Going Back to Dongnimmun Seolleongtang in Sinchon

Sinchon is a busy district in the middle of Seoul, but it feels lived in. Older student lodgings, private academies, stationery stores and inexpensive places to eat sit close together. Later in the evening, the lit restaurants are what I notice. It feels like a neighborhood made by the people who spend their days there.

That may be why so many of its restaurants have been around a long time. They can keep a steady trade with a modest sign and a room that hasn’t been designed to impress anyone. Dongnimmun Seolleongtang is the sort of place you might walk into while you’re nearby and remember later.

It’s a small shop in the alley by Hyeongje Galbi, off Yonsei-ro. The sign didn’t particularly stand out the first time I saw it. At lunch, though, the door kept opening. That’s when I realized people in the neighborhood came here to eat.

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When a Bowl Cost ₩6,000

The price was the first reason I noticed it. A bowl of seolleongtang, ox-bone soup, cost ₩6,000 when I first went. Restaurant prices were already rising and a roll of gimbap could cost nearly ₩4,000. A hot bowl of broth with beef at that price was worth knowing about.

The menu was short: seolleongtang and bulgogi. Most people ordered the soup without much discussion. The broth was already simmering in the kitchen and came out with rice, kimchi and cubed radish kimchi.

The amount of meat surprised me. I’d expected a few thin slices to be floating on top. I could lift a spoon and bring up beef with the broth. The broth itself had the taste of bones that had been given a long time to cook.

People often ate alone. The individual seats toward the back filled first at lunch. There were students, people from nearby offices, a few who looked like academy teachers and some older customers. They came in quietly, finished and went on with the day.

I thought of it as a restaurant for ordinary days. When I needed somewhere to eat, I knew it was there.

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What I Noticed When I Came Back

The first thing I saw on my return was the price on the wall. A bowl was now ₩8,000, up ₩2,000 from the one I remembered.

It still struck me as an affordable lunch in Seoul. Even so, it felt a little different.

At the old price, the restaurant was the immediate answer whenever I was hungry nearby. At ₩8,000, I had a few more ways of judging whether I wanted to go in. Knowing I liked the place began to count for more.

There were still plenty of people, though they didn’t seem to be arriving in the same rush I remembered. It felt as though a few more of them had time to sit.

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What the Room and the Bowl Kept

The soup came as it always had: a large bowl, a separate bowl of rice, kimchi and cubed radish kimchi. That was enough.

The broth was still mild. A little salt and pepper brought the flavor up, and there was still a good amount of beef. Once the rice was in, the bowl was a full meal.

I also felt as comfortable eating alone as I had before. Other people had come in on their own, and no one made anything of it. There’s an ease in a room where you don’t have to talk.

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Going Back for a Different Reason

The price is less of a reason for me to go now. Familiarity has taken its place.

Sometimes you choose a restaurant because you want to taste something extraordinary. Other times you want a place where you can walk in, finish a bowl of soup and feel that the day is a little more settled. Dongnimmun Seolleongtang does the latter well.

Sinchon changes a little at a time. Restaurants like this help it remain the kind of neighborhood where people can get on with an ordinary day.