Lake Park, Hanam: summer Kanto sukiyaki, Roi

Roi Sikdang Hanam Misa Main Branch is a Japanese home-cooking restaurant near Misa Lake Park in Hanam, Gyeonggi, now in its 7th year. In a wood-toned, Kyoto-style dining room, the writer ordered the comforting Kanto-style sukiyaki set for 2 (29,900 won) with free rice refills, raw egg and the house special sauce, and rated it at least as good as the sukiyaki the writer ate in Arashiyama, Kyoto. Verdict: sukiyaki at Roi Sikdang followed by a walk around Misa Lake Park makes an ideal date course.

Written Jun 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHanam, GyeonggiCafés

Misa Station morning café: toasted Golden Beurre loaf, Easy White

Easy White Bread Hanam Misa is a newly opened milk bread bakery café near Misa Station in Hanam, Gyeonggi, open from 7:30am. The writer and her sister ordered a Golden Beurre milk bread loaf, blueberry cream cheese and brewed coffee, and Easy White Bread toasted the half they ate in so it came warm with the cream cheese. The milk bread is good enough that a bread-loving niece raved about it, making Easy White Bread Hanam Misa a great brunch café for early-morning coffee and bread.

Written Jun 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho Korean restaurant: aged kimchi leftovers to stew, Gwandongjip

Gwandongjip is a Korean restaurant on Seonsa-ro in Joyang-dong, Sokcho, Gangwon, specialising in gamjatang (pork bone stew) and mukeunji ppyeojjim (aged kimchi braised pork bones), a short drive from the Seoul Metropolitan Government Officials Training Institute. On the last day of a Sokcho trip, a couple checked out and ordered the small Gwandongjip aged kimchi pork bone jjim (35,000 won) as a hangover cure, were surprised by the big spine bones and generous well-fermented kimchi, then took the leftover kimchi home to cook jjageuli (spicy kimchi stew). Gwandongjip's aged kimchi pork bone jjim was satisfying enough that the couple vowed to return on their next Sokcho trip.

Written Oct 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYeongdeungpo, SeoulRestaurants

Yeouido tteokbokki bar for a Fairmont staycation lunch: Hyeonseonine

Hyeonseonine Premium IFC Mall Branch is a tteokbokki and Korean snack bar on basement level 2 of IFC Mall in Yeouido, Seoul. On a Fairmont Ambassador staycation day, the writer and friends had a light lunch of the Hyeonseonine set and broth tteokbokki at Hyeonseonine Premium, then crossed to The Hyundai Seoul for takeaway treats from ETF Bakery, Godiva Bakery, Artist Bakery and Hanjeongseon before heading back to the hotel. For a Yeouido staycation, lunch at Hyeonseonine, desserts from The Hyundai Seoul and capsule coffee in the hotel room make a short, satisfying route.

Written Jul 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHanam, GyeonggiBars

Dog-friendly izakaya in Misa, Hanam with yakisoba and karaage: Haruto

Haruto is a dog-friendly izakaya in Misa, Hanam, Gyeonggi, facing Misa Lake Park and within a 5-minute walk of Misa Station Exit 1. On a summer-night date, the writer sat at a table overlooking the outdoors and paired bottled beer with nankotsu karaage (fried chicken cartilage, ₩12,000) and yakisoba (₩19,000) while jazz played. With smoky, generous yakisoba and a watermelon on the house from the owner, Haruto is worth recommending for a date or outdoor drinks with your dog.

Written Jul 13, 2026Sponsored
PlaceYongin, GyeonggiRestaurants

Gogiri mushroom shabu-kalguksu date with a dadaegi tip: Dongchundang

Dongchundang Shabu Shabu Kalguksu Sinbong Oesik Town Branch is a shabu-kalguksu (shabu-shabu with knife-cut noodles) restaurant in the Sinbong-dong restaurant town in Suji-gu, Yongin, near Gogiri. A married couple ordered the spicy mushroom shabu-kalguksu (12,000 won) in the spicy broth and Eonyang-style crispy bulgogi (9,900 won), eating it as a course of young radish barley rice, shabu-shabu, kalguksu and fried rice, and their top tip is to use wasabi soy sauce and add dadaegi (spicy seasoning paste) midway. With no break time from morning to evening, Dongchundang Sinbong Oesik Town Branch is a reliable spot in Gogiri and Suji for a hearty shabu-kalguksu meal.

Written Jul 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceHanam, GyeonggiRestaurants

Hanam Han River view restaurant: shrimp arugula pasta, Bokkeriu

Bokkeriu is a Han River view Western restaurant on Misadong-ro in Hanam, Gyeonggi, built on the site of a former Han River dock across from the rowing course. On a second visit, the writer had the 2-person steak set (₩118,000): sourdough and soup, ricotta cheese salad, shrimp arugula fresh pasta, medium-well 1+ Hanwoo striploin steak and a homemade dessert, and the pasta was still delicious. Bokkeriu is a strong pick for a Misa Island drive, an anniversary date, a proposal or a blind date.

Written Jul 13, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho sashimi to go for a training center dinner: Han's Kitchen

Han's Kitchen Hoepojang Sokcho Jungang Market Branch is a takeout-only sashimi shop near Sokcho Jungang Market in Sokcho, Gangwon. While staying at the Seoul civil servants' training center in Sokcho, which has no restaurants nearby for dinner, the writer pre-ordered October's in-season flounder and rockfish plus mul-hoe (cold raw fish soup) broth from Han's Kitchen and ate the fish both as sashimi and as mul-hoe in the room. Thanks to generous vegetables and a sesame-oil garlic ssamjang (dipping paste), it made a satisfying training center dinner, and the writer has decided Han's Kitchen is their sashimi shop whenever they visit Sokcho.

Written Oct 8, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGwangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Rosebian CC Korean restaurant: kimchi jjigae & ramyeon, Oneuldo Utja

Oneuldo Utja Chowol (오늘도웃자 초월) is a kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew) and duruchigi (spicy stir-fry) Korean restaurant on Sansu-ro in Chowol-eup, Gwangju, Gyeonggi, within 15 minutes of Gonjiam Resort, Hwadamsup and Rosebian CC. During autumn foliage season, the writer had old-style kimchi jjigae with sotbap (pot rice, 12,000 won per person), a ramyeon add-on (1,000 won) and the giant egg roll for lunch. The glossy sotbap and the spicy broth with ramyeon were the highlights, and the leftover egg roll went home in a self-packed container. For lunch before or after seeing the autumn leaves at Hwadamsup, the kimchi jjigae and sotbap at Oneuldo Utja Chowol are worth the wait.

Written Oct 7, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulRestaurants

Korean restaurant open till 10pm at Express Bus Terminal: Bapjangin

Bapjangin Express Bus Terminal Branch is a Korean restaurant on the B1 floor of Seoul Express Bus Terminal in Seocho, Seoul, open from 10:00 to 22:00. Arriving in Gangnam close to 9pm after a three-night, four-day trip to Yeosu, the writer ordered spicy kimchi stew for 12,000 won and smoky bulgogi for 14,000 won, and the earthenware pot came loaded with tofu, meat and ramen noodles beside char-grilled bulgogi. Bapjangin is where you can still get a hot Korean meal after every other restaurant in the terminal has switched off its lights.

Written Sep 16, 2026Sponsored