Mapo gukbap restaurant in Seoul: no-funk sundaeguk at Bosseung Hoegwan

Does the sundaeguk near Mapo Station smell porky or not?

Even sundaejjukguk (blood sausage soup) lovers split into two camps: those who like the strong pork funk and those who prefer a clean, funk-free flavor. If you're looking for a sundaejjukguk spot with no funky smell among the countless options out there, Bosseung Hoegwan Mapo Branch, a 24-hour gukbap restaurant near Mapo Station, is always a good bet for lunch.

A gukbap spot with a clean, light flavor!

Seconds from Mapo Station Exit 3 and open 24 hours

Bosseung Hoegwan Mapo Branch is basically attached to Mapo Station. It's not a few minutes' walk from Exit 3 — it's a few seconds, right there on the first floor. It was raining that day, so we went looking for a restaurant close to the subway station. Rainy days call for gukbap, and this place is perfect when you don't want to walk too far in the rain.

The inside looked different from what I expected from the outside — it's a deep hall structure, bigger than it looks, seating up to around 40 people, so it's also good for group gatherings or work dinners. And since it's open 24 hours, it's also great for a hangover cure in the early morning.

There's more seating further inside too.

What stands out about this lunch gukbap spot near Mapo Station, open 24 hours, is that once people come once, they keep coming back. We arrived around 11am on a weekday, well before the usual lunch rush, and there were already customers eating.

Solo-dining seats and tables at Bosseung Hoegwan

Further inside, there are seats set up for solo dining. Totally cozy. It's a fully separated space, so it looks great for having gukbap with a solo drink of soju too.

The tables and chairs are super comfortable and spacious.

Bosseung Hoegwan Mapo Branch menu and prices

Here's the full menu at Bosseung Hoegwan — the three of us ordered a variety of dishes.

There's also a drinking-food set menu, and oh, they have naengmyeon (cold noodles) too.

Review event info and alcohol menu.

The new menu items are hangjeong suyuk gukbap (pork jowl and rice soup), mung bean pancake, and seafood pancake. The hangjeong suyuk gukbap here is delicious too.

First, we ordered a sundaejjukguk... ₩11,000.

Should I get naejang gukbap (organ meat soup)...

After some hesitation, we went with the osori gukbap (spicy pork soup). It's the spicy version, and it tastes like it would knock a cold right out of you — seriously spicy and sharp. I imagine the extra-spicy version would be scary.

There's also sundae, suyuk (boiled pork), organ meat, and haejang ramyeon (hangover ramyeon)... I got the ppyeohaejangguk (bone soup) for ₩12,000.

The suyuk jeongsik (boiled pork set) can only be ordered for 2 people or more.

For the sundaejjukguk, you can choose to upgrade to the special version or remove the seasoning paste.

Special solo-dining menu items.

Special solo-dining sundae gukbap menu.

They even have hangjeong suyuk gukbap, which you don't usually find at sundaejjukguk restaurants, along with lots of other gukbap varieties — great range of choice when a group comes to eat.

Side dishes: kimchi and kkakdugi (radish kimchi)

The side dishes came out neat and tidy. My mom saw the kimchi and said she doesn't eat Chinese-import kimchi... and I realized she actually can't tell the difference just by looking.

Chinese-import kimchi has watery brine because Chinese cabbage holds more water, and you can tell right away once you taste it — but this restaurant's kimchi is a clean-tasting fresh kimchi that anyone would immediately recognize as domestic. I spent a while explaining to my mom that this kimchi definitely wasn't imported.

The kkakdugi (radish kimchi) was clean and delicious too.

How did the sundaeguk, pork bone soup and osori haejangguk taste?

The sundaejjukguk, ppyeohaejangguk, and spicy osori haejangguk all arrived. My dad must have been hungry — he picked up his spoon right away, haha.

The osori haejangguk was packed with chewy osori (badger-shaped pork cut)... it's so spicy and sharp that by the time you finish, your nose is running. It really feels like your body is detoxing. If you've got a cold coming on, it tastes like a sharp, bean-sprout-soup-style broth that would knock the cold right out of you.

My dad mixed the sundaejjukguk well with the included dadaegi (chili paste)... and my mom was thrilled that this restaurant's sundaejjukguk had no funky smell at all.

In the end, they cleaned their bowls — they left some rice, but the sundaejjukguk was completely gone! It had been a while since they'd had sundaejjukguk, and they were delighted, saying it was delicious. Clean sundaejjukguk with no funky smell, spicy sharp osori haejangguk, and rich ppyeohaejangguk on top of that — this lunch gukbap spot near Mapo Station, open 24 hours, has a menu with plenty of range: Bosseung Hoegwan Mapo Branch.