ABOUT IKSEON-DONG
Ikseon dong is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Seoul. It’s full of hanok houses dating back to the 1920s, but a couple of years ago it underwent major renovation and is now a major hotspot. You know its trendy when every restaurant has a bottle of Aesop soap in the bathroom (Although it seems like they’re just refilling the bottles with cheap stuff). Ikseon dong is made of up of alleyways lined with traditional Korean houses called Hanoks. On nice days this is really one of my favorite spots in Seoul. It can get really crowded though. I hate waiting in lines for restaurants though so I try to arrive by 11 am because that’s when most places open. Some open at 12 though.
The unique thing about this neighborhood is that it is lined with hanok houses and small alleyways. It is similar to Bukchon Hanok Village in that regard, but this place is a little less commercial and much smaller. A lot of the cafes have preserved the original hanok architecture but infused their own modern design elements into the space.
Ikseon-dong seems to have a turn of the century early / 1900’s theme. There are a number of restaurants and cafes that are decorated with Louis XVI furniture and the servers will wear suspenders with tweed pants, and that type of thing. Some people even dress up in this turn of the century fashion and take pictures of themselves in these settings. So don’t be afraid to break out your long dresses, fascinators and gloves and take some photos here.
In this post, I’ll share with you some of my favorite restaurants and cafes in Ikseon-dong.
DIRECTIONS TO IKSEON-DONG
Subway to Jongno 3ga, go out Exit 4.
Take the Seoul Subway to Jongno 3-ga. Go out Exit 4. Cross the street to your left. You should see a CU convenience store. Walk in that direction and go straight down the alley way, and you’ve arrived!
Alternate Exit: Exit 6
From Exit 6, Walk straight out of the metro for about 5-7 minutes. You will pass some shops that sell traditional Korean drums. Keep walking until you see the Exit 4 subway entrance on your left, and the CU convenience store on your right. Turn right into the alleyway before you pass the CU convenience store.
Helpful tips on navigating the subway station, which is really big
There are 3 lines at Jongno 3-ga: the purple line (line 5), the orange line (line 3), and the blue line (line 1). Exit 4 is a little confusing to get to because is all the way at the far end of the purple line (line 5). So if you take one of the other lines, you want to walk like you’re transferring to the purple line, then walk all the way to the end of the purple line and you’ll find Exit 4. If you get lost you can always just go out of Exit 6 and walk above ground.
The entrance to Ikseon-dong is right here by the CU convenience store. Walk straight and
CAFES
Dongbaek yanggwajeong (동백양과점)
Dongbaek yanggwajeong makes fluffy Japanese style souffle pancakes topped with fruit and whipped cream. When I saw this, I knew I wanted to try it but I thought it was going to be super sweet and just overkill. I planned to bring my girls here but when I went, it ended up just being my husband and I and we pretty much devoured this pancake. It was gone before we knew it! This cafe is super expensive though. I want to say the pancake was about $20 and the drinks were $7-8 each. I’d dare to say that this is one of those cafes where the dessert and drinks combined will cost more than what you paid for lunch.
Address: 17-24 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Ikseon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Tteuran Tea House
Tteuran is a great place to go if your’e looking for something a little more “Korean”. They serve traditional Korean teas and traditional Korean snacks. I went here when nobody else was there, and it was super calm and zen. But this place gets packed on the weekends, so it probably loses that calming feeling. Try to go on weekdays to avoid the crowds.
Address: 17-35 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Jongno 1(il).2(i).3(sam).4(sa), Jongno-gu, Seoul
The Summer Bangkok (더썸머)
The Summer is my absolute favorite place in Ikseon-dong. I came here with Sienna for a girls tea date and we had a blast and just felt so fancy. This place really brings me joy. I love the tropical decor and all the gold and marble details, and I also love how this space is sort of deconstructed. If you want to visit the summer, you can enter this way or go down a maze to find the back entrance. I actually recommend entering the SUMMER through Saladang otherwise it will be really hard to find.
Address: 31-9 Donhwamun-ro 11na-gil, Jongno 1(il).2(i).3(sam).4(sa), Jongno-gu, Seoul
Mangwon Tiramisu (망원동티라미수).
You know those strawberry Santas that were all over Pinterest way back when? This little cafe took that idea and was able to execute it right. If you’re not good at making Pinterest desserts you can get one here. The tiramisu comes in different flavors. Mangwon-dong is another neighborhood in Seoul so I’m assuming that the original cafe is there.
Address: 22 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Hotel Seine
I love this cafe. The theme is reminiscent of Wes Anderson’s the Grand Budapest Hotel. They take a lot of the inspiration from that movie and I think they even made posters of the hotel and bellboy. On the first floor you can order dessert and drinks, and you can also get some different flavored canele to go. All the candles were good. I went back with my kids and ordered the cakes, which I felt were ultra sweet but what your’e really paying for here is the atmosphere. There are 3 stories and you can sit on all the different levels. It has this deconstructed feel like they didn’t finish construction on this building or it was bombed during some war, but it’s part of the look and feel of the hotel. the walls seems hazardous especially for kids and I can’t imagine some place like this opening up in the US and not getting sued.
Address: 28-5 Donhwamun-ro 11-gil, Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Iksun Comics (만홧가게)
I keep seeing this comic book cafe, but it’s always empty and i hope it never goes out of business because it’s just so cool and retro. Even though I’m a stay at home mom I feel like I don’t have the time to take the train all the way here, and sit and read a book but this seems like a great place for dates for young people. Especially since a lot of Koreans live at home until they get married, this is a nice place to come hang out and just chill.
Address: 33-1 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Uncle Video Town (엉클비디오타운)
The movie cafe is right across from the comic book cafe and I went there with Sienna just because I was curious. The cafe area has movies playing on a projector but if you want you can watch a movie in the back area – which basically has TV’s and sofas with high backs. So I wasn’t really interested in that but it seems like a nice place for college students or something. Sienna and I just hung out at the cafe which was a little unremarkable but kind of cute with little film details here and there. It was a really chill place and she liked watching the cartoons on the projector.
Address: 33-10 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Ikseon-dong Ssal Sanghoe (익선동쌀상회)
This little stand open around 2 pm and sells these long rice cakes filled with various sweet and savory fillings. They are all right, Kind of a fusion between traditional Korean tteok and western flavors. I though it was just okay but it’s really popular among Koreans right now.
Address: 28 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Donui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Seoul Coffee (서울커피 )
This coffee shop is a chain but it’s super simple and minimalistic, and they sell this black bred with thick slices of butter in it, ice cream, and coffee. I went here with Valentina and we had a great time just hanging out but I think I’m the only one who brought my kid (or maybe the only one who had kids?)
Address: 33-3 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Madang Flower Cafe
You can’t miss this place – it’s probably the most inviting shop with all the upside down umbrellas and the little bouquets of dried flowers. I don’t think I ever dined here or ate anything here, but I always like to stop and look at what they are selling.
Address: 33-12 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
RESTAURANTS
ChangHwaDang (창화당)
Chang Hwa Dang is a Mandoo Restaurant – I think this is probably one of the most popular restaurants in Ikseon-dong. There is always a line here even before they open their doors. I was lucky to get the last seat and I arrived right when they opened. Everything we ate was good – we got the mango and shrimp noodle soup.
Address: 23 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Jongno, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Saladaeng Bangkok (살라댕 방콕)
Saladaeng Bangkok is a really trendy and quite expensive Thai restaurant. It’s always packed and we went right when it opened at noon so we didn’t have to wait. I’d recommend making reservations. I came here for my birthday lunch and we just went all out and ordered too much food. I ordered this three tiered tray of dim sum bites which was really good! I think this is my favorite thing here just because its so pretty. This restaurant is super cute and trendy and in the back you can walk to their sister restaurant the Summer.
Address: Seoul, Jongno-gu, Donhwamun-ro 11da-gil, 40
Hoho Sikdang (호호식당)
This is my favorite place in ikseon dong. Someone mentioned that I eat a lot of Japanese food an and it’s true. This Japanese restaurant serves really good japanese food, I had the salmon ikura bowl which is just so fresh and tasty. I just love these clean, pure and simple japanese restaurants. if you love Japanese food you can’t go wrong here.
Address: 30-6 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Donui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
MEAL Toast (밀토스트)
Meal Toast is super popular and it must be making a killing because it sells 4 dinner rolls steamed in a bamboo basket for about $10. We also got this special french toast which was ultra sweet and tasted more like a dessert than breakfast. Next to Meal it looks like there’s another restaurant that opened up that employs the same technique on different food.
Address:
30-3 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Donui-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Gyeongyangsik 1920 (경양식 1920)
Gyeongyangsik 1920 is a pork cutlet restaurant. This used to be THE Place to dine in Ikseon-dong but now I think its popularity is waning because there are so many other restaurants. In the past, you had to make reservations or you couldn’t dine here. I came here with Valentina and it’s not my favorite place to be honest but it used to be quite popular.
Address: 17-30 Supyo-ro 28-gil, Ikseon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
SHOPS & ENTERTAINMENT
Assi-bangagan (아씨방앗간)
Assi-bangagan is an adorable little store across from the tea house that sells Aroma diffusers and scented oils. You can even make your own. Even if you’re not into this kind of thing though, I would recommend just stepping inside to take a look because they have some really cute little details in this shop that are super adorable and just make me smile.
Address: 47 Donhwamun-ro 11da-gil, Ikseon-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul
Comcom Play
If you like retro arcade games check this place out. They have some claw machines that are super rigged, but I had fun playing bubble bobble for a bit.
Address: 25, Donhwamun-ro 11da-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
CONCLUSORY REMARKS
Overall I feel like this neighborhood is one of the trendiest neighborhoods in Seoul. There is a really big concentration of cute and trendy cafes and restaurants. The great thing is that despite the gentrification, it hasn’t turned into one of those trendy places where you see a Kbeauty shop every two doors, like Bukchon Hanok Village and Garosugil. I imagine this will come soon enough, but right now it’s just packed with independent restaurants and small retailers. It’s not very touristy yet so you won’t see a ton of foreigners, but it’s packed with affluent looking ladies in their 60’s having lunch together, college students, and couples out on dates. It’s not very stroller friendly or kid friendly, so you won’t see a ton of families, but you know me I tote my kids everywhere so they have been here multiple times.
MAP OF IKSEON-DONG