Jongno Korean restaurant for a parents’ meal: Modam Dining

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun

Modam Dining Gwanghwamun location and visitor information

📍 It is on B1 of Deoksugung D Palace, at 10 Saemunan-ro 2-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul. It is 549 m from Exit 6 of Gwanghwamun Station, and is open daily from 11:00 to 22:00. There is a weekday break from 15:00 to 17:00.

Parking on B3 of the D Palace building is free for 2 hours. If it is full, you can use the underground parking at Concordian Building, although parking support is unavailable there before 18:00 on weekdays. The restroom is in the building outside the restaurant, and Naver reservations and coupons can be used too. They also offer unlimited free corkage and a birthday miyeokguk (seaweed soup) coupon, apparently.

Today, I visited Modam Dining Gwanghwamun, which is famous for its delicious Korean set meals, with my younger sibling.

It is on B1 of the D Palace building, so take the escalator on the left side of the first floor!

My sibling lives alone in Seoul and eats instant food often, so I was looking for somewhere to treat them to a proper Korean set meal and found this place! I wanted to give them a warm, neatly prepared meal for the first time in a while 💛

There was even a massage chair in the hallway by the Modam Dining entrance. It was ₩3,000 per session, and I really wanted a relaxing massage after eating, but I held back for our next plans, hehe..

An atmosphere suited to family gatherings and formal family meetings

Modam Dining is also known for family gatherings, formal meetings between families before a wedding, and all sorts of occasions thanks to its upscale atmosphere and food.

The restaurant was decorated with an even more traditional feel and luxurious interior than I expected! It would be nice for bringing overseas guests, too, right?

Even outside the private rooms, each table has partitions, so we ate comfortably in our own separated space. If you want a private atmosphere for a formal family meeting or gathering, I recommend booking a room ✨

The air conditioning is centrally controlled, so the temperature cannot be adjusted. An older gentleman said he was cold, and I was impressed to see them bring him a blanket and look after him so thoughtfully! If you get cold easily, I recommend bringing an outer layer when you visit.

Abalone shrimp soy-marinated dish with butter rice and abalone tteokgalbi sets

✔️ What we ordered Abalone shrimp soy-marinated dish with butter rice set Abalone tteokgalbi set

Warm mung bean pancakes came out as the first dish. They were nutty and delicious even for me, with my childlike palate.

In order: mustard vegetables with pine nut sauce, salad with yuja dressing, and mulkimchi (water kimchi). All three were delicious! I especially kept eating the mulkimchi alongside the main dishes 🙂 They also brought dedicated serving chopsticks for every dish, so we could share everything comfortably and hygienically!

This was a combination of flounder sashimi and aged kimchi. The sashimi was seriously so fresh it could give a sashimi restaurant a run for its money. With the aged kimchi and sauce, it was packed with savory depth 🥹✨

The shrimp perilla oil pasta filled the air with the nutty scent of perilla oil 🌀

We sweetly split the shrimp in half. The seasoning was mild, so I think it would be perfect for older diners.

Lastly, fried songi mushrooms came out 🍄🟫 The dishes did not arrive too quickly or too slowly, so we could savor each one and chat. The fritters were really sweet—such a flavor that even kids who cannot eat mushrooms would never know if you did not tell them! 😉

After enjoying the earlier dishes, the mains arrived. The abalone tteokgalbi set and the abalone shrimp soy-marinated dish with butter rice—such beautiful plates that it was hard to pick a winner 🫶🏼 Neat side dishes came with them too! Honestly, the mains were so delicious that we were focused on them and barely touched the side dishes 😋

Abalone shrimp soy-marinated dish with butter rice set

Rice came in a large bowl so you can mix it with the soy-marinated sauce, along with soup and butter 🥣 A generous bowl of soy-marinated abalone and shrimp was served. It was fun piling on abalone, two kinds of shrimp, wood ear mushrooms, pressed meat, octopus?, egg, and more.

The shrimp marinade was truly delicious!! Not too salty or too sweet, with a flavor you would not get tired of 🤍 My number one favorite today!! A must-order at Modam Dining.

You can add butter to taste; with butter, the flavor became deeper and somehow richer...?

How can shrimp be this sweet..🦐 Both kinds of shrimp were delicious. I added a piece of sweet-and-tangy garlic stem with each bite too.

Abalone tteokgalbi set

It came with seasoned abalone, two pieces of tteokgalbi (Korean grilled beef patties), rice, and soup.

The tteokgalbi was delicious in the classic way. Golden-browned outside and moist inside, full of juices—I think everyone, young or old, would enjoy it 🤎

It was even better with a little of the wasabi served alongside, or with the pickled onion and chives!

Finally, plum tea for dessert came out, ending a meal I was so happy with ✨

A meal that felt perfect with parents

Modam Dining made me feel truly looked after. With its traditional interior, friendly service, and satisfying meal composition, it is perfect for dining with parents 😉

• The traditional atmosphere comes with a luxurious interior.
• The meal is well composed and delicious.
• I recommend it for meals with parents, family gatherings, and events.
• I recommend it as a Gwanghwamun venue for a Korean set-meal gathering.