The scenery of Seoul is always busy, with a forest of buildings where you can only see the top if you look up for a long time. However, there are places where you can relax even in the desolate city center. This is Seochon, where the beauty of slowness exists. Seochon collectively refers to the area west of Gyeongbokgung Palace, and if you take exit 1 or 2 of Gyeongbokgung Subway Station (Line 3), you can immediately enter the entrance to Seochon. Starting with Tongin Market and Geumcheongyo Market (formerly Jeokseon Market), Jahamun-ro and Pilundae-ro (formerly Cheongwun-hyoja-dong, Sajik-dong), there are many houses and villas that have retained their original appearance. A place where you can enjoy the slow pace in Seoul this weekend. Let’s go find the flavors of Seochon.
1. Why don’t you go chopping today? <ì¹¼ì§ì ì¬ë°ê²¬>( Shortcut)
The hottest restaurant in Seochon these days is âKara Jill’s Rediscovery.â When I can’t decide what to eat on a typical eating day, my mom often says, âWould you like to go get a knife?â The name of the store, which is inspired by the word, is interesting. When you open the door you found while walking through the alley, you will see a small courtyard unique to a hanok. The interior is also all Korean-style, with a clean and simple feel. Despite visiting for a late lunch, the inside of the restaurant, which seems to be able to accommodate about 20 people, is already full of people. The rediscovery of cutlery offers Western-style cuisine and is characterized by the fact that the main ingredients such as beef, salmon, pork, and chicken are cooked at a low temperature using the Sous Vide (Sous Vide) method, which is rich in juiciness and tenderness. The menu represents a fine dining restaurant, but the reason for its popularity is that the prices are very reasonable. It can be difficult to get a seat at lunchtime, so it’s best to make a reservation in advance, and there’s no parking lot, so it’s best to use public transportation. The pork dish (lunch, 15,000 won) and beef course (dinner, 36,000 won) are famous.
â Shikigami Sequoia review: The name of the restaurant is so unusual! Also, it’s a place made by remodeling a hanok! A rediscovery of a knife with an excellent meat flavor! âââââ
â Price range: 12,000 won to 30,000 won
â Location: 12 Sajik-ro 9ga-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (Pilun-dong 118)
2. Tasting the freshness of the sea in Seoul <ìì´ ê³ë¨ì§> (link)
If you don’t like waiting, I recommend that you somehow get out of work an hour early if you plan to visit this place. Egypt, where you can eat without standing in line from at least 5:30 to 6:00, has a long line due to the large number of customers even though they have a main store and branch (right across the street). The interior is small and compact, and the atmosphere is nice to have a drink like an indoor tea pot. From the entrance, there are plenty of fresh seafood such as komak, chamberjack, conch, and petrified fish, making your mouth water. As soon as I sit down, I eat one or two of the hot mussel soup that my aunt gives me, and the food comes out right away. I ordered spring jukkumi (25,000 won) from Seosan, which is in season, and Wangkomak (15,000 won) from Suncheon at the end of the season, and the fresh, chewy seafood with a good sense of sea fill my mouth even in the middle of Seoul. Since Egypt sells seasonal seafood, the menu may change from time to time. It is famous for its butter-grilled shellfish (22,000 won) and seafood ramen (7,000 won). There is no parking lot, so you have to use public transportation.
â Shikigami Narcissist review: The house I fell in love with seafood ramen! How about a cup of soju and seafood today?
â Business hours: 4 p.m. – 3 a.m. (until 11 p.m. on Sundays)
â Location: 15 Jahamun-ro 1-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (11-1 Naeja-dong)
3. Joyful young people’s potato shop <ì²ëì¥ì¬ê¾¼ ê°ìì§> (link)
When you walk back to the left from Exit 2 of Gyeongbokgung Station through P Bakery with a blue sign, the loud voices of delightful young people echo through the alley. It is a young merchant potato shop (formerly Passion Potato) started by happy young people working together. There was a long line at the entrance of the store, and I couldn’t stop eating, so I looked at the packaging line, but it was just as long. At this point, it’s a good idea to just put your mind down and stand at the end of the line to enjoy the smell of french fries and the excitement of the staff. Occasionally, young people in the store talk to customers or take pictures together. Instead of being a clerk and a customer, they are so fresh and energetic that they feel like old friends, it makes me feel great. The menu at the Young Merchant Potato Shop consists simply of fried foods such as french fries (3,000 won to 6,000 won), cheese sticks (5,000 won), and beer, so there’s no need to worry about choosing. French fries are thick and crispy, have a good chewy texture, and can be enjoyed with a variety of sauces to suit your taste. Potato shops in this style can be easily found in downtown areas in line with the recent recession, healing, and wellness trends, but this is probably the only place that offers a relaxing cup of cold beer and a pleasant laugh.
â Is winter coming? review: It’s really delicious here lol it’s cheap, so it’s so nice to have a cool beer ~ The store staff are so energetic and it makes me feel better hehe
â Location: 25 Jahamun-ro 1-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul (24 Naeja-dong)
4. Italian restaurant with garden <ì¬ë¦¬ë°ê°ë > (link)
Oliva Garden is an Italian restaurant that has been loved in Seochon for over 10 years, and as the name suggests, it has a very small garden. Because of its good location and beautiful garden, it is often used as a house wedding venue, so the interior and atmosphere are impeccable. This is a renovated family home, so the space is divided, but when the 1st and 2nd floors are combined, it is quite large. When you sit down, you get a sauce mixed with balsamic and olive oil and an aperitif, and warm bread with a savory flavor that contains black olives soothes a hungry stomach. Popular menus include 1+ grade Korean beef tenderloin steak (70,000 won), pomodoro pasta (18,000 won), and sweet pumpkin cream pizza (20,000 won). As we enter April, when the sun and wind blow during the day, how about enjoying a relaxing and peaceful meal at Oliver Garden’s outdoor garden table?
â Shikigami Byeolong review: I came to eat last weekend, and it was amazing that the atmosphere was so nice and the birds were so nice. The serving sister was kind and all the food was good. ~ The Punggi pasta was absolutely delicious, Chan-chan
â Location: 16 Jahamun-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul (35-28 Tongui-dong)
5. US Secretary of State John Kerry didn’t eat it <ìì¡°í 머ë ë¡ë³¶ì´> either (link)
Tteokbokki is the representative snack of the whole nation. The chewy and spicy taste of tteokbokki from sneaking away from palm time and eating at the food stall in front of the school is a happy memory for everyone. âGrandma Wonjo’s tteokbokki,â a specialty of Tongin Market in Jongno-gu, is slightly different from regular tteokbokki. The lid of the cauldron is turned over, oil is added, and the mochi is stir-fried, and I think it’s a cooking method that is more suited to the etymology of tteokbokki, which is âmochi frying.â There are two types of oil tteokbokki: savory white tteokbokki baked with a slight mixture of oil and soy sauce (3,000 won), and spicy tteokbokki seasoned with red pepper powder (3,000 won). I thought it was spicy and light, but surprisingly, it was slightly addictive due to its boring liver.
There are two oil tteokbokki restaurants in Tongin Market, and an interesting anecdote came up recently. It is said that when US Secretary of State of Defense John Kerry visited Tongin Market at the beginning of this year, he originally planned to eat his original grandmother’s tteokbokki. However, the owner’s grandmother, who didn’t know who was coming, sold all 60 kg of mochi she had prepared that day. In the end, Secretary of State John Kerry tasted oil tteokbokki at the nearby âHyoja-dong Old Tteokbokkiâ, and it is said that in the end, the two oil tteokbokki restaurants in Tongin Market were called âHyoja-dong Tteokbokki that John Kerry ateâ and âMy original grandmother’s tteokbokki that even John Kerry couldn’t eat.â If you want to try a new tteokbokki, visit the original grandmother’s tteokbokki at Tongin Market, which even the U.S. Secretary of State couldn’t eat.
â Shikigami Doushin review: Grandma’s oil tteokbokki restaurant you must stop by when you come to Tongin Market… I ordered 2 servings each for spicy and soy sauce. Addictive taste.. lol