Gilpost · Seongdong-gu, Seongsu-dong 1-ga
Japanese
IKIGAI
이키가이 Ikigai Ikigai is a Japanese word for a reason for living; one post renders the name as 'the reward of living.'
Compiled from 16 blog posts read in fullSources →
Ikigai is a Japanese tonkatsu shop half a floor below street level at Ttukseom-ro 341-18, between Seoul Forest and Ttukseom stations near Gyeongil Elementary School. You order at a kiosk by the door; loin katsu is 14,000 won, tenderloin 15,000 won, and the loin-tenderloin combo and premium loin 16,000 won, each with cabbage salad, rice, napa-cabbage miso soup and radish salad, plus salt, truffle oil and katsu sauce for dipping and a yogurt drink to finish. We read 30 posts from October 2024 to September 2026; 21 describe actually eating here. We set aside 3 about other places (a same-name shop in Daegu, a spa in Da Nang, an essay on the word ikigai) and 6 that were delivery or introductions only.
Data as of · Published ·
Location & hours
- Address서울특별시 성동구 뚝섬로 341-18, 지1층 (성수동1가)341-18 Ttukseom-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul
- Phone0507-1406-2533
- Typical spend₩4,500 – ₩17,000
- From the station1 posts say it is walkable from the station.
- Floor areaFloor area 46 m² · Status In business
When it opens
Of 11 posts: 4 wrote Daily 11:00–22:00, 2 wrote 11:00–20:30.
| Daily | 11:00–22:00 | 4 of 11 posts |
|---|---|---|
| No day given | 11:00–20:30 | 2 of 11 posts |
| Break | 15:00–17:00 | 11 of 11 posts |
| Last order | 14:30 | 5 of 7 posts |
| Closed | None | 3 of 3 posts |
3 other values
| Open | Daily | 10:30–20:30 4 of 11 posts last seen 2025-10 |
|---|---|---|
| Last order | 21:00 5 of 7 posts last seen 2026-09 | |
| Last order | 20:00 2 of 7 posts last seen 2026-06 |
The values differ, but the periods they were written in do not overlap. This looks like a change over time rather than a disagreement, and the top row is the most recently reported. We did not confirm it with the restaurant.
What sets it apart
- The 11 posts that described seating found a mix of counter seats facing the kitchen or wall and two- and four-person tables. Solo seats came up again and again; an October 2024 post noted only one four-person table, so groups might wait.
- It is a small room: 5 posts called it cramped or compact and none called it roomy. One regular from a nearby office said that because it is small there is almost always a wait.
- You order at the kiosk by the entrance, as 5 posts note — check for a seat first, order, then sit down. One post missed being greeted at all because of the kiosk.
- 6 posts each mention the stamp card and the review event: ten stamps earn a free loin or tenderloin katsu, and a receipt review earns cold soba or udon (curry udon earlier). One post said the free soba was cool and well seasoned.
2 more
- 5 posts called the batter thin and crisp. One found it less crisp than it looked, with the underside soaked by juices and peeling off.
- 3 posts went alone and sat at the counter, 4 went with friends or a junior colleague, and 2 went as a couple.
What 16 bloggers said
hirekacheu
Crispy batter
We read all 16 in full. The most common claims are “Crispy batter” (5) and “Cramped” (5).
What they liked
What they struggled with
Where they disagree
| Friendly staff | yes 2 · no 2 |
|---|
Things you can check on site
- Seats to sit and eat 11 of 16 posts
- In a basement 7 of 16 posts
- Review event 6 of 16 posts
- Coupon 6 of 16 posts
- Self-order screen 5 of 16 posts
- Open kitchen 5 of 16 posts
- Discount offered 2 of 16 posts
- Takes reservations 2 of 16 posts
- Reachable by transit 1 of 16 posts
- Toilet inside 1 of 16 posts
These are raw counts, not percentages. Someone who did not mention something is not someone who disagreed.
Parking
3 posts say you cannot park. None say you can.
| Posts saying you cannot | 3 of 16 posts |
|---|
There is no parking: 3 posts say so, and the one visitor who drove left the car in another side street. Posts that only copied a 'no parking' label were not counted.
Who came, and with whom
- With a friend 4 of 16 posts
- Solo visit 3 of 16 posts
- Date 2 of 16 posts
- Came by car 1 of 16 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 | 7 of 16 posts |
|---|---|
| Toilet inside | 1 of 16 posts |
The address says ground floor, but the shop sits half a level down: 7 posts describe walking down steps or a semi-basement, one warning it is not on the first floor at all. Posts say it is easy to walk past, and an October 2024 visitor couldn't tell from outside whether it was open.
No post says whether there is a step at the door or whether a wheelchair or stroller can get in. Posts mention going down stairs, which suggests it may be hard, but that is absence of information, not a report that there is no ramp or lift.
Only 1 post mentions the toilet: inside, at the back, clean, but reached by a narrow passage and very small. Nobody says whether it is separated by gender.
No one mentioned: Second floor · Lift to the floor · Ramp at the door · Step at the entrance · Step-free access · 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 themselves10 of 16 posts
- Posts saying nothing either way6 of 16 posts
Posts that followed a TV spot
Of the 22 posts we gathered, 6 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.
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 |
|---|---|
| 2024-10 | 1 |
| 2025-04 | 1 |
| 2025-09 | 1 |
| 2025-10 | 1 |
| 2026-01 | 1 |
| 2026-02 | 2 |
| 2026-05 | 1 |
| 2026-06 | 2 |
| 2026-08 | 4 |
| 2026-09 | 2 |
What we do not know
- Service splits 2 to 2: one post found the staff friendly every visit and another praised the owner's attentive seating, while an October 2024 visitor found the person explaining the meal rude and a March 2026 visitor was not greeted at all.
- Waits are mixed: 1 post says there is almost always a queue, while 2 found free tables at weekend lunch peak or were seated at once with a booking. One weekday visitor arriving around 12:20 waited 25 minutes for the food.
- 1 post describes actually walking in, from Ttukseom station down a side street. Another lists 7 minutes from Seoul Forest and 10 from Ttukseom but says it is farther from the stations than you'd think. The often-repeated '559 m from Seoul Forest exit 2' is copied listing data and we did not rely on it.
- The opening hours changed. 4 posts up to October 2025 give 10:30 to 20:30 daily; 5 posts from a March 2026 visit onward give 11:00 to 22:00 (last orders 14:30 and 21:00). Two other 2026 posts still say 11:00 to 20:30, so check before a late visit. All 11 agree on a 15:00 to 17:00 break, and 3 say there is no regular closing day. Most of these are copied info blocks.
- Prices held steady from October 2024 to August 2026: 14,000 won for loin, 15,000 won for tenderloin, with one August 2026 post alone giving 16,000 won for tenderloin. The Fukuoka pork neck steak was 15,000 won in March 2026 and 17,000 won on the May menu. A meal runs 14,000 to 16,000 won for one katsu; 3 posts called that fair and none called it expensive.
- The extras changed: posts from October 2024 and April 2025 describe a strawberry sherbet dessert and an egg to pour over the rice, while posts from October 2025 on mention a yogurt drink instead.
- 4 posts give the phone number as 0507-1406-2533; 1 gives 070-8820-2533. One couple booked through Naver, and another post says a Naver booking comes with curry or a mini cold udon.
- Three look-alike posts generated from Naver listing data read like visits but were not counted. 'Premium domestic sow pork' and 'certified Korean pork' are the shop's own claims, and the owner's reported wish to move deeper into Seongsu in 2026 is hearsay; the address is unchanged through September 2026.
Sources (16)
Every number above was counted from the posts below.
- 서울숲 돈까스 맛집 이키가이 히레카츠 냉모밀 내돈내산 강추 후기 2026-09-24 · 상똥이 트위스트
- 서울숲 돈까스 맛집 이키가이 직장인 혼밥 점심 추천, 평일 방문 내돈내산 솔직후기(ft. 로스까스) 2026-09-02 · 꾸리의 식후 일기 · via Daum
- 억까. 2026-08-30 · - · via Daum
- <서울숲 맛집> 혼밥 하기도 좋은 카츠 맛집 “이키가이” 2026-08-25 · 블로그
- 2026년 6월 2주차 2026-08-10 · JUST DO IT, JUST DO EAT
- 성수동 주말 저녁 어디갈까? 돈카츠 맛집, 이키가이 데이트 가성비 .... 2026-08-10 · 디피의 일기장
- [서울숲역] 이키가이 돈카츠 2026-06-22 · 별의 별 일상
- 서울 성수동 연무장길 맛집ㅣ데이트 코스로 추천하는 카츠 맛집 이.... 2026-06-08 · THIS IS ME
- [서울/성수] 성수동 돈카츠 맛집 이키가이, 내돈내산 로스카츠 후기 2026-05-07 · Rung Blog
- 성수 이키가이ㅣ성수 돈까스 맛집 내돈내산 (진심 맛있음;;) 2026-02-13 · 펭글
- [성수]의 숨은 보석, 삶의 보람을 맛보다! '이키가이' 리얼 후기 2026-02-12 · 콤톨히의 놀이터
- 2026 주간일기 :: 1월 3주차 2026-01-20 · 다중부부가 사는 세상 :-)
- [서울/성수] '이키가이' 성수 뚝섬 촉촉한 등심&안심 돈가스 맛집 내.... 2025-10-29 · 나의 작은 세계
- [서울] 이키가이 서울숲 숨은 돈카츠 맛집 2025-09-03 · sᴇᴏʏᴏᴜɴɢ_ʟᴏɢ
- 서울숲 성수 맛집, 돈카츠 이키가이 후기 2025-04-16 · 저주받은 미친 대학원생의 먹방일기
- 서울숲 성수 돈까스 맛집 이키가이 내돈내산 추천 후기 2024-10-30 · 먹기 위해 사는 박두현˙Ⱉ˙
Of 328 candidate posts we opened 74 and kept 16 as evidence. We stop once 30 are confirmed: beyond that the counts grow in proportion without changing the answer.