Yongsan tteokbokki restaurant near Yongsan I'Park Mall: Hyeonseonine

Today's post is about Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, a well-known tteokbokki spot in Yongsan :)

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch

I went to Yongsan I'Park Mall and suddenly craved tteokbokki, so I looked around and ended up at Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch, which has been famous for a while! Hyeonseonine started as a street cart in 2004 and now runs multiple locations as a tteokbokki specialty chain. It's especially known for its spicy-sweet tteokbokki, so it's worth a visit whenever you're craving tteokbokki around Yongsan!👍

How close is it to Yongsan I'Park Mall?

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch is really close to Yongsan I'Park Mall! It sits inside an alley, but the red sign stands out so it wasn't hard to find haha. Even from outside, the place had that comfortable, familiar tteokbokki-shop vibe, like a snack restaurant that's been around Yongsan for a long time. It's also easy to reach from Yongsan Station or Sinyongsan Station, so it seems like a good spot to stop by for a simple meal while shopping or meeting someone nearby.🥹

Order by kiosk, wait with Catch Table

There was a Catch Table setup for waiting! Hyeonseonine uses a kiosk ordering system. There's a space near the entrance for ordering — you pick your menu, check your order number, then sit down and wait for the food! Beyond just plain tteokbokki, there were also various set menus, so I found myself pausing to think about what to order. On the menu, you could order tteokbokki, handmade sundae (blood sausage), assorted fritters, and mini gimbap separately, or go for a set that combines tteokbokki with various snack dishes :)

Seating and atmosphere

There were more seats inside than I expected! Everything was neatly arranged and the tables had decent spacing, so it seemed fine for visiting with friends or family. When you think 'snack restaurant,' you might picture a cramped, busy spot, but Hyeonseonine had enough space to sit and eat comfortably, which I liked haha.

Using the self-service bar

Next to the ordering kiosk, there's a space where you can grab what you need for your meal yourself. You take as many dishes or side plates as you need, and since eating tteokbokki naturally means needing more and more items, having a self-service setup was convenient!

The instant tteokbokki for two

We ordered the instant tteokbokki! After ordering, we got the fried rice ingredients, fried snacks, and broth along with it.

📍Instant tteokbokki (for 2): The instant tteokbokki comes uncooked in a pot that you cook yourself. It was piled high with green onion, onion, and fish cake, so it looked really appetizing.🤤 The bright red sauce especially made it look spicy just from the photos. Hyeonseonine's tteokbokki lets you choose your spice level, so even people who can't handle spicy food much can pick what suits them!

There was a tip for eating instant tteokbokki well, and following it, the rice cakes cooked through quickly!

How we ate the rice cakes, fish cakes, and fritters

I mixed the rice cakes and fish cakes well with the broth as I ate, and the sauce had soaked into the rice cakes so nicely — it was delicious haha. The rice cakes were chewy, and eating them with the sauce gave that classic snack-shop tteokbokki feel. And dipping the fritters into the tteokbokki broth was way better than eating them plain!!

Letting it keep simmering gently while eating made it even better..🤤 The noodles weren't ramyeon or glass noodles but felt more like jjolmyeon (chewy noodles), which made it even more enjoyable haha.

Finishing with fried rice

And finally, fried rice‼️ We added the fried rice ingredients into the pot with the leftover tteokbokki broth and fried it up! At first the portion looked like a lot, but once I started eating the fried rice, I just kept going. Fried rice made with tteokbokki sauce.. there's no way it could taste bad👍

Who is this good for?

Hyeonseonine Yongsan Main Branch was a great snack restaurant to visit whenever tteokbokki cravings hit in Yongsan :) It'll especially suit anyone who loves spicy-sweet tteokbokki, and rather than sticking to just tteokbokki alone, I'd recommend ordering fritters or other menu items alongside it to enjoy a variety‼️ If you're looking for something quick to eat near Yongsan Station or Sinyongsan Station, or want a casual tteokbokki meal with a friend, this place is worth checking out.👍