Cheap eats in Myeongdong, Seoul: 19 places (October 2026)
19 restaurants in the Korea on a Plate guide for cheap eats in Myeongdong, ranked Monthly 30 first and then by Google rating. Each has hours, a price per person and what to order.
In this guide: Geumseonggwan Naju Gomtang (Naju-style Beef Soup), Myeongdong Kyoja, Mukyodong Bugeoguk-jip, East Village Seoul, Gwanghwamun Gukbap.
At a glance: Price per person ₩5,000–₩15,000 (middle ₩12,800). Average Google rating ★4.1. 0 of 19 are open late or 24 hours.
Updated 2026-10-05
Tips before you go
Myeongdong is the main shopping street, next to Myeongdong station (Line 4) and Euljiro.
Menu prices already include VAT, and tipping is not expected.
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
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.
East Village Seoul, near City Hall Station, is listed on DiningCode for its barley rice set meal. The wider menu includes old-style pork cutlet, whole fried chicken, tofu with spicy pork and kimchi, an LA galbi set, spicy braised chicken and seafood pancake. Reviewers most often describe it as clean, casual, generous and unpretentious.
This modern gukbap counter near Gwanghwamun swaps the usual cloudy, Busan-style broth for a clean, clear one closer to old Seoul recipes, and has built a strong local lunch following as a result. It sits a short walk from Gyeonghuigung Palace and the Seochon neighborhood, making it an easy stop between palace-hopping.
START WITHDwaeji-gukbap · clear-broth pork and rice soup
Sunnam Siraegi's Myeongdong branch is listed on DiningCode for siraegi-guk, a soup of dried radish greens, and Korean home cooking. Siraegi-guk comes regular (3-dae) or spicy (eolkeun) at ₩11,000 each, with boiled-pork and cockle set meals at ₩13,000; DiningCode reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, casual, generous and good value.
START WITHSiraegi-guk · soup of dried radish greens
A market eatery in Namdaemun Market serving braised and grilled fish with rice: galchi (hairtail) jorim and gui, braised or grilled mackerel, grilled flounder, plus sundubu and cheonggukjang stews. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as down-to-earth, under the radar, lively and good value.
START WITHGalchi Jorim · braised hairtail fish with rice
A tiny, decades-old counter near Sindang Station where local regulars, many of them older neighborhood residents, gather for one of the cheapest hot meals left in central Seoul. The room is small and shared seating is normal, which is part of the old-Seoul atmosphere that has made it a minor local legend.
START WITHSundae-gukbap · blood sausage and rice soup
Deoksujeong in Jeong-dong, near City Hall, is listed on DiningCode for ojingeo bokkeum, spicy stir-fried squid, and budae jjigae, army stew. The menu also has soft tofu stew, soybean paste stew, spicy stir-fried pork, grilled Spanish mackerel and fresh pork belly. Reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, lively, generous with portions and a place locals go.
START WITHOjingeo bokkeum and budae jjigae · spicy stir-fried squid and army stew
Widely cited as the original shop of Namdaemun Market's galchi-jorim alley, with decades of history at the same spot. It's a fast meal of cutlassfish bubbling in a spicy-savory sauce over rice, eaten shoulder to shoulder with market regulars.
Chamsutgol in Mugyo-dong is listed on DiningCode for dolsot bibimbap and jeyuk dolsot bibimbap. Stone-pot bibimbap runs ₩15,000–17,000 and Korean beef yukhoe bibimbap is ₩10,500, while charcoal-grilled cuts such as kkot-deungsim (₩67,000) and an evening grill set (₩175,000) are also offered; DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as clean, upscale and formal.
START WITHDolsot bibimbap · rice and vegetables in a hot stone pot
Jungang Galchi Sikdang in Namdaemun Market is listed on DiningCode for galchi, hairtail fish, and galchi jorim, hairtail braised in a spicy sauce. The menu also has braised mackerel, assorted grilled fish, grilled Spanish mackerel, salted mackerel, glazed half-dried pollock and cheonggukjang. Reviewers most often call it down-to-earth, lively, casual and good value.
START WITHGalchi jorim · hairtail fish braised in spicy sauce
This Myeongdong branch at the foot of Namsan is listed on DiningCode for bibimbap. Bowls range from the house Sanbang bibimbap and gondre soy bibimbap to bulgogi and Korean beef tartare versions, with cheese kimchi pancake, seafood chive pancake and acorn jelly salad to share. Reviewers most often call it clean, casual, good value and pretty.
START WITHBibimbap · rice bowl with vegetables and toppings
This branch in the Seoul Station building, about 150 m from the station entrance, is listed on DiningCode for kalguksu and shabu kalguksu. The menu also includes clam kalguksu, perilla-oil buckwheat noodles and bibimbap, and reviewers most often call it casual, clean and down-to-earth.
START WITHShabu guksu · noodles with sliced beef cooked in hot broth
The main branch of Bukchangdong Sundubu is about 150 m from City Hall Station and centres on sundubu jjigae, with house, seafood, beef and beef-tripe versions at ₩11,000–₩12,500, plus grilled set meals. DiningCode reviewers most often describe it as unpretentious, casual, clean and popular with locals.
First time in KoreaGroups & sharingNear the sights
₩12,000 per person
Hours Mon–Fri 11:30–21:00; Sat–Sun 11:30–20:00
Opened in 1948 and still run by the same Chinese-Korean family three generations later, Andongjang is widely cited as Korea's oldest Chinese restaurant. It sits in the heart of Euljiro's older commercial blocks, a five-minute walk from the neighborhood's famous alley bars, and offers a calmer, sit-down alternative to them.
START WITHJjajangmyeon & gul-jjamppong · black bean noodles and oyster seafood noodle soup
Namsangol Sanchaejip is on the Namsan side of Myeongdong, about 460 m from Myeongdong Station, and is listed on DiningCode for donkatsu and bibimbap. The menu pairs pork cutlets with mountain-vegetable bibimbap, and reviewers most often describe it as lively, casual, down-to-earth and clean.
START WITHNamsan donkkaseu · breaded pork cutlet, made with antibiotic-free pork per the menu
Open since 1953 and run by a third generation, this restaurant anchors the Ojang-dong noodle alley founded by cooks who came south from Hamheung during the war. Unlike the milder Pyongyang style, Hamheung naengmyeon is spicier and chewier, often topped with raw fish.
Mabokrim is widely credited as the founder of Sindang-dong's tteokbokki town, selling the spicy rice-cake dish here since the 1950s. The alley is lined with similar shops today, but this is the namesake that gave the neighborhood its identity.
Which restaurants in Korea are good for cheap eats in Myeongdong?
In this guide: Geumseonggwan Naju Gomtang (Naju-style Beef Soup), Myeongdong Kyoja, Mukyodong Bugeoguk-jip, East Village Seoul, Gwanghwamun Gukbap.
Which is the cheapest here?
Sindang Halmoni Sundaeguk, about ₩5,000 per person.
Which has the highest Google rating?
Mukyodong Bugeoguk-jip: ★4.5 from 3,972 reviews.
How were these chosen?
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.
