Seongsu gomtang restaurant, clear vs spicy soup: Dwaeji Gomtang House

Where is the Food Garden on the 4th floor of Musinsa Mega Store Seongsu?

Musinsa Mega Store Seongsu has shopping from the 1st to 3rd floors, and a food garden on the 4th floor, so you can shop, eat, and even grab a coffee without ever stepping outside.

They're also running a discount event until September 29, so keep that in mind. A whopping 20% off — that's a pretty big deal, haha.

It operates from 11am to 9pm, and along with Dwaeji Gomtang House, there's Jjuakjjuak, Pizza Slice, Yan Hongmao Rice Noodles, Tteoksan Bunsik, Igu Food, and even Café Fuglen!

The weather's getting chilly, so I was craving something with warm broth and decided to eat at Dwaeji Gomtang House, haha. Go in, turn left at the corner, and it's all the way at the end! When we visited, both a staff member and the owner were there, and the owner was so kind — genuinely put us in a good mood!

Dwaeji Gomtang House menu and how to order at the kiosk

You order at Dwaeji Gomtang House via kiosk. There are two options — clear gomtang and spicy gomtang — plus side dishes like minari tot king mandu, cold jeyuk (boiled pork), and herring roe with dried radish.

There's a pager on the side of the kiosk — order, then just grab the pager!

The origin labeling is thorough and the allergen information is carefully marked, so it's great for anyone who's sensitive about that. Chili powder, rice, barley, pork, and seaweed — all domestic, haha.

The Seongsu view from the window seats

If you think of it as a food court in a mart or department store, the 4th floor food garden at Musinsa Mega Store is basically that — but the interior makes it feel completely different, right? It felt more like being at a brunch café, which I loved.

From the window-side tables you can see Seongsu's high-rise buildings and the neighborhood itself, haha. There were so many tourists that walking around Seongsu drained my energy. I wanted to escape the alleys packed with pop-up stores and find somewhere with fewer people, and maybe because the Musinsa Mega Store food garden isn't well known yet, it wasn't crowded at all — so nice. Just the absence of crowds felt healing.

For using the food garden: there's a bag hook under the table, so hang your bag there; please clear your table after eating so the next guest can use it; and return your used dishes to the return counter of the restaurant you ordered from!

We got a window table too, and here's the view, haha.

Clear pork gomtang set: a light soup topped with tot seaweed

I was craving something clear rather than spicy, so I ordered the clear pork gomtang set. It comes with kkakdugi and dried radish strips, salted shrimp, chopped chili, and orange for dessert.

I've had clear gomtang like this elsewhere, but interestingly, Dwaeji Gomtang House tops it with tot (seaweed)! You'd think seaweed would give it that distinct seaweed flavor, but it doesn't at all, so don't worry, haha. If you want more pepper, there's pepper and salt on the side when the food comes out — feel free to add some!

The broth is genuinely clear. I like the milky, cloudy kind of gomtang too, but this clear broth was also lovely. If you like your food saltier, this might taste a bit bland, but pairing it with the side dishes, you wouldn't even need to add salt.

The thinly sliced boiled pork is genuinely delicious. It'd be great if they had a meat add-on option — who doesn't want more meat, right?

Topping it with salted shrimp made it even tastier.

They also gave us something like a chopped chili sauce, saying it's good on the meat, so I tried it — not spicy at all, and really clean-tasting!

How does the spicy gomtang set differ from the clear one?

And then there's the spicy gomtang set my friend ordered. The side dishes are identical, haha.

The difference between spicy and clear: the clear one has plenty of tot piled on top of the pork, while the spicy one has a little tot plus sliced shiitake mushroom.

Tasting the broth, it's not heavy at all — light, but with a real kick. Perfect for when you're craving something spicy! With this much meat, you'd expect a gomtang-style soup to leave your mouth feeling greasy, but it had surprisingly little fat, which I loved.

Looking back at the photos while writing this, I want to eat it again already, ugh. With cooler weather ahead, this is definitely a soup place I'll be coming back to multiple times! If you want a clean bowl of gomtang or pork soup in Seongsu, I recommend Dwaeji Gomtang House Musinsa Mega Store Branch~