Sejong Korean restaurant for nourishing banchan: Bapkkot Hansang

Bapkkot Hansang, where I got to enjoy a wide variety of neat, beautifully presented Korean set meals. It is right beside Sejong Lake Park, so it was such a great place to eat and then go for a walk.

Bapkkot Hansang location and parking

You can park on basement levels 1 and 2 of the building. There are lots of restaurants, so there are quite a few cars during the lunch rush, but I was able to park at 12:30 p.m.! Register your parking at the counter when you leave, and parking is free for up to three hours! It was nice and generous. ❤️

The building is packed with restaurants and cafés, so it may be hard to find, but you will see it right away when you get off the elevator on the third floor!! Off we go to Bapkkot Hansang, a Sejong favorite!

The name is written in big letters, and reservations are essential at busy times! There were waiting seats out front too, and with so many nearby companies and public institutions, it seemed like lots of office workers come here. Around 1 p.m. every seat was full, and by about 1:30 p.m., some people were leaving without getting to eat. Whoa.

Every table has a kiosk, with aprons hanging nearby. Since I had made a reservation in advance, the table was set according to our party size. Haha.

Such a classic Korean restaurant atmosphere! The interior is mainly natural wood, creating a comfortable mood that suits the food perfectly. There were more tables, but it was so bustling that I could not take many photos of the interior. 🥺

Kiosk ordering and the review event

You order through the kiosk, and you can receive one piece of tteokgalbi (Korean grilled meat patty) through the Naver review event. 🎶🎶 It is such a generous event, so make sure to join in. 😋

It is only available once per table!

There were course meals such as the Bapkkot Special Set and Bapkkot Special, as well as individual dishes including boiled pork rice bowls, tteokgalbi rice bowls, octopus rice bowls, and spicy pork rice bowls. Lots of people seemed to order an individual dish and get the review-event tteokgalbi with it.

Bapkkot Special for two

The Bapkkot Special Set and Bapkkot Special are available to order from two people. We ordered two portions of the Bapkkot Special (₩25,000 each).

It starts with salad, boiled pork, tofu kimchi, stir-fried eggplant with rice cakes, chive pancake, and dressed buckwheat noodles.

I absolutely loved the crisp kimchi. 😋

A nicely browned chive pancake. It had that rainy-day pancake flavor that makes you think of makgeolli (Korean rice wine).

The stir-fried eggplant with rice cakes was not overly seasoned, and I liked its neat, restrained flavor even more for that.

These dressed buckwheat noodles? Japchae noodles? I am not sure what they were, but I kept reaching for them. They were pleasantly mild, with a seaweed-like texture and flavor that was addictive.

Tender boiled pork with spicy dressed lettuce.

I took a bite with the dressed lettuce and it disappeared in no time.

The tofu felt firmer than store-bought tofu too. One bite with kimchi and I was already getting full.

The second spread: tteokgalbi and vegetable side dishes

Round two begins! Another table-filling spread came out. Starting with a big tteokgalbi resting on enoki mushrooms...

This tteokgalbi seemed to be made in-house! The tender handmade patty was not heavily seasoned, and its wholesome flavor was excellent. 👍

Then there was a whole assortment of namul (seasoned vegetable side dishes) too~ Every single one was delicious and such a rice-stealer. A meal centered on wholesome vegetables that sat comfortably in my stomach. 😚

For someone living alone, namul is like a ray of light... ❤️

How did they season these so deliciously?!!

I took a spoonful of the savory doenjang soup full of tofu. Steam was rising from it—so hot and warming.

Mix rice into the rich gangdoenjang (thick soybean paste stew), and wow 😋😋—so thick and luscious. Perhaps it was made with anchovy stock, because I could taste the anchovy. It had such depth, like something you would eat at your grandmother's house.

The rice was glutinous rice too, and I really polished off a whole bowl.

A gentle Korean meal by Sejong Lake Park

It had been a while since I had eaten my fill of such healthy Korean food that felt easy on the stomach. I think it would be a wonderful place to bring older family members too.

A Sejong Lake Park favorite where you can try an array of namul and neatly prepared Korean set dishes! It is healthy food without added seasonings, so it seems like an especially great place to bring older family members.

There are lots of cafés in the same building, so you can park and head straight to a café afterward, which makes the route really convenient too. It is also close enough for a walk around the nearby lake park!