Soup and riceKorean
Gwanghwamun Gukbap
광화문국밥 Gwanghwamun is the main gate of Gyeongbokgung Palace that names the district; gukbap is soup served with rice — here a clear pork broth.
Compiled from 19 blog posts read in fullSources →
Gwanghwamun Gukbap sits in a building at the back of the Jeongdong parking lot, at Sejong-daero 21-gil 53 in Jung-gu. The core dish is pork soup in a clear broth made from lean meat, with rice served separately. Eleven visit posts gave the price as 12,000 won (15,000 won large), and many added blood sausage (17,000 won) or boiled pork (18,000 won small). In the evening people also came for boiled pork, spicy tripe or braised tendon with drinks. We read 30 posts dated 11 September to 14 October 2026; we set one aside because it described a department-store branch. Nineteen are first-hand records of eating here.
Data as of · Published ·
Location & hours
- Address서울특별시 중구 세종대로21길 53 (정동, 1층)53 Sejong-daero 21-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul
- Phone02-738-5688
- Typical spend₩5,500 – ₩59,000
- From the station1 posts say it is walkable from the station.
- Floor areaFloor area 182 m² · Status In business
When it opens
Of 9 posts: 6 wrote Weekdays 11:00–21:40, 6 wrote Saturday 12:00–21:00, 2 wrote 11:00–21:40.
| Weekdays | 11:00–21:40 | |
|---|---|---|
| No day given | 11:00–21:40 | 2 of 9 posts |
| Saturday | 12:00–21:00 | |
| Break | Weekdays 14:00–17:00 | 4 of 7 posts |
| Break | Saturday 14:30–17:00 | 4 of 7 posts |
| Break | 14:00–17:00 | 3 of 7 posts |
| Last order | Saturday 19:55 | 3 of 5 posts |
| Last order | Weekdays 20:35 | 2 of 5 posts |
| Last order | 20:35 | 2 of 5 posts |
| Closed | Sunday | 9 of 9 posts |
Rows without a count: 6 of 9 posts.
Counted from what bloggers wrote in their posts; we did not confirm it with the restaurant. Where the values differ, it may be a change over time rather than a disagreement, so we show when each one was written.
What sets it apart
- Expect a line at lunch. Seven posts said they waited, and the times they gave were 3 minutes (Saturday 1:50 pm, about five groups ahead), 10 minutes (Friday around noon) and 30 minutes (a weekday at noon). Two posts said people were already waiting before opening. You write your name and party size on a list at the door; one post noticed several people standing in line without signing it. Six posts said the whole party must be present to be seated. Three posts did not wait: just after the lunch rush, on a weekday evening in September, and once after about two minutes. A post from 10 October said the soup sold out right after their group, and a sign went up saying the restaurant was closing for the day.
- There is a counter for solo diners. Ten posts described the seating as tables for two and four plus a counter for people eating alone, and two posts went alone and sat there. One of them found it a little awkward because the counter faces other diners directly. Seven posts said the room was bigger than they expected.
- The most repeated point is the lack of porky smell: ten posts said there was none, and one writer who normally dislikes pork soup finished the broth. One post found a slight smell in the boiled pork. Eight posts called the portions generous, several saying a regular bowl was plenty.
What 19 bloggers said
dwaeji gukbap
No gamey smell
We read all 19 in full. The most common claims are “No gamey smell” (10) and “Large portions” (8).
What they liked
What they struggled with
Where they disagree
| Had to wait | yes 7 · no 3 |
|---|
Things you can check on site
- Seats to sit and eat 10 of 19 posts
- Origin labelling posted 1 of 19 posts
- Waiting area 1 of 19 posts
- Self-order screen 1 of 19 posts
- Takeout 1 of 19 posts
- Free refills 1 of 19 posts
- Reachable by transit 1 of 19 posts
These are raw counts, not percentages. Someone who did not mention something is not someone who disagreed.
Who came, and with whom
- Family visit 3 of 19 posts
- With a friend 3 of 19 posts
- Solo visit 2 of 19 posts
- Came by car 1 of 19 posts
- Group visit 1 of 19 posts
Where it is
We could not find this shop’s own listing on Naver Map, so the link searches for its Korean name around this spot instead.
From the station
1 posts say it is walkable from the station.
Getting inside
| In a basement | yes 0 · no 1 (of 19 posts read) |
|---|
One post mentioned the floor: the sign is on the ground floor of the building behind the parking lot. No one described going downstairs.
We do not know whether there is a step at the entrance, or whether a wheelchair or stroller gets in. That is not a no; nobody wrote about it.
We do not know about the toilets. Two posts list an indoor toilet and separate men's and women's rooms, but those were copied from the listing, and no one described using them.
No one mentioned: Second floor · Lift to the floor · Ramp at the door · Step at the entrance · Step-free access · Toilet inside · Accessible toilet · Separate restrooms. That is not the same as there being none — it means we could not confirm it. Worth calling ahead, and do tell us: we will put it here.
How to read these posts
- Posts saying they paid themselves8 of 19 posts
- Posts saying nothing either way11 of 19 posts
Posts that followed a TV spot
Of the 29 posts we gathered, 10 went up on a single day right after a TV spot and show no sign of a visit. They retell the broadcast, so we left them out of the counts.
| 2026-10-13 | 2 posts in one day |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-10 | 2 posts in one day |
| 2026-10-01 | 2 posts in one day |
We do not discard them. That a TV spot produced a burst of posts is itself something worth knowing about a place, and a star rating will not show it.
When the posts appeared
Month by month
| Month | Posts |
|---|---|
| 2026-09 | 8 |
| 2026-10 | 11 |
What we do not know
- Opinions on the boiled pork split. One post found it soft and moist; two found it dry, one saying the thin slices dried out fast and another comparing it to cardboard. That second post liked the braised beef tendon it ordered the same evening.
- Only one post described walking from the station: about 200 m from exit 6 of Gwanghwamun Station, an easy walk. Several said the place is tucked behind the parking lot and easy to miss from the street. No one wrote about coming by bus.
- Reports on high chairs conflict: one post's copied listing says there is one, another post says the writer was told there isn't. We counted neither. Four posts noted a children's soup (7,000 won) on the menu.
- Ten visit posts gave opening hours, nearly all copied from listings or signs. Six agreed on weekdays 11:00–21:40 (break 14:00–17:00), Saturdays 12:00–21:00 (break 14:30–17:00), closed Sundays. One listed Monday to Saturday 11:00–21:40. Several said it closes early when the soup runs out. One post says it ate here on Sunday 24 May, a public holiday, which does not fit the Sunday closing; we do not know whether it opened specially that day.
- Prices did not vary between posts: everything from September and October 2026 gives 12,000 won for the pork soup. No one called it expensive, and two posts said the prices were easy on the wallet. We have no posts showing earlier prices.
- Several posts give the same phone number, 02-738-5688. Bookings appear only in two copied listings, and no one wrote about booking a table. One post took a bowl of soup home on a weekday and said takeout is not available on Saturdays and holidays.
- Some posts look templated. Two were published with leftover template code and no first-hand detail, and one of them gives an 11:30 opening time that no other post supports. We did not count these or the multi-restaurant list posts.
Sources (19)
Every number above was counted from the posts below.
- 광화문국밥 미쉐린 7년 연속 돼지국밥 | 메뉴·가격·웨이팅·재료소.... 2026-10-13 · 궁금한건 못참지
- 광화문국밥 돼지국밥 피순대 후기 미쉐린 블루리본 선정 광화문 맛.... 2026-10-12 · ✈️ 로깅이의 여행 기록 공간
- 송모찌블로그 / 광화문국밥,본지르르 베이커리 서촌,etc seoul 서촌,수아마르 서촌,에딧 서촌 안경원... 2026-10-12 · songmozzi blog. · via Daum
- 부모님과 서울 1박2일 여행ㅣ덕수궁부터 남산타워까지 다녀온 서울 .... 2026-10-09 · 모하고 모먹지? 메진의 여행 & 일상로그
- 서울 광화문 맛집 광화문국밥, 5~6년 만에 두 딸과 다시 찾은 돼지국밥 2026-10-09 · 인생의 다음 페이지 · via Daum
- [광화문] 광화문 점심 맛집, 광화문국밥 | 미쉐린 선정 서울식 돼지국밥 맛집 +웨이팅 후기 2026-10-08 · My favorite things · via Daum
- 광화문 맛집 내돈내산 후기: 맑고 담백한 국물의 미슐랭 빕구르망 '광화문국밥' 2026-10-08 · 숲프의 여행기 · via Daum
- 세종문화회관 근처 혼밥하기 좋은 광화문 국밥 26.10.6 2026-10-08 · 파랑새홍의 우아한 외출 (eat play art) · via Daum
- 광화문국밥 본점 내돈내산, 미쉐린 돼지국밥 뭐가 다를까? 메뉴·가.... 2026-10-07 · 맛다움쿡의 맛있는 이야기
- 미쉐린 가이드 돼지 국밥 <광화문 국밥> 2026-10-06 · 무사갓벨레
- 광화문국밥 본점 | 혼밥석 있는 미쉐린 돼지국밥, 평일 점심 방문 후.... 2026-10-02 · 동대문 연년생 아들맘 에이미의 육아기록✨
- 광화문 돼지국밥, 광화문 점심으로 먹기 좋은 서울식 맑은 돼지국밥.... 2026-09-30 · 오늘도 평화로운 으름댁네 Life&Repo
- [광화문국밥] 광화문, 미쉐린과 블루리본을 수집한 맑은 돼지국밥 2026-09-29 · 복약지도 미식지도 · via Daum
- 광화문 점심 맛집 광화문국밥 | 직장인 점심 돼지국밥 내돈내산 2026-09-28 · 영이의 Chilling
- [일상] 먹고 운동하고 사랑하라(*다이어트 내기 결과 포함*) 2026-09-28 · 곁의 결 · via Daum
- [광화문국밥] 광화문 돼지국밥 맛집 미쉐린 선정 맑은 국물 국밥 솔.... 2026-09-23 · 기록장
- 광화문 맛집 광화문국밥 한우스지찜과 수육 돼지국밥 솔직후기 주차 2026-09-14 · 바블의 신나는 세상 · via Daum
- [서울맛집] 광화문 국밥(본점) 2026-09-12 · 온기 가득한 일상 · via Daum
- 광화문 맛집 광화문국밥 본점! 미쉐린 빕구르망 돼지국밥 후기 2026-09-11 · 썽찌 블로그 · via Daum
Of 400 candidate posts we opened 116 and kept 19 as evidence. We stop once 30 are confirmed: beyond that the counts grow in proportion without changing the answer.