Paper Pouch Carrier · 12 stories

Paper Pouch, Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon Cafes, Beauty and Shopping

Writes about cafes, beauty counters and small shops across Seoul, Gyeonggi and Gangwon. · Writes about: Restaurants · Hair & beauty salons · Cafés · Shopping

PlaceJongno, SeoulRestaurants

Hyehwa Chinese spot, beef noodles after Changgyeonggung: Cheonghwawon

Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch (청화원 대학로점) is a Taiwanese-style Chinese restaurant in Jongno, Seoul, less than a 5-minute walk from Hyehwa Station Exit 4, with seating on the 1st and 2nd floors. After visiting Changgyeonggung Palace on a weekend, the writer came for dinner with her husband and ordered knife-cut beef noodle soup (10,500 won), crystal dumplings (9,500 won) and yuringi, crispy fried chicken in a tangy soy sauce (19,800 won). It was her first beef noodle soup, and she fell for the chewy knife-cut noodles and deep beef broth. Cheonghwawon Daehangno Branch is a great Daehangno date restaurant for a full Chinese spread: one noodle dish each, plus dim sum and yuringi.

Written Nov 14, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Seongsu hair salon: dry-hair clinic + mid-length layered cut, Toni&Guy

Toni&Guy Seongsu is a hair salon on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the Delphi Building in Seongsu-dong, Seongdong, Seoul, about a 5-minute walk from Ttukseom Station Exit 7. The writer had a 3-step hair clinic for dry, frizzy hair, then a mid-length layered cut that tidied blunt sides and ends, leaving the hair softer and holding its shape without blow-drying. Toni&Guy Seongsu suits anyone who wants a cut and damaged-hair care in one visit.

Written May 5, 2026Sponsored
PlaceUijeongbu, GyeonggiRestaurants

Uijeongbu Korean BBQ with refillable perilla wraps: Geuttaegeujip

Geuttaegeujip (그때그집) is a 24-hour pork belly restaurant, open every day of the year, in the Sinsigaji food alley of Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi. On a late-evening visit, the writer grilled fresh Korean Handon pork belly and pork jowl in a cast-iron pot. Homestyle side dishes, wrap vegetables refilled down to the perilla leaves and the doenjang (soybean paste) stew served as standard all hit the spot. Verdict: Geuttaegeujip is an easygoing old-school Uijeongbu pork belly spot you can drop into at any hour.

Written May 25, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonShopping

Sokcho market jeotgal: first stingray & shrimp side dish, Hwangbuja

Hwangbuja Jeotgal (황부자젓갈) is a salted seafood (jeotgal) shop on the sulppang (makgeolli steamed bread) alley of Sokcho Central Market (Sokcho Tourist Fish Market) in Sokcho, Gangwon. The writer took home three kinds from Hwangbuja Jeotgal: salted shrimp, stingray jeotgal (tried for the first time) and seed jeotgal. The writer ate them at home as side dishes and liked the glass-lid displays, the generous scoops and the ice-pack packing. All three were satisfying, and apart from the salted shrimp, seed jeotgal was the writer's personal number one.

Written Oct 31, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho fish market sashimi & spoon worm for two: Jinmi Hwareo Center

Jinmi Hwareo Center (진미활어센터) is a live-fish sashimi restaurant in basement unit 145 of Sokcho Tourist & Fish Market in Sokcho, Gangwon, offering both takeout and dine-in. A couple took away a small flounder platter, 1kg of sea squirt (meongge) and spoon worm (gaebul) to eat at their accommodation with leafy greens and chojang (sweet chili vinegar sauce), and both loved the chewy flounder, the fragrant sea squirt and the crunchy spoon worm. Jinmi Hwareo Center is a good fit for two travelers who want sashimi and seafood packed together at Sokcho Tourist & Fish Market.

Written Oct 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeongdong, SeoulRestaurants

Seongsu Station burgers with fried mushrooms & Budweiser: bd Burger

bd Burger Seongsu is a handmade burger joint on the second floor of an alley building near Exit 3 of Seongsu Station in Seongdong, Seoul. The writer and her husband arrived at the 11:30 AM weekend opening, walked straight in, and ordered the Grilled Shrimp Avocado and Double Cheese burgers with fried eggplant, fried mushrooms, corn salad and two Budweisers. The burgers were good, but the crispy-outside, tender-inside fried eggplant and mushrooms at bd Burger Seongsu were main-dish worthy, making it a place worth returning to.

Written May 29, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonShopping

Sokcho dried seafood shop for sealed, shippable travel gifts: Yangsim

Yangsim Dried Seafood (양심건어물) is a dried seafood shop on the first floor of Sokcho Central Market (Sokcho Tourism & Fish Market) in Sokcho, Gangwon, where shoppers can taste semi-dried squid, jwipo (dried filefish), gopchang-gim (premium seaweed) and pastry squid before buying. The writer took home 3 popular items recommended by the staff and found Yangsim Dried Seafood's well-sealed packaging and parcel delivery convenient for travel gifts. Yangsim Dried Seafood is a good place to pick Sokcho gifts by purpose: snacks, drinking snacks or family packs.

Written Oct 27, 2026Sponsored
PlaceDobong, SeoulRestaurants

Open-air gopchang date night in Dobong, Seoul: The Gopchang 37beonga

The Gopchang 37beonga (더곱창37번가) is a gopchang (grilled beef intestine) restaurant near Exit 2 of Banghak Station in Dobong, Seoul, close to Dobong-gu Office. A mixed gopchang platter of beef gopchang, daechang (large intestine), makchang and heart was grilled together with chive salad and green onion kimchi, then finished with cheese fried rice and a fire show. With its street-side windows thrown wide open for an outdoor-stall feel, The Gopchang 37beonga is a great pick for a cool autumn evening date in Dobong.

Written Oct 15, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSeocho, SeoulCafés

Seocho cake shop, pre-ordered Mango Strawberry Flower cake: Chef Cho

Chef Cho Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam is a fresh-fruit cake shop on B1 of Shinsegae Gangnam in Seocho, Seoul, near the Sweet Park entrance. The writer and her husband both have July birthdays, so she reserved a Mango Strawberry Flower cake from Chef Cho ahead of her own birthday, picked it up in store and celebrated with family. Verdict: ripe mango, tangy strawberries and animal-based fresh cream blended so well that the Chef Cho cake beat her expectations.

Written Jul 23, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Goyang soup restaurant for seonji skeptics: Jeju Eunhui-ne

Jeju Eunhui-ne Haejangguk Goyang Samsong Branch is a Jeju-style haejangguk (hangover soup) restaurant right next to Starfield Goyang, near Exit 3 of Samsong Station in Goyang. Before weekend shopping, the writer ordered the haejangguk + dombe pork set and a single tripe soup; the seonji (congealed ox blood) in the haejangguk was so fresh that the writer, who rarely eats seonji, finished all of it, and the dombe pork was moist. Jeju Eunhui-ne Haejangguk Samsong is a solid choice for a hearty meal before shopping at Starfield Goyang.

Written Jul 28, 2026Sponsored
PlaceNamyangju, GyeonggiRestaurants

Pre-open waitlist and AC seats at a Namyangju valley BBQ: 2002 Witch's

2002 Witch's Arpeggio is an outdoor-seating Korean BBQ restaurant right beside Myojeoksa Valley in Wabu-eup, Namyangju, Gyeonggi. On a midsummer weekend, the writer hurried to 2002 Witch's Arpeggio, got an air-conditioned indoor table for tomato-jang (tomato-based sauce) pork belly and gamja-jeon (potato pancake), then soaked their feet in Myojeoksa Valley next door after the meal. Waits are unavoidable in peak season, so registering on the Tabling waitlist app before opening and walking straight in is the way to go.

Written Aug 10, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangnam, SeoulHair & beauty salons

Mid-length volume magic and C-curl at a Cheongdam hair salon: Park Jun

Park Jun Beauty Lab Cheongdam Branch is a hair salon in Gangnam, Seoul, on the 3rd floor of La Classy right in front of Cheongdam Station Exit 7. Designer Juri checked the hair's damage level first, then straightened the top with volume magic and finished the ends in a thick C-curl to tidy up a mid-length perm whose curls had dropped unevenly. Hair that looked puffy and messy became a neat mid-length style that is easy to manage at home.

Written Aug 13, 2026Sponsored
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