Beef soup 1-person set and kkuri-sal sashimi like sushi: Usijang

If you're looking for a place near Mapo Station where you can get a hearty beef soup, yukhoe (raw beef), and yuksashimi (raw beef sashimi) all in one visit, this one's worth a look.

Tucked away in a Dohwa-dong alley, Usijang Hoegwan (우시장회관) serves clean, rich beef soup alongside Korean cow yuksashimi, making it just as good for a weekday office lunch as for an after-work dinner or gathering.

They even have a set menu combining soup and yuksashimi, which made it great value too! ☺️

< Usijang Hoegwan > 📍 Location: 203-2 Dohwa-dong, Mapo-gu, Seoul ⏰ Hours: Daily 10:00–22:00 (break time 15:00–17:00)

How far is it from Mapo Station?

The restaurant is about a 3-minute walk from Mapo Station Exit 3, so it's very accessible~ From Gongdeok Station, it's roughly a 10-minute walk from Exit 8.

We arrived almost right after break time ended and there were already quite a few people! There are a lot of office workers nearby, so it seemed like a popular spot for Mapo work dinners.

Menu and the 1-person soup set

Here's the menu. There's a wide range — soup, boiled beef, yuksashimi, beef hot pot, and more~ They even sell a full assorted beef platter.

You order via table order (tablet)~ Isn't the 1-person soup set composition amazing? ㅠㅠ Soup and yuksashimi together… the owner really gets it…

That day we ordered the clam beef soup and the perilla-leaf raw beef sashimi platter!

What cut is kkuri-sal?

Apparently the yuksashimi uses kkuri-sal (꾸리살). I'd never even heard of this cut before… turns out it's located on the upper part of the front leg, neck, and shoulder — areas the cow uses a lot for movement. Because of that it's low in fat and mild in flavor, and apparently it's considered a really precious cut!

The perilla-leaf raw beef sashimi platter's side dishes

Once we ordered, they set out a beautifully arranged spread~ Sauces and jeotgal (salted seafood) to pair with the yukhoe!

And they also gave us perilla leaves, lettuce, and cheongyang chili peppers~

Laid out like this, it really was a table absolutely full haha, the table barely had room.

The yuksashimi order comes with both yukhoe and yuksashimi so you get to taste both~ It also comes with rice that seemed to be lightly vinegared, so you can put the yuksashimi on top and eat it wrapped up like sushi!

We dipped it in the prepared sauces, wrapped it in gim (dried seaweed) and perilla leaves~ really enjoyed it in so many different ways.

The yukhoe had such a great texture — chewy yet tender at the same time~ The seasoning wasn't too strong, so the meat's natural savory flavor really came through, with a subtle umami building up the more you chewed!!

The yuksashimi came thinly sliced, clean and mild with no gamey smell, with a subtle savory beef aroma — dipping it in salt or sesame oil sauce let the natural flavor shine through even more✨

How does the clam beef soup taste?

The clam beef soup came piled with an absolute mountain of clams on top ㄷㄷ The clear, refreshing broth combined with the clean taste of clams made it much cleaner and tastier than expected! With tender beef and chewy clams together, the texture was great too haha.

Thanks to the clams, the soup had a refreshing, clean finish rather than the usual heaviness of beef soup, making it perfect as a hangover cure haha. Spicy and satisfying, we really enjoyed it.

To sum up

With clam beef soup, yukhoe, and yuksashimi all on the menu, there's plenty of choice — great for a hearty meal or for drinks and a work dinner after hours. If you want clean, filling soup along with fresh yukhoe and yuksashimi near Mapo Station, this is worth a visit :) (Honestly felt like I'd found a real hidden gem after a while! 👏)