Weekday-evening Seoul pub near Hyehwa Station: yuzu soju, gopchang
In short
Hyehwahwa is a straw-fire Korean pub on the second floor of a building in the alley off Hyehwa Station Exit 4 in Jongno, Seoul. At 5:30pm on a weekday, a floor-to-ceiling window seat was free right away, and the table filled up with spicy gopchang jjaglagi (fire-grilled intestine stew), chilled beef tartare with aged kimchi egg gimbap (seaweed rice roll), beer and yuzu soju. With plenty of whole gopchang and glass noodles in the stew, Hyehwahwa works as both dinner and a drinking spot.
Good to know
- Location
- 2nd floor, 29-3 Daemyeong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Hyehwa Station Exit 4, inside the alley where Jangin Dakgalbi is visible)
- How to order
- QR code ordering at the table
- What we ordered
- Spicy gopchang jjaglagi (fire-grilled intestine bomb stew), chilled beef tartare with aged kimchi egg gimbap, beer, yuzu soju
- Side dishes
- Tofu and white kimchi
- Time of visit
- Around 5:30pm on a weekday (seated at a window table immediately)
as written by the visitor on Sep 16, 2026
Where is Hyehwahwa and how do you get there?
Hyehwahwa is a Korean pub on the 2nd floor of 29-3 Daemyeong-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. I went last Tuesday! It'd been forever since I'd been to Hyehwa on a weekday, so I was searching around for somewhere to go, and Hyehwahwa won me over with its gorgeous floor-to-ceiling window view and its wide menu.
Walk straight from Hyehwa Station Exit 4, and once you spot Jangin Dakgalbi, it's the 2nd floor of the building inside that alley. Not far from the station at all, so it was easy to find haha.
Straw-fire cooking atmosphere and the floor-to-ceiling window seats
The straw bundles you see the moment you step up to the 2nd floor lol. Gives off a cozy, countryside-house kind of warmth. Probably because straw-fire cooking is their whole thing. Cute!
The window seat caught my eye the second I walked in, so I grabbed it haha. Since we came around 5:30pm on a weekday, we got to pick a seat we actually liked, which was great. Wood tones with soft lighting made it a comfortable spot to eat and chat with friends.
Also feels like a solid spot to grab dinner after a show or a date in Hyehwa! As soon as we sat down we got busy picking out the menu lol.
Ordering at Hyehwahwa: QR menu and what we picked
Ordering is done via QR code at the table! It's so much easier these days doing it by QR. Everything on the menu looked good, so we went with the signature dishes plus beer.
Spicy fire-grilled gopchang bomb jjaglagi / Chilled beef tartare and aged kimchi egg gimbap
Tofu and white kimchi came out as the basic side dishes, perfect with beer. How did they know I love tofu ha. The kimchi had a slightly sweet edge — great for cleansing the palate or as an appetizer before the meal!
Drinking beer with a view out the floor-to-ceiling window made it feel like the next day was a weekend,, a nice little bit of healing for a moment lol.
Does the straw-fire smoke leave a smell on your clothes?
The owner cooks right there with straw-fire smoke rising up,,, there's smoke in the restaurant, but somehow it didn't cling to our clothes?? Wild.
Usually stew-type dishes leave that smell on your clothes, but I guess the straw-fire smoke neutralizes it, because there was no smell on the walk home lol. Maybe it's just me,,,
A cat showed up out front and I was watching it when our order finally arrived!!
What does the spicy gopchang jjaglagi taste like?
Basically a gopchang (beef intestine) hotpot ~~~ and it comes with whole intestines in it.
The gopchang comes in whole pieces haha, and there's a ton of it!! We kept cutting and cutting and it never ran out lol, wore us out lol. It's also loaded with the glass noodles I love, which made it perfect for us coming in for dinner.
A little sweet, kind of like tteokbokki (rice cake) broth?? Good with rice and also solid as a drinking snack haha.
Chilled beef tartare and aged kimchi egg gimbap
The second dish was chilled beef tartare with egg gimbap (seaweed rice roll)🥰. Being chilled, the tartare was soft and delicious, and the dipping sauce had a peppery kick that was amazing! The beefy flavor kept coming through the more you chewed.
The egg inside the gimbap was also fluffy and delicious ㅠㅠ more egg than rice inside the roll😍
The yuzu soju we ordered on the side
Partway through we ordered yuzu soju too. A faint yuzu aroma, barely tastes like alcohol, also sweet and delicious haha. A great drink for a simple weekday session!
Verdict: is Hyehwahwa worth a weekday evening in Hyehwa?
The gopchang hotpot's hot broth paired with the rich, savory intestines made it perfect when you're craving something warm, and the beef tartare egg gimbap was a great pairing too, the soft egg and tartare making an unusual but satisfying combo — glad we ordered both. Eating them together especially kept the flavors balanced instead of leaning too far one way.
If you're looking for somewhere to grab dinner with a friend in Hyehwa, or want a hearty meal on a date, this is worth adding to the list. I'd love to try other dishes next time. A place worth visiting whenever you're craving a hot gopchang hotpot in Hyehwa! 🍲
After eating we walked up to Naksan Park to help digest and it was a great time overall ~,~
If you're looking for a restaurant or bar in Hyehwa, I'd recommend Hyehwahwa haha.
Where it is
29-3 Daemyeong-gil, 2nd floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea서울특별시 종로구 대명길 29-3 2층
