Sweet potato fritters at Hyeonseonine, a Sinyongsan tteokbokki spot

Where is Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, and when is it open?

📍 Location ▪️2-13 Hangang-daero 39-gil, Yongsan-gu ▪️180m from Sinyongsan Station Exit 5 ⏰ Hours ▪️Daily 11:00–24:00 ✔️ Last order 22:40 ✔️Monday break time 14:30–16:00 Visited Saturday, September 5, 2026

I went to Yongsan for a movie and had lunch at Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, a tteokbokki spot near Yongsan Station and Sinyongsan Station. It's closer to Sinyongsan Station, but still an easy walk from Yongsan Station too.

I found my way there with Naver Maps from Yongsan Station — it's tucked in an alley but easy to spot. That yellow chimney you can see from far away is Hyeonseonine.

Here's the storefront. The exterior has serious retro vibes! Like any good Yongsan restaurant, there's usually a wait here, so they've got waiting chairs set up outside.

The red roof, yellow chimney, and blue sky made such a pretty combination that day.

There was some kind of claw machine outside — not sure if it actually works...

Looking at the posted hours, they're open pretty late — until midnight! Naver Place says there's a break time only on Mondays, but that's not mentioned in the store's own signage...

Saturday lunch wait and how to order at the kiosk

At Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, there's a CatchTable kiosk right by the entrance — you have to put your name on the waitlist first. We came at Saturday lunchtime and there were 3 parties ahead of us, so we registered and waited a bit. It's a bunsik (Korean street food) restaurant with fast turnover and takeout customers too, so the wait wasn't too long. Our number was called soon and we headed in.

You order from the kiosk across from the entrance.

The self-serve bar next to the kiosk. Soy sauce and other condiments, plus plates, are all free to use. Soy sauce and salt come in individual packets, and there's pickled radish and tenkasu (fried batter bits) too.

Here's the feel of the interior.

The menu posted on the fridge. There are set menus and à la carte items too.

Took our seats at the table — there's a tip sheet for instant tteokbokki posted on one side.

A review event was running too. We ordered the Hyeonseon combo set and the food came out fast. One of the great things about bunsik restaurants is the quick serving time, haha.

What comes in the Hyeonseon combo set, and is it enough for two?

The generous Hyeonseon combo set arrived. It includes tteokbokki, sundae (Korean blood sausage), fritters, mini gimbap, and fish cake. It's probably 2-3 servings — maybe 2 servings for big eaters, 3 for normal appetites? For the two of us, it was a bit much.

The fish cake

Three pieces of fish cake, with rice cake tucked inside! The broth was really refreshing and delicious. This is a broth flavor everyone would like, no arguments.

Five kinds of fritters, including sweet potato

The fritters came in five varieties: mandu (dumpling) fritter, vegetable fritter, gimmari (seaweed roll) fritter, squid fritter, and sweet potato fritter. Dipping the fritters in the tteokbokki sauce is basically an unwritten rule, haha.

The sweet potato fritter. I enjoyed this one the most, and it paired really well with the tteokbokki sauce.

Medium spice: can spice-averse eaters handle Hyeonseonine's tteokbokki?

The tteokbokki: chewy, not mushy

Hyeonseonine's tteokbokki lets you adjust the spice level. We went with medium, and even at medium it's a bit spicy. I can't handle Shin Ramyun so I'm pretty spice-averse, and it was spicy for me — but not unbearably so, haha. I really appreciate that Hyeonseonine lets you adjust the spice level. Surprisingly, a lot of places don't offer that, so there's quite a few tteokbokki spots someone like me just can't eat at all.

I tried the rice cakes — wow, so chewy. Both the sauce and the rice cakes were delicious. The sauce wasn't overly sweet, with a good kick of spice, and the rice cakes were really, really chewy — with so many customers coming through, the turnover is quick, so they never get mushy. Very satisfying!

While eating, I looked around and noticed a lot of tables ordering instant tteokbokki. Even the regular tteokbokki was this good, so I get why people go for the instant version so much. Definitely coming back to try the instant tteokbokki next time!!!

Adding tenkasu into the tteokbokki sauce makes it even better, haha. Fritters are great no matter what, honestly.

The sundae with liver mixed in

We ordered the sundae mixed with liver. It's a pretty generous portion.

The mini gimbap

The mini gimbap came out as 4 rolls.

Even as mini gimbap, the filling is pretty substantial. And gimbap dipped in tteokbokki sauce — no need to explain how good that is.

Is Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch worth a second visit?

I often visit restaurants along Yongridan-gil, and if you like tteokbokki, Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch's version is a solid choice. Definitely coming back for the instant tteokbokki!! For sure!!