Hongdae bar in Seoul for potato wine and beef tripe hot pot: Doonjeong

A dining log from a developer who records good food and builds games.

I was looking for a place in Hongdae to have hot pot with a drink and ended up at Doonjeong. The dish of the day was hanwoo gopchang jeongol (hot pot with beef tripe). Hot pot means drinks are non-negotiable, so I started with something I'd never tried before: potato wine.

I originally just went for the hot pot, but the potato wine and the water bottle ended up giving me plenty to write about. Haha.

Where is Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch, and what are its hours?

Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch is a quick walk from Hongdae Station Exit 1. It's not right on the main street but tucked into an alley, so I checked the map as I walked — once nearby, the black sign with gold lettering was easy to spot.

Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch at a glance

• Address: 183-12 Donggyo-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea (1st floor)
• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00
• Break time: Mon–Fri 15:00–17:00 / Sat–Sun 15:30–17:00
• Last order: Mon–Fri 14:30, 20:30 / Sat–Sun 15:00, 20:30
• Closed: 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month
• Parking: No dedicated parking confirmed — public transit or a nearby paid lot is recommended.

The break time differs slightly between weekdays and weekends. They're closed on the first and third Sunday of the month, so it's worth checking Naver Place before you go.

Inside Doonjeong: roomier seating than most Hongdae bars

Walking into Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch, it was bigger than I expected. There are 2- and 4-person tables in the center and along the walls, spaced comfortably apart. Fine for two, and just as fine for four people digging into a hot pot together.

Once the pot, burner, plates and bottles are all on the table, things usually get cramped fast — but not here. The whole interior was clean overall.

Doonjeong menu and prices: potato wine is 10,000 won

Doonjeong actually serves gomtang (beef bone soup) too, but in the evening the hot pots and drinking snacks caught my eye first. When I visited, hanwoo gopchang jeongol was ₩54,000, meat salad (gogimuchim) was ₩11,000 for a half plate or ₩21,000 for a full plate, and udon noodles were ₩3,000.

Scanning the drinks menu, I stopped at potato wine. Wine made from potatoes? I couldn't not order it. Potato wine was ₩10,000, soju was ₩5,000.

The foreign-language menu was surprisingly thick — English, Chinese, and Japanese versions were all separate. It seems they get a lot of foreign customers, since there were food photos and even instructions on how to eat each dish.

Depending on how many receipt reviews you leave, you can get a free drink or meat salad — we got the meat salad.

Below is the foreign-language menu!

The main event: hanwoo gopchang jeongol at 54,000 won

Hanwoo gopchang jeongol at ₩54,000 — the moment the pot arrived, the scallions caught my eye first. Mushrooms, chives, scallions and seasoning were piled high on top of the tripe! And the best part: the owner cooks it for you himself until it's ready to eat. He tells you the exact right moment, so you can just relax and wait.

As the broth started to boil, I took my first sip of potato wine. Seeing that, the owner said, "Soju tastes better with hot pot." So we ordered a bottle of Chamisul. Turns out he was right. Spicy broth, a shot of soju — it just kept going down.

Does Doonjeong's potato wine really taste like potato?

Doonjeong's potato wine arrived cold in an ice bucket, clear in color. The first sip was slightly sweet, with a starchy aftertaste lingering at the end. It's not quite soju, not quite makgeolli — a taste that felt a bit unfamiliar on the first glass.

The owner suggested pairing the potato wine with the meat salad, and it really worked. Taking a bite of the spicy-sour salad before sipping made the lingering sweetness less overwhelming.

Soju with the hot pot, meat salad with the potato wine. Each had its own perfect match.

Why the 3,000 won udon noodles are worth adding

Once we'd made decent progress on the hanwoo gopchang jeongol, we added the udon noodles too. Just ₩3,000! The owner boiled them right in the leftover broth for us.

Even if you're full, add the udon noodles. Of everything we ate that day, this was the dish I would have regretted skipping.

Why doesn't the water come out of the tap?

When I went to pour water, nothing came out. I tilted the bottle up and down and it stayed the same, so for a second I thought it was broken.

The answer: a silver button in the middle of the lid. You have to hold it down while tilting the bottle for water to come out. I had a brief staring contest with the water bottle over this. Haha.

Final verdict on Doonjeong Hongdae Direct Branch

Doonjeong was a great spot for hot pot with a drink. The space was bigger than expected, the tables weren't cramped, and there was even a dedicated foreign-language menu, which made ordering easy for a group.

Soju with the hanwoo gopchang jeongol, meat salad with the potato wine, and udon noodles to finish. None of it was planned from the start, but that's the order things fell into as we ate. Next time, I'd add the udon noodles again without a second thought.

A developer's one-line log

Started hanwoo gopchang jeongol with potato wine, then added soju and udon noodles. Soju with the hot pot, meat salad with the potato wine — that was the answer. And the water bottle only works if you press the silver button.