Hongdae Korean restaurant with soup refills: early dinner at Doonjeong
In short
Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch is a Korean restaurant in Mapo, Seoul, a 3-minute walk from Exit 1 of Hongdae Station. At an early dinner the table held hanwoo yukhoe bibimbap (raw beef rice bowl) for 15,000 won, clear hanwoo gomtang (beef bone soup) special for 18,000 won and shrimp minari pancake for 19,000 won, plus a half plate of gogi muchim (seasoned beef salad) from the review event. Doonjeong refills both rice and gomtang broth, and the yukhoe bibimbap is the dish most worth ordering.
Good to know
- Location
- 183-12 Donggyo-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, 1st floor — 3-minute walk from Exit 1 of Hongdae Station
- Hanwoo yukhoe bibimbap
- 15,000 won
- Clear hanwoo gomtang (special)
- 18,000 won
- Shrimp minari pancake
- 19,000 won
- Gogi muchim (seasoned beef salad)
- Half plate 11,000 won / full plate 21,000 won
- Review event
- Half plate of gogi muchim when 2 people write reviews
- Number of branches
- 2 — Goyang main store and Hongdae direct branch
- Reservations
- Available on Naver; booking ahead recommended
- Price reference
- ₩15,000 ≈ $11 · ₩18,000 ≈ $13.5 · ₩19,000 ≈ $14 (2026-09-15)
as written by the visitor on Aug 29, 2026
Today I went to Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch, well known as a Hongdae Station spot for drinks and for Hongdae lunch 🍚
Where is Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch, and what is the restaurant like?
Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch is a Korean restaurant a 3-minute walk from Exit 1 of Hongdae Station. There's a main store in Goyang, and this Hongdae Station direct branch, so only two locations run in total.
It's been picked as a Hongdae Blue Ribbon national recommended restaurant two years running, 2025 and 2026, so I was already excited before even walking in 💙
The interior itself was super clean, and the open kitchen structure meant I could trust the hygiene at least ✨
The wood-tone interior with pretty lighting made the mood even better in the evening.
We went for an early dinner, and while I saw some people there just for a meal, there were also a lot of Hongdae work dinner groups ✅ It's quietly but steadily busy, so I'd recommend booking ahead.
Doonjeong menu: meals and traditional liquor side dishes
There are clean, simple Hongdae lunch dishes like hanwoo (Korean beef) yukhoe bibimbap and hanwoo gomtang, plus drinking-food options good for a Hongdae work dinner — meat chive pancake, meat kimchi pancake, shrimp minari pancake, hanwoo yukhoe, suyuk (boiled pork slices), hanwoo jeongol (hot pot) and more ❗️ They also sell a wide range of traditional Korean liquors — yakju, cheongju, distilled spirits, makgeolli — perfect for a drink on a date. I heard the gopchang jeongol (beef tripe hot pot) here is delicious too, so if you're after gopchang jeongol in Hongdae, Doonjeong is worth a visit.
Since I booked ahead on Naver, the table was already neatly set when we arrived.
The basic side dishes were kimchi and kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), simple but done right and cleanly delicious. The kkakdugi especially was well-fermented and tangy — I kept reaching for it 👏
Hanwoo yukhoe bibimbap, 15,000 won
My order, hanwoo yukhoe bibimbap, was ₩15,000. There was an option to add extra yukhoe, but I didn't need to — there was already plenty piled on.
Mixing the yukhoe with the chopsticks and stirring it together with the minari (water dropwort) made for a great bite. I couldn't tell if it was sesame oil or perilla oil, but the nutty aroma hit right away and got my mouth watering 😋
Doonjeong's hanwoo yukhoe bibimbap was as luxuriously delicious as it smelled. My husband loves yukhoe bibimbap so much he jokes about how often we order it, but this was one of the best versions I can count on one hand — my top recommendation.
Clear hanwoo gomtang special, 18,000 won, with free rice and broth refills
Doonjeong's clear hanwoo gomtang, packed with meat, came in the special size for ₩18,000 and it was seriously generous.
The broth was clean but deep, and the rice — already in the bowl — had soaked up just the right amount of broth.
Look at the shine on that gomtang meat..!!
The owner asked if we wanted more rice, so I asked for just a little, and they even refilled the broth — I ended up stuffed full.
Shrimp minari pancake, 19,000 won
The shrimp minari pancake I ordered as a side was ₩19,000.
It was soft rather than crispy like fried food, but packed with plump shrimp giving it a good springy bite.
The kind of flavor that makes you want a glass of makgeolli~ 😆
The review event: a free half plate of gogi muchim
I'd originally planned to order a full plate of meat muchim. The owner said a full plate is a lot, and if two people write reviews you get a half plate free, so I joined the review event and got it.
- Meat muchim half plate — ₩11,000
- Meat muchim full plate — ₩21,000
The meat muchim, made with chamnamul (wild sesame leaves) and chives, was spicy with a nice perilla seed aroma that paired well with the shrimp minari pancake ✅ If you're going with two or more people, write two reviews and make sure you try the meat muchim!
Is Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch worth an early dinner in Hongdae?
The portions were huge, but everything was so good we cleared every last grain of rice at Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch. The food is neatly prepared, filling, and genuinely tasty — definitely worth a visit if you're in Hongdae 👍
Where it is
183-12 Donggyo-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor서울특별시 마포구 동교로 183-12 1층
