Gwacheon seaweed soup restaurant with group seating: Haenon Miyeok

Where is Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch?

Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch is a seaweed soup (miyeokguk) specialist located halfway between Gwacheon Station and Jeongbucheongsa Station. Today I want to introduce this Gwacheon Station restaurant, Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch, haha. Haenon Miyeok is known as the original postpartum recovery food seaweed soup spot, and apparently they have a few branches around Seoul and Gyeonggi :)

Is there parking at Haenon Miyeok?

You can just park right in front of the restaurant, haha. It's pretty spacious — looked like it could fit about 10 cars :) Just so you know, Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch might be tough to visit without a car, so keep that in mind!

Group seating for family gatherings

Walking in, this huge menu board catches your eye and the spacious layout felt totally different from restaurants in Seoul, haha. It has a lot of breathing room, with everything from 4-person tables to group seating, so I'd recommend it as a spot for family gatherings :)

The Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon menu

Here's the menu board, haha. True to a seaweed soup specialist, there's a wide range of soup options :) They use different ingredients, so you can pick according to your taste — flounder, abalone, oyster, dried pollack, beef, and more!

What's on the self-serve banchan bar?

There's a self-serve bar, so if you ever run short on side dishes, you can just help yourself, haha. Everything from fried eggplant to kimchi, seasoned greens, and cockle salad was there in variety, and it felt really generous ^^

There was also plenty of japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), which kids would probably love — just take as much as you want, haha. Both the staff and the owner were kind, and you could tell they paid careful attention to detail :)

The side dish spread and seasoned grilled flounder

They bring out the side dishes almost right after you order, and it really is a generous spread, haha. It's the kind of Korean home-style banchan that anyone would like for a family gathering, so I'd recommend it for group get-togethers with elderly parents and kids!

The seasoned grilled flounder in particular was addictive, with a sweet-and-spicy sauce, haha. The flesh was soft too, so it seemed like something everyone could enjoy :)

A warning: the earthenware pots are seriously hot

This seaweed soup came out boiling hot, and I could feel the power of the stone pot even more than at other seaweed soup specialists, haha. It stays hot the whole time you're eating and the bowl itself is really hot, so be careful if you have kids with you!!

This is the appetizing full spread of the main dish at Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch, haha. If you're looking for seaweed soup in Gwacheon, I think it's definitely worth a visit!

Beef vs flounder seaweed soup: what's the difference?

The portions are really generous, and even the rice isn't plain — it looked like it had seasoned greens mixed in :) The seaweed soup had plenty of beef along with a generous amount of seaweed itself, haha.

There was beef in almost every spoonful, and it was cut into easy-to-eat pieces :) The beef seaweed soup wasn't too oily and had a deep, rich beef broth flavor, haha.

This is the flounder seaweed soup, the one I enjoyed most, haha. It's marked as the best menu item, and it seemed like most people were ordering it :) Since it uses flounder, a seafood fish, the broth was noticeably clearer and more refreshing than the beef version! If you want a hearty meal near Gwacheon Government Complex, I'd recommend Haenon Miyeok, haha.

Final verdict on Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon

Sharing my review of Haenon Miyeok Gwacheon Direct Branch, located near Gwacheon Station, haha. It sits halfway between Gwacheon Station and Jeongbucheongsa Station, so it's more convenient if you bring your own car :) There's space for about 10 cars to park right in front, so parking is easy!

The signature menu items include flounder seaweed soup, dried pollack seaweed soup, oyster seaweed soup, beef seaweed soup, and scallop seaweed soup, among others, haha. The broth is truly refreshing and excellent, so I'd recommend it as a family gathering spot for anyone who loves Korean food!

The banchan ranges from salad to kimchi, various seasoned greens, japchae, and fried eggplant, haha. There's a self-serve bar right next to the tables, so you can just help yourself :) Personally, the seasoned grilled flounder that comes as a default side was so good I'd want to order it as an extra dish on its own!

The flounder seaweed soup has an outstanding clear, refreshing broth, and since it's served in a stone pot, it stays hot throughout, haha. The beef seaweed soup has a generous amount of beef itself, giving off a rich meat broth flavor along with a hearty portion of seaweed :)

• Taste: ★★★★★
• Would revisit: ★★★★