Balsan Station Korean restaurant for holiday family dinners: Mikodam

I'd been wanting some neat, proper Korean hanjeongsik (set-course meal) for a while, so I went to Mikodam Magok-Balsan Branch! The restaurant and the food were both so clean and upscale that it felt like a great spot for a family gathering~ So let me share a detailed review now :)

How to find Mikodam Magok-Balsan: location, hours and parking

Mikodam is really close to Balsan Station! 📍 A 3-minute walk from Exit 4 of Balsan Station

< Hours > Daily 11:00–22:00

You can park for free for up to 3 hours — just show your parking ticket after the meal. Also, if you visit within a week before or after your birthday, Mikodam gives you a ₩27,000 beef jeon (pan-fried beef) for free! If your birthday falls around that window, don't miss it haha

Inside Mikodam: tables for 4–6 and a private room

True to a proper hanjeongsik restaurant, the interior felt clean and upscale ✨ Above all, there were lots of spacious tables that comfortably seat 4–6 people, which made it great for group visits!

The tables were also spaced generously apart, so it was comfortable to chat while eating. Maybe because it was the weekend, there were a lot of families. It really seemed perfect as a spot for a family meal or gathering with your parents.

And there was also a separate room space in the back, which looked great for a large family gathering or an important meal! Overall, not just the food but the space itself felt well put together — it gave me the sense of a hanjeongsik restaurant that's comfortable for a family meal together 👍🏻

As dinnertime came around, tables filled up one by one until there were almost no empty seats left! If you're planning to visit with family on a weekend, I'd recommend booking ahead.

Restrooms at Mikodam Magok-Balsan

The restrooms are separated by gender and the interior was clean and hygienic haha

The restroom wasn't cramped and was spacious, so it was comfortable to use!! Overall it felt like a well-maintained place.

What side dishes come with the set, from grilled mackerel to stir-fried pork

Mikodam's basic side dishes are quite generous — kimchi, bracken fern namul, mung bean sprout namul, japchae (glass noodles), pickled vegetables, salad, and more all come out!

Every single side dish was neatly plated, so my chopsticks were busy even before the main dishes came out haha

Grilled mackerel and stir-fried pork even came out as part of the basics, so calling them 'side dishes' undersells how substantial the spread was! And the stir-fried pork here was genuinely delicious. There was zero pork smell, and it was just sweet and salty enough — totally addictive with rice, ugh.

The side dishes were mild and non-spicy, which made them great to pair with the mains, and overall it felt properly hanjeongsik — hearty yet neat. Very satisfying 😙

Jeju yellow soy crab: the taste of Jeju's sea

It had that distinctive rich flavor of soy-marinated crab, and it went really well with rice!!

Cockles in soy sauce seasoning, from Beolgyo and Yeosu

For the cockle mix, I ordered the soy sauce version instead of the vinegar-marinated one! It was packed with cockles and chives, so even before I took a bite my appetite was already awake 😆

Cockles really do have that chewy texture, don't they..🥹 The chewiness held up, and the flavor got better the more I chewed.

The soy sauce seasoning was mild rather than sharp, so it was great mixed into rice haha. The chives added a refreshing note, and their fragrance paired really well with the cockles' natural umami! 😝

Mixing the cockles evenly with the rice made it genuinely nutty and savory 🫢 Nothing beats cockle mix when you have no appetite 🥹 One spoonful with cockles, chives, and rice all mixed together and my appetite came right back haha

Cockle mix really is the kind of dish that makes you finish a whole bowl of rice. I'd recommend the soy sauce version for anyone who prefers mild flavors over spicy seasoning 👍🏻

Beef seaweed soup made with prized Wando seaweed

Of Wando's 12 towns and townships, the seaweed grown in three areas — Geumil-eup, Geumdang-myeon, and Saengil-myeon — is famous for having especially deep, distinctive flavor. Mikodam apparently makes its seaweed soup only with seaweed grown and harvested at designated farms in these three areas by the Wando Cheongmaeul Cooperative!

Honestly, when a lot of seasoning is added to seaweed soup, it can taste great at first, but the deep flavor of the seaweed itself tends to get lost the more you eat. Here though, rather than a sharp, artificial taste, what stood out was the mild yet deep flavor drawn out from the seaweed itself! I figured seaweed soup was seaweed soup, but this was so much better than expected that I ended up eating a lot of it haha

The seaweed wasn't mushy and overcooked — it had a soft yet distinct texture that felt fresh.

Anyone who prefers the deep, natural flavor of ingredients over sharp seasoning would especially love this. It's the kind of seaweed soup where you end up pouring rice into the broth and finishing it all — one that quietly stays on your mind haha

Grilled mackerel: hand-picked Norwegian fish

Mikodam's grilled mackerel is apparently Andong-style salted mackerel, made using a traditional salting method exactly as it's done in the old style! The grilled mackerel came out golden brown 🥹 the outside was grilled just right and the flesh inside was moist.

The flesh was thick and moist, so it came apart easily with chopsticks. There was so much meat on it — plump and not dry at all, which made it really satisfying.

The salty yet savory flavor went really well with rice 👍🏻 Especially with the mackerel laid over a bowl of warm rice, you could finish the whole bowl without needing any other side dish.

This grilled mackerel would satisfy not just fans of grilled fish, but also people who don't usually eat it much 🐟

Dessert at Mikodam: plum tea, sikhye, mixed coffee and warm roasted corn

After finishing a hearty meal, you can also have dessert at the restaurant~ For dessert, there was plum tea, sikhye (sweet rice punch), mixed coffee, and warm roasted corn!

Above all, it's the kind of dessert spread that older family members would really love, so it seemed like a great place to bring your parents! Overall, from the food to the dessert, Mikodam has a mild, non-spicy feel throughout, making it a perfect spot for a family meal or gathering with your parents 👍🏻