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Unearthing Affordable Dining in Gwanghwamun: A Hidden Gems Guide

Gwanghwamun, known for its towering office buildings and sophisticated atmosphere, often gets a reputation for being expensive. But what if I told you that you could find incredibly affordable and delicious meals hidden amongst the skyscrapers? According to recent surveys by KB Kookmin Card, the average lunch expenditure in Gwanghwamun reaches a staggering ₩16,000, making it one of the priciest lunch spots in Korea. This means the average office worker spends close to ₩300,000 a month just on lunch! Fear not, fellow budget-conscious eaters! This guide will unveil some well-kept secrets, allowing you to slash those lunch expenses down to a more manageable ₩100,000.

1. Jongno-gu Office Cafeteria: A ₩6,000 Steal!

Our first stop is the Jongno-gu Office Cafeteria. Yes, you read that right – a full meal for just ₩6,000 in Gwanghwamun! What’s even better is that it’s open to the public, and the quality of the food is surprisingly high.

How to get there:

1. Exit Gwanghwamun Station (Line 5) through Exit 2.
2. Walk past the U.S. Embassy.
3. You’ll find the Jongno-gu Office building.
4. Enter the building and proceed past the civil service areas.
5. Turn right and you’ll see a staircase leading down to the basement.
6. The cafeteria and a cafe are located in the basement.

The cafe also offers remarkably cheap coffee, making it a perfect spot to grab a takeaway after your meal. You can check the day’s menu on the display board or see the actual dishes on display. Trust me, for ₩6,000, the quality is outstanding! Keep in mind there are designated purchase times for non-employees. The lines can get long during peak lunch hours for the office workers. However, the kiosk is fast and efficient, so the line moves quickly. Arrive a bit early to avoid the biggest crowds.

Inside, you’ll find a ramen vending machine (prices are a bit higher here). The cafeteria is spacious and doesn’t feel too crowded despite the long line. One unique feature is the dedicated seating for solo diners, which is a welcome addition! The number of side dishes isn’t extensive, but the quality is impressive. There’s even iced Earl Grey tea available, so you don’t need to go to a separate cafe for a beverage. Don’t forget to grab some delicious pumpkin porridge for dessert!

The solo dining area even includes phone stands and readily available tissues for added convenience. The food is delicious, especially the tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties), which tastes homemade. The side dishes are seasoned perfectly and feel healthy. The doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) is particularly flavorful, with a rich broth and plenty of ingredients. The natural sweetness from the onions adds a delightful touch, a cross between gochujang jjigae (red pepper paste stew) and doenjang jjigae. And the pumpkin porridge… it’s seriously addictive! The pumpkin flavor is prominent, and the sweetness is just right. The generous pieces of pumpkin add a delightful texture to every bite.

After enjoying a satisfying lunch, head up to the first floor of the Jongno-gu Office to discover another hidden gem: a free photo booth where you can take 인생네컷 (life four-cut) style photos!

Photo Booth Location:

1. Enter the main entrance of the Jongno-gu Office.
2. Turn right.
3. You’ll find the photo booth on your left.

While the atmosphere inside can be quiet due to the presence of government employees, remember that this service is offered to all visitors. Just be mindful of the noise level. The photo booth takes six shots, and you can select four to create your photo strip. You won’t receive a physical printout, but you can save the image files via a QR code. With a delicious lunch and fun photos, it’s a great option for an unconventional date! Don’t mistake it for a passport photo booth though!

Google Search & General Assessment of Jongno-gu Office

A quick Google search for “Jongno-gu Office Location” shows its central location in Gwanghwamun. Online reviews (translated from Korean) highlight the clean facilities and helpful staff. While there isn’t extensive information readily available about the cafeteria online in English, Korean blogs and social media posts consistently praise its affordability and good food quality.

2. Gwanghwamun Post Office Cafeteria (Employees Only!)

The Gwanghwamun Post Office Cafeteria is also known for its affordability, offering hearty meals for only ₩5,800. Unfortunately, it’s exclusively for postal workers and employees working in the Gwanghwamun area. You’ll need to present your employee ID card to enter. If you happen to work nearby, be sure to check it out!

3. Gyeongwon: A Traditional Piimatgol Gem (₩7,000)

Next, we venture into the historic Piimatgol alleyway to discover Gyeongwon, a restaurant renowned for its incredible value. For just ₩7,000, you can choose from five different Korean dishes! This is perfect for office workers who want variety in their lunch options throughout the week. Piimatgol was historically a hidden alleyway where commoners would hide from high-ranking officials riding in palanquins. As a result, affordable eateries like soup houses and makgeolli (rice wine) bars sprung up and became popular spots for the common folk, retaining their charm and popularity to this day.

While many associate Piimatgol with the Michelin Bib Gourmand-listed Mijin, which offers delicious and reasonably priced food, we’re heading to a more affordable and rustic option: Gyeongwon. Enter the building through the side entrance and take the escalator down. Turn right and walk around in a large U-shape. You’ll find Gyeongwon tucked away in the basement. I ordered the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), and I was surprised by the size of the earthenware pot! It was filled with plenty of ingredients. The unique addition of squid was initially unexpected, but it paired surprisingly well with the doenjang jjigae, adding a refreshing seafood flavor to the broth. The side dishes were plentiful and tasted like homemade meals, reflecting the care and concern of a mother preparing a meal for her children.

Adjacent to Piimatgol is the Kyobo Bookstore. After your meal, you can stroll through the bookstore and browse through books to spend your lunch break. During my visit, there was a small event space near the entrance, dedicated to the author Han Kang. It featured a display of her favorite items and allowed visitors to experience a small corner of her literary world. You could also receive a “sentence of the day,” which felt like a personal message from Han Kang herself. I spent some time browsing books related to saving money, a topic I’m currently interested in, and enjoyed a relaxing break.

4. Rotem Tree: A Student Favorite for Decades (₩6,000)

Our next destination is Rotem Tree, a popular tteokbokki (spicy rice cake) restaurant that has been beloved by students of Ewha Girls’ High School for decades. At a ridiculously low price of ₩6,000 per person, especially considering that many tteokbokki places cost over ₩10,000 per person these days, it’s a true bargain. Located in the basement, the restaurant has a cozy and nostalgic atmosphere. The charm of Rotem Tree lies in the fact that all their different tteokbokki variations are priced the same. I personally love mushrooms, so I ordered the vegetable hot pot tteokbokki. You can even mix and match different menu items for each person, so if you go with a friend, you can each order what you want. The tteokbokki broth and the enoki mushrooms surprisingly complement each other perfectly, and it’s delicious! The variety of vegetables makes this a healthier tteokbokki option. The broth also has a milder and more refreshing flavor, likely due to the vegetable juices. This could be a hit or miss depending on your preference.

5. Honey Tteokbokki: A Personal Favorite (₩7,000)

The next restaurant I’m introducing is also a tteokbokki place, and it’s my personal favorite in the Gwanghwamun area: Honey Tteokbokki. It’s slightly more expensive than Rotem Tree at ₩7,000 per person, but the price includes ramen and glass noodles, and the generous amount of vegetables makes it worthwhile. It’s located in the basement, down an alley coming from exit 7. Honey Tteokbokki has two main appeals: the special sauce, and the fresh rice cakes.

Their special sauce is made in-house, its the taste that the broth keeps getting better as you boil the ingredients on the stove, and its perfect for the combination of tteokbokki, noodles and vegetables. I personally recommend the honey flavor. Their rice cakes are especially good too. The rice cakes here are chewy and addictive.

6. Coffee Pot: The Cheapest Coffee in Town (₩1,300)

Lastly, I want to introduce Coffee Pot, a cafe that offers incredibly affordable coffee. Gwanghwamun is filled with takeaway coffee shops catering to office workers, creating fierce competition in the low-price coffee market. Coffee Pot stands out with its Americano priced at only ₩1,300! Not only that, but fresh fruit juices are also available for just over ₩2,000, and the entire menu is generally inexpensive, so you can enjoy a variety of drinks to your liking. Also, if you tend to forget your coupon at cafes, Coffee Pot has a coupon partition where you can hang your coupon for safekeeping! I ordered an Americano and a bagel, another popular item on their menu. There’s no seating inside, so you’ll need to find a nearby spot to sit. As the weather gets warmer, I recommend finding a spot in front of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts. I ordered the salt bagel, and the salty flavor was delicious. The bagel itself was particularly tasty, and it was one of the chewiest bagels I’ve had recently.

Conclusion

Today, we explored affordable eateries, cafes, and free activities around Gwanghwamun, focusing on the Jongno-gu Office Cafeteria. Despite its reputation for being dominated by large buildings and expensive restaurants, Gwanghwamun revealed a hidden charm with its affordable gems tucked away in the backstreets. Stay tuned for more money-saving tips and hidden gems!