Bulgogi hanjeongsik with a foreign friend in Gwanghwamun: Modam Dining

A foreign friend, Gwanghwamun, and why Modam Dining

When a foreign friend comes to visit Seoul, you kind of want to feed them a proper Korean meal at least once. But dragging them to a too-traditional hanjeongsik (Korean set-course meal) house can feel intimidating right from the menu descriptions, and taking them somewhere too casual feels like a missed chance. This time we were meeting in Gwanghwamun, so I wanted to treat my friend to a meal that felt genuinely Korean, and I chose Modam Dining Gwanghwamun.

It's located in the basement level 1 of Deoksugung D Palace. Being inside a building made it easy to find, and the clean atmosphere made it a comfortable spot to eat with a foreign friend. Honestly, the main reason I picked Modam Dining was that it doesn't feel like an overly formal hanjeongsik restaurant, but it still promises more proper Korean food than an average diner.

Since it was with a foreign friend, we went with the hanwoo bulgogi set

What we ordered that day was the hanwoo bulgogi set for two. For a friend visiting Korea for the first time, I figured bulgogi served hanjeongsik-style would work better than already-famous dishes like bibimbap or samgyeopsal.

Bulgogi isn't hard to explain to a foreign friend either — you just say it's beef cooked in a sweet-savory marinade. And the good thing about hanjeongsik is that it isn't just one main dish and done; you get to taste a bit of many different foods together.

As each dish arrived one by one, it naturally turned into a "what's this?" conversation about the side dishes.

The Korean side dishes that came with the bulgogi

Alongside the hanwoo bulgogi came salad, water kimchi, mushroom jangajji (crispy candied mushrooms), mung bean porridge, kimchi, and more. Starting with the mung bean porridge to ease into the meal, then alternating with water kimchi and salad in between, kept the palate clean and refreshed.

Personally, the mushroom jangajji stuck with me the most that day. Where the bulgogi was soft and sweet, the mushroom jangajji had a crispy texture, which made eating through the whole spread more fun. A spoonful of rice topped with bulgogi, a bite of one side dish after another, and before I knew it, it had become a pretty filling meal.

And you can't leave out the kimchi. It's something you might normally just pass over because it's so familiar, but eating it with a foreign friend meant explaining each one, which was fun in its own way. Talking through the meal like that turned it naturally into a time for chatting about Korean food itself.

A Korean meal in Gwanghwamun — what's the mood like?

Modam Dining is a bit different from the old-school hanjeongsik house you might picture. Instead of a heavy or overly formal atmosphere, it feels clean and relaxed, which meant there was no pressure bringing a foreign friend along.

What I liked most was getting to taste a familiar main like hanwoo bulgogi alongside a variety of Korean side dishes all at once. It's not so unfamiliar that it's overwhelming, but it's not just a plain baekban (rice-and-side-dish set meal) spot either. An atmosphere that shows off Korean food while keeping the meal comfortable — that was the part I liked best about this meal.

Bulgogi really is a good dish to share with a foreign friend

The hanwoo bulgogi's seasoning wasn't too intense, so there was little pressure eating it with a foreign friend. Bulgogi itself is a relatively familiar dish even among Korean foods, so it's a good one to introduce to someone trying Korean food for the first time.

Eating it with rice, adding some water kimchi or kimchi, tasting the mushroom jangajji in between — going through all of it, the meal ended up more filling than I'd first expected. When I introduce Korean food to a foreign friend, I tend to lead with something familiar yet distinctly Korean like bulgogi, rather than something very spicy or strongly flavored.

If you're wondering where to take a foreign friend in Gwanghwamun

Gwanghwamun has plenty of restaurants for office workers and plenty that tourists flock to, but when I'm with a foreign friend, I end up looking for somewhere I can sit calmly and explain Korean food while we eat.

In that sense, Modam Dining was worth considering for a meal with a foreign friend in Gwanghwamun, for Seoul hanjeongsik, or for hosting a guest. Getting to taste several Korean side dishes together was especially good for showing a friend the range of Korean flavors. Worth noting too: if you drive, building parking is available.

If a foreign friend asks "what should I eat in Korea?" and you want to show them everything from bulgogi to a whole spread of side dishes in one sitting, this was a solid choice.

No need to go as grand as royal court cuisine, but a plain lunch also feels like it's not quite enough. When you want to show off Korean food properly through hanjeongsik in Gwanghwamun, I'd recommend the hanwoo bulgogi set at Modam Dining. Talking with my friend about all sorts of Korean food as we ate meant the time itself stuck with me more than the food did. Next time a friend visits Seoul, I think I'll pick a different Korean dish to show them. 😊