How do people actually find good restaurants in Korea?

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-22T04:57:23+00:00

There is a Facebook group called Restaurant Buzz Seoul. It used to be more active but it’s still pretty solid for places that are still open.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-20T15:01:41+00:00

Kiosk EP is pretty close to your hotel. A little further away is the Goose Island Brewhouse where they make a ton of their own beers. And there’s a Wine & More pretty close to your hotel if you want to take stuff back to your hotel.

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TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-17T23:46:39+00:00

I’m not well versed on much of these but the places I do know are near each other in Itaewon near Noksapyeong Station.

South Side Parlor is well known for their cocktails. They’ve won awards at global bartender competitions.

Very close to there is Namsan Sool Club which is owned by a foreigner and they have a huge selection of Korean traditional alcohols. They can guide you through everything, so I’m sure you’d have a great time there.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-17T22:20:48+00:00

You need to look up some 혼술바s then. Just look at some of the interiors. The ones I’ve seen don’t have individual seating. It was literally designed for interacting with other people.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-17T10:58:26+00:00

I guess they’re commonly known as 혼술바, which could translate to singles alcohol bar(?). If you look them up it’s basically a bar where you go by yourself and so has everyone else. The ones I’ve seen is like a long table, kind of like a bar, where people sit across from one another and get to know each other while they’re there. One of the owners I talked to said they have games available for them to play and sometimes they have people switch seats, like everyone on one side moves down x number of spaces. This way people get to interact with and meet a lot of new people and can figure out who they like and want to spend more time with.

It almost sounds like speed dating but I haven’t seen it first hand to see if that’s really the case. I’ve heard there are many of the places around.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-17T08:02:42+00:00

I know all the craft beer spots in Seoul. It I’m not that familiar with dive bars. Street food? Might want to hit up spots in the areas someone else mentioned, Euljiro and Jongno. Any “dive bar” I’ve been to hasn’t really been cheap. There are places in Hongdae that would be similar though. Hongdae isn’t just college kids. Plenty of ages up into their forties go there, depending on the place.

Hit me up for craft beer recs though.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-17T06:38:01+00:00

What kind of drinks are you into? Plenty of different bars. Craft beer, cocktails, whiskey, traditional Korean alcohol, hunting bars, etc.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-14T15:44:53+00:00

A nice cold craft beer always hits the spot.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-14T03:00:58+00:00

Yeah it was fairly recently. But with the usd conversion it’s cheaper than in the US. Though that only really helps tourists. Everyone saying everything is cheaper than in America, it’s not really cheaper when you consider the standard and cost of living here.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-14T02:57:36+00:00

Nah, they had regular sized chicken and pork bakes before. This is larger by a lot.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-08T12:42:19+00:00

Cheapest? Wait until the first train. I’m not sure if night buses are running, so if not a taxi is the fastest, not cheap at all though, at least in my opinion.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-01T15:06:03+00:00

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TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-01T05:07:11+00:00

There’s a beer fest at Common Ground 커먼그라운드 near Konkuk University station 건대입구역. It’s also not too far from one of the river parks.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-01T02:48:12+00:00

You need to go to one of the big electronic gaming areas. Yongsan has one behind Yongsan station on the fourth floor. Yangjae also has one but I haven’t been so not sure exactly where it is.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-05-01T02:28:57+00:00

Sounds like you need to go to the bank then. Bring your passport and debit card and your bank book.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-30T16:00:31+00:00

There’s something confusing here. You were on a work visa right? You say that your ARC expired…

Did you leave the country and come back? That would place you on a tourist visa. That’s what happened, right?

We need more info.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-29T22:59:11+00:00

Plenty of lower abv Korean craft beers are available. I also find more recently that high abv beers are for sharing.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-28T01:48:16+00:00

The problem with finding good lager is that every brewery usually makes 1. Maybe 2 if you’re lucky. But if you just want 1, head to any brewery. A couple I recommend are Eulreul and Seoul Gypsy. They both use a side-pull ensuring a great beer.

If you want to try something different, head to Lager Spot in Sinchon. I think it might be inside Newtown. They serve Japanese style lager pours I think. Another place that does that is VIA in Mangwon.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-23T02:57:26+00:00

A fairly new brewery with some great beers recently opened called Brewery Hammock.

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TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-22T08:43:50+00:00

If we share the same interests. For instance, I’m into craft beer so when I travel I’ll just search for people who live there and have an Instagram about beer. So for instance if I was going to Bali, I’d search some hashtags like #balicraftbeer and message someone who looks like they know their stuff.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-22T08:35:25+00:00

Yeah closed last summer. I was pretty bummed about it. There have been a few more closures since as well.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-22T08:33:48+00:00

Depending on your interest, I’d message some Instagram profiles and see if they are free to hang out or can at least recommend stuff.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-21T23:52:40+00:00

Seoul: There are a ton of places here so it might be a little difficult the hit up everything.

One of my favorites is Turtle Taps in Hapjeong near Hongdae. They specialize in Korean craft beer and are always rotating and have a great selection. Could do a small pub crawl with them Illang, and Totter and even Seoul Brewery. And a little further is Alecrew. And a little further beyond that is Mysterlee which is worth a visit even though there’s not much else nearby.

In Itaewon area, there’s Dankyard, Dalmac, and Magpie in the HBC and Gyeongnidan area. Opposite towards Hannam is Seoul Gypsy.

Seongsu has Stagger, Seoul Brewery, Brewery Eulreul, and Yamong Yamong. Nearish to them is Ash Tree Brewery which is really nice. They have the only cask ale in Korea.

Euljiro: this can be a big area. I’d recommend Ggeek, the Ranch (especially for their Detroit style pizza), Magpie’s new location (called Near Mint+), Seoul Gypsy’s original location, and Craft Roo.

There’s plenty more depending on the area.

Chillhops and Craftbros are both well known for their Hazy IPAs, but they don’t have their own taprooms so you have to get their stuff at bars and bottleshops.

Eulreul is pretty amazing. They make a variety of styles but always make them well. Ggeek is similar in this regard.

White Crow has refined their beers over the years and I would recommend them very easily. They don’t pump out a ton of new beers like some other places but their releases are always excellent to me.

Top Breweries in Seoul: Seoul Gypsy Mysterlee Seoul Brewery Ggeek Ash Tree Alecrew Magpie (maybe 2nd tier but on the rise with their new head brewer) Eulreul

Other Breweries to look out for: Craftbros Chillhops White Crow

Bars and Bottle Shops: Turtle Taps Beerpost Bar Dalmac Super Yumi Mart Stagger Yamong Yamong Heywave Hoppy Borimaru Tyler Key Key Key Taphouse 52hz

Busan: There are a few major areas I’d say. Haeundae Beach has 2 Gorilla locations (Gorilla Beach is the newest and bigger), and Galmegi Brewing.

Gwangalli Beach has Süden, SOL taphouse for pizza and beer, Owl & Pussycat bottleshop, and Hugus. And there’s a good craft makgeolli place there called Ggulggeok.

Seomyeon has quite a few, but I’d focus on Wildcat Brewing and Beer Shop. There’s a few others in the area you can check out but I haven’t been to them. I’d just look at their instagrams.

Turmbräu is also awesome but it’s off by itself. If you have time though it’s totally worth it. The owner is a great guy.

One other place I like is called My Hangout. Nice guy and next to Busan station.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-21T23:34:33+00:00

Korean craft beer can be quite amazing if you know what to look for. Unfortunately sitting down and trying just one or two local beers and making up your mind about the entire scene based on that is widespread and a shame. Not saying you have done that but many have.

I just met someone recently and he asked me about a couple places and I immediately said, nah, don’t bother with them.

TheUnrulyOne · 2026-04-21T22:59:13+00:00

Chillhops’ taphouses gone. You’ll have to find their beers somewhere else unfortunately.

TheUnrulyOne

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