Cheap eats in Korea under ₩15,000: 125 places (October 2026)
125 restaurants in the Korea on a Plate guide for eating for ₩15,000 or less, ranked Monthly 30 first and then by Google rating. Each has hours, a price per person and what to order.
In this guide: 1992 Deopbap & Jjageuri Gangnam Main, Ttukbaegijip (Earthen Pot House), Gosami, Byeolmi Bokkeumjeom, Geumseonggwan Naju Gomtang (Naju-style Beef Soup).
At a glance: Price per person ₩3,500–₩15,000 (middle ₩12,000). Average Google rating ★4.2. 9 of 125 are open late or 24 hours.
Updated 2026-10-05
Tips before you go
Menu prices already include VAT, and tipping is not expected.
Soup and noodle shops are the best value; a bowl usually comes with free side dishes.
This main branch is about 80 m from Gangnam Station and is listed on DiningCode for rice bowls and jjageuri. Every listed dish, from jjageuri stews to Jeolla-style rice bowls and Jeonju bibimbap, is priced at ₩13,500, and reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, casual, clean and good value.
START WITHJjageuri · thick pork stew eaten with rice
Ttukbaegijip is a small stew restaurant near Jongno 3-ga serving four stews in earthenware pots: snail doenjang, plain doenjang, soft tofu and kimchi stew, all priced ₩8,000–₩9,000. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, good value and popular with locals.
START WITHUreong Doenjang · soybean paste stew with freshwater snails
Gosami is a home-style Korean restaurant near Sinchon Station, listed on DiningCode for grilled fish and stir-fried squid. The menu covers grilled mackerel and Spanish mackerel, ojingeo bokkeum, beef bulgogi and two stews at ₩9,000–₩17,000. Reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, lively, generous and good value.
Byeolmi Bokkeumjeom near Yeouido Station is listed on DiningCode for jeyuk bokkeum, spicy stir-fried pork. Every main is cooked over direct flame: pork, squid, webfoot octopus, small octopus, or pork paired with squid or octopus. Steamed egg and chilled acorn jelly soup are the sides. Reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, lively, good value and a lesser-known local pick.
Geumseonggwan Naju Gomtang serves Naju-style gomtang made with hanu (Korean beef) near Namdaemun Market, along with galbitang, pan-fried beef slices and boiled beef platters. DiningCode lists it for gomtang and dongdongju rice wine, and reviewers most often call it unpretentious, casual, generous and popular with locals.
START WITHNaju Gomtang · Korean beef soup served with rice, Naju style
One of the long-running tofu houses in Chodang-dong, the seaside neighborhood where tofu is set with seawater instead of standard coagulants, giving it a delicate, custard-like texture. It's a quiet, homestyle counterpoint to Gangneung's beach and coffee-street crowds.
START WITHSundubu · seawater-set soft tofu, plain or in a hot pot
One of Jeju City's most recommended early-morning soup houses, specializing in a Jeju-only style of haejangguk built around bracken fern instead of the cabbage used on the mainland. It opens at 6am and draws locals starting their day alongside travelers wanting a hearty meal.
START WITHGosari haejangguk · bracken-fern and pork-bone soup
One of the best-known pancake stalls inside Gwangjang Market, a covered market that has fed Seoul since 1905. Sit at the counter, watch the pancakes fry a few feet away, and eat on a stool the way market regulars do.
A small noodle restaurant holding a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the Seoul selection. The kitchen builds Korean noodle bowls with some Italian technique, and the menu changes with the season, turning cold in summer and to an ox-head broth in winter. There are only a few tables.
Bapjangin Dwaeji Jjigae's Hongdae branch, about 140 m from Hongik University Station, serves pork stews: jjageuli, pork kimchi stew, soft tofu with potato and soft tofu with brisket, plus bulgogi, stir-fried squid and Spam sets for one or two. DiningCode reviewers most often call it unpretentious, generous and good value.
Running since 1968 in the old Mukyo-dong office district, this single-menu restaurant serves the mild, clear pollack soup Seoul office workers turn to as a gentle hangover cure. It opens early and is built for a quick, quiet meal rather than a leisurely dinner.
Baekam sundae is a style from Baekam in Yongin, where the sausage is packed with vegetables and glass noodles rather than filler and the broth is a clear pork bone stock. This is the original branch of the Nongmin group and it draws a steady office lunch crowd from the Daechi and Seolleung blocks. The soup arrives with sundae and assorted pork offal already in the bowl.
START WITHSundae-gukbap · pork blood sausage and offal rice soup
A Korean restaurant in Ikseon-dong centred on onban, rice served in a warm broth, alongside soy-sauce suyuk (sliced boiled pork), dumplings, perilla-oil buckwheat noodles and samgyetang. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as upscale, with a good view, clean and quiet.
START WITHOnban · warm rice in clear broth with toppings
Hyehwa Dodam is about 180 m from Hyehwa Station and is listed on DiningCode for kimchi-jjim and makgeolli. The menu centres on kimchi-jjim and braised pork ribs in shareable sizes, plus a green onion pancake, and reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, casual, lively and popular with locals.
START WITHKimchi-jjim · braised aged kimchi with pork
A samgyetang specialist near Samgakji Station serving whole young chicken in broth, including black-sesame and herbal versions alongside the classic. It is light, warming and an easy first Korean meal; a kimchi pancake on the side is a popular addition.
START WITHSamgyetang · whole young chicken in ginseng broth
Sujeong Sikdang, near Jongno 3-ga, is listed on DiningCode for jeyuk ssambap, rice and pork eaten wrapped in leafy greens. The menu also offers 150 g portions of pork belly, pork jowl and pork neck, plus soy-marinated crab and abalone. Reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, good value and lively.
START WITHJeyuk Ssambap · spicy stir-fried pork with rice and leafy wraps
Minjeong Sikdang's main branch in Jayang-dong, near Konkuk University, is listed on DiningCode for seolleongtang and boiled-beef hot pot. The menu also has ox-head gomtang, beef knee soup, mixed boiled beef, seafood chive pancake, dumplings and seasonal naengmyeon. Reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, lively and popular with locals.
A haejangguk house that has fed Gangnam's after-drinks crowd for about thirty years, running almost round the clock near Samseong Station. The signature bowl combines beef tripe and seonji, the mild blood curd, in a beef broth. There is also a clear brisket gomtang for anyone who would rather skip the offal.
START WITHYang-seonji haejangguk · beef tripe and blood curd soup
A beef-soup restaurant near Sinyongsan Station known for gomtang finished with a heap of fresh minari (water dropwort). The broth is clear and deep rather than heavy, and the herb gives it a fresh, green edge. It opens in the morning and runs until 23:00.
START WITHMinari gomtang · beef soup with water dropwort
Damsot serves sotbap, rice cooked in individual pots, close to Seongsu Station. Toppings include eggplant, spicy eggplant with cheese, steak, beef with bean sprouts, abalone, garlic scapes and shishito pepper with tofu, priced ₩12,000–₩18,000. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as clean, casual, unpretentious and generous.
START WITHGaji Sotbap · rice cooked in an individual pot with eggplant
Every place is in the Korea on a Plate guide, written by an editor who runs four restaurants in Seoul. The list is filtered from published hours, prices and tags; nobody pays to be listed.
