Goyang seaweed soup restaurant with a self-serve bar: Haenon Miyeok

Halfway between Paju and Ilsan: Haenon Miyeok in Anigol

My friend agreed to come out toward Ilsan, so while I was thinking about where to have lunch, I remembered Haenon Miyeok, a place I'd been wanting to try for a while. It's about 20 minutes by car from Paju, so it worked out as a perfect midpoint for us. It's also right near Pungsan Station in Ilsan, so it was easy to get to from Paju too :) There are a lot of good restaurants around Pungdong's Anigol area, and Haenon Miyeok is right there in that food street. My friend loves Korean food, so — off to a good Korean restaurant in Ilsan!!!

It seems like more and more seaweed soup specialty Korean restaurants are popping up lately. There's actually a famous seaweed soup set restaurant near my place in Paju too, but Haenon Miyeok is a place I found while searching for good Korean restaurants in Ilsan this time!!

Five minutes by car from Pungsan Station, with plenty of parking

Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch is about a 5-minute drive from Pungsan Station in Ilsan. I went right around opening time, and there was plenty of parking, which made things easy. The exterior of Haenon Miyeok already had a certain something going for it haha!!!

Apparently Haenon Miyeok doesn't pre-boil the seaweed soup ahead of time. It's a 'Busan-original health food set meal specialist' where everything is cooked to order. They say all the food is prepared and cooked fresh at the store every morning. It didn't feel like a franchise at all — since everything is cooked fresh daily, it felt like a place for a genuinely fresh, healthy meal.

What is Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch like inside?

They clearly put a lot of thought into the interior. The moment I stepped into Haenon Miyeok, there was this comfortable feeling wrapped in an upscale atmosphere. And it had this fresh, unexpected sense of not really feeling like Ilsan at all — more like being near the sea :) The LED-based interior design was striking, and I liked how sleek and clean it felt.

The menu and what the set for two comes with

Time to order~~~?! I looked at what was on the menu, and for a seaweed soup set place, there was a surprisingly wide range of options.

• Flounder / Abalone Flounder
• Scallop / Abalone Scallop
• Mussel / Abalone Mussel
• Beef / Abalone Beef
• Dried Pollock / Abalone Dried Pollock
• Tongyeong Oyster / Abalone Tongyeong Oyster
• Sea Urchin Roe / Abalone Sea Urchin Roe
• Sea God Seaweed Soup
• Beef Bulgogi, Spicy Stir-fried Pork, and more

The price seems to vary a bit depending on whether abalone is included with each seafood option or not. My friend and I ordered the 'Abalone Beef Seaweed Soup Set' for two. Ordering the 2-person set meant a seasoned flounder and salad came as an extra side set!! Ooh~~ nice, nice!!

What is on the self-serve bar at Haenon Miyeok?

At Haenon Miyeok you can add on the self-serve bar to your main seaweed soup set. If the side dishes in your set run low, you can go grab more at the self-serve bar.

Next to the self-serve bar, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), fried eggplant, and braised tofu were set out separately. These don't come with the seaweed soup set itself, so having them as extras at the self-serve bar was such a nice touch!!! Personally I loved the japchae and fried eggplant hahaha.

Side dishes, from cockles to tot muchim (seaweed salad)

The side dishes come out so neatly and prettily arranged. Nothing too strong or overpowering — just clean, simple flavors. There were cockles, and also tot muchim (fine sea vegetable salad), which I don't get to eat often, so that was great hahaha. Ordering the beef abalone seaweed soup set for two meant we also got to enjoy the seasoned grilled flounder and salad alongside everything, and it was so good :) With seaweed soup as the main dish, it has that hanjeongsik (full Korean course meal) feel, so it's the kind of restaurant that would definitely earn compliments if you bring your parents or elders here. Perfect for treating friends and family to a healthy meal on birthdays too!!!

While tasting a bit of everything from the self-serve bar and salad, the seaweed soup arrives. Since it really is cooked to order, there's a bit of a wait, and it comes out piping hot, still bubbling.

How does the abalone beef seaweed soup broth taste?

The beef abalone seaweed soup set comes with 2 pieces of abalone each~~~!!! If you had to divide it into clear broth versus bone broth, Haenon Miyeok leans toward a rich bone-broth base, but you can still fully taste the clean lightness of a clear broth in it. Not too thick, not too light — the depth of that broth flavor was just wonderful!!!

I think the first time I ever had a seaweed soup set was in Busan, about 5-6 years ago. I used to think of seaweed soup as just something mom makes at home, but the seaweed soup set I had in Busan felt like a proper restorative meal, which was such a fresh discovery at the time. That restaurant reshaped how I thought about seaweed soup, and now I'm so happy I can get that same feeling again in Ilsan without needing to go all the way to Busan ^^

The beef in Haenon Miyeok's beef abalone seaweed soup came in nice big chunks too. If you're thinking, why would I pay this much for seaweed soup, I really recommend trying Haenon's seaweed soup once!! ^^ It tasted so good that it genuinely felt restorative, and even after a full, hearty meal, my stomach felt warm and comfortable.

If you write an event review, they also give you these crispy mini savory pancakes haha. I came away well-fed and satisfied with a nice variety of everything~~ The rice was tasty too, and the rice bowl was so pretty :)

Black rice nurungji chips sold at the entrance

At the entrance they were also selling these savory, nutritious black rice nurungji (scorched rice) chips. They looked light and non-greasy, and now that I'm looking at this again I really want some... hahaha. I'll have to buy some next time I come back lol.

Haenon Miyeok has its main store in Busan, and in the greater Seoul area it seems to have branches in Ilsan, Anyang Pyeongchon, Songpa Jamsil, Gwacheon, Suji, and Yongin. I love seaweed soup, so I'm so grateful there's a branch in Ilsan too hahaha.

Haenon Miyeok Ilsan Direct Branch hours and visitor info

• Hours: Mon–Sun 11:00–21:00
• Break time: Mon–Fri 15:00–17:00 / no break time on weekends
• Last order: 14:30 / 19:45
• Naver reservations or phone booking available for parties of 2 or more
• When parking gets crowded, follow staff directions to relocate