Hadongkwan (하동관, 河東館) is a gomtang restaurant in Myeong-dong, Jung District, Seoul. Opened in Suha-dong beside Cheonggyecheon Stream in 1939, it is one of Seoul’s best-known long-established restaurants and has served a single menu item, gomtang, for nearly 90 years. It is known for placing rice in the soup before serving it with brisket and offal from Hanwoo beef [document], as well as for a culture of ordering jargon used by regulars, such as “kkakguk” and “neondung-mandung.”
1939: Kim Yong-taek (김용택) and Ryu Chang-hee (류창희), a married couple, opened the restaurant in Suha-dong (水下洞, “the village below the water”) in Jung District. The name Hadongkwan derives from this place name.
1960s: Jang Nak-hang (장낙항) and Hong Chang-rok (홍창록), a married couple who were acquainted with the founders, took over the restaurant; accounts differ as to whether this occurred in 1963 or 1964. In 1968, their daughter-in-law Kim Hee-young (김희영) succeeded them, and Jang Seung-yeon (장승연) currently continues the business.
June 2007: The Suha-dong building was demolished as part of the redevelopment of the Cheonggyecheon area, prompting the restaurant to relocate to Myeong-dong. Although the location changed, its cooking methods and regular-customer culture were carried over intact.
2018: Selected for the Bib Gourmand in the Michelin Guide Seoul [document].
Single-item gomtang menu: Rice is added in advance to a clear gomtang made with brisket and offal (naepo) from hanwoo (Korean beef) [article]. The hanwoo is sourced exclusively from Palpan Butcher Shop in Palpan-dong. The saying, "One menu item, more than a dozen ways to eat it," sums up the restaurant.
Ordering jargon: matbaegi (less rice and more meat), neondung-mandung (for hangovers, with very little rice), kkakguk (eaten with kkakdugi brine poured in), tongdak (a single egg sold at the entrance), and seumugong (20,000 won's worth, with generous portions of naepo and meat). This vocabulary system built up between regulars and the restaurant is itself part of the heritage of this long-established establishment.
Early closing: The main location opens at 7 a.m. and closes at 4 p.m. It closes even earlier if the ingredients run out.
Branches: In addition to the Myeong-dong main location, it has branches in places such as COEX Mall and Yeouido (locations may vary over time).
MICHELIN Guide Seoul (미쉐린 가이드 서울) [article] Bib Gourmand (2018–present).
Official Hadongkwan (하동관) website (hadongkwan.co.kr)
Bizhankook, Park Chan-il's Long-Established Restaurant Series: Hadongkwan
Official MICHELIN Guide announcement of the 2018 Seoul Bib Gourmand selection