In the Gwanghwamun area, a representative office-dense region in Seoul, you can find various restaurants. However, most of these restaurants are located in the underground arcade shopping centers of buildings, making it somewhat challenging to casually stroll around and find them.
Gulbat is also located in the underground arcade shopping center, specifically in the basement of the Kyunghui Palace Morning 4th Street Office-tel.
Finding a restaurant that specializes in “Oyster Rice Soup” in the Gwanghwamun area is not easy. Apart from the restaurant called “Gulbat,” there are a few others, but “Gulbat” is known for specializing in seafood dishes.
“Gwanghwamun Seafood Specialty Restaurant – Gulbat”
As the name suggests, Gulbat focuses on “gul” (oysters). You can find various dishes made with oysters, including oyster rice soup, oyster bossam (wrapped in greens), and oyster jeon (pancakes).
Even if you’re not in the mood for oysters, you can also find dishes made with other seafood, making it a great restaurant for seafood enthusiasts.
“Gul Gukbap Special: KRW 11,000”
On this day, we visited for a simple meal and ordered the “Gul Gukbap.” The regular size is KRW 9,000, while the special size is KRW 11,000. Personally, being a hearty eater, I opted for the special size. While the price difference is only KRW 2,000, there was a noticeable difference in portion size.
There are various other menu items available, which you can see below.
“Meal Menu”
- Oyster Gukbap: KRW 9,000
- Oyster Gukbap (Special): KRW 11,000
- Oyster Egg Rice: KRW 10,000
- Seafood Oyster Sundubu-jjigae (soft tofu stew): KRW 10,000
- Oyster Tteokguk (rice cake soup): KRW 10,000
- Seaweed Bibimbap with Sea Cucumbers: KRW 12,000
- Raw Smelt Roe Bibimbap: KRW 10,000
- Venus Clam Bibimbap: KRW 13,000
- Squid Bibimbap: KRW 13,000
- Cockle Bibimbap: KRW 11,000
- Abalone Oyster Gukbap: KRW 14,000
- Abalone Oyster Egg Rice: KRW 15,000
“Special Menu”
- Hanwoo (Korean beef) Wugoji Gukbap: KRW 12,000
- Earthen Pot Mushroom Bulgogi: KRW 10,000
- Jangtteogi Jjigae (fermented skate stew): KRW 15,000
- Mook Sabal (acorn jelly salad): KRW 9,000
- Cockle Dumpling Soup: KRW 12,000
- Cockle Dumpling Steamed: KRW 6,000
“Cuisine Menu”
- Oyster Bossam: KRW 45,000
- Oyster Jeon: KRW 20,000
- Steamed Oysters: KRW 45,000
- Miyeok (seaweed) Seafood Sundubu-jjigae: KRW 19,000
- Raw Oyster Sashimi: KRW 25,000
- Buchu (garlic chive) Jeon: KRW 14,000
- Cockle and Buchu Jeon: KRW 23,000
- Dashima (kelp) Cockle Salad: KRW 35,000
- Scallop: KRW 30,000
- Golbaengi (whelk): KRW 30,000
- Venus Clam: KRW 30,000
- Cockle Steamed: KRW 30,000
- Squid Sashimi: KRW 29,000
- Short-arm Octopus: KRW 29,000
- Venus Clam Sashimi: KRW 59,000
- Spicy Spam Grill: KRW 15,000
- Seafood Oyster Ramen: KRW 10,000
A place where you can taste various seafood, especially delicious oyster dishes, especially during the oyster season in winter.
“Seoul Gwanghwamun Restaurant – Gulbat”
- Address: 23 Saemunan-ro 3-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
- Phone: 02-725-1537
- Operating Hours: (Mon-Fri) 10:00 AM – 10:00 PM
- Closed on Saturdays and Sundays.