First Time in Seoul: Plan Your First Meals

Choose the meal that fits your day

For a day around Gyeongbokgung, start with the Samcheong-dong option. For a Dongdaemun outing with someone to share a meal, consider the chicken pot. These are separate meal plans: choose one for the area you are visiting.

Palace-area lunch: Samcheong-dong Sujebi

Samcheong-dong Sujebi (삼청동수제비) serves sujebi, soup with hand-torn pieces of dough, at 101-1 Samcheong-ro. Potato pancake, 감자전, is another option. Choose the soup as your meal and decide whether to add a dish after checking portion sizes.

Suggested sequence: palace visit, lunch, then Samcheong-dong streets. This keeps the meal in the same part of Seoul. If your palace visit runs late, check current service hours before setting out.

Dongdaemun meal to share: Jin Ok-hwa

Jin Ok-hwa Halmae Wonjo Dak Hanmari (진옥화할매원조닭한마리) is at 18 Jong-ro 40ga-gil. Its main dish is 닭한마리, a whole-chicken pot. Kalguksu noodles can form the next part of the meal. Check the pot size and add-on prices before ordering.

Suggested sequence: Dongdaemun outing, chicken pot, then decide whether you still want snacks. Keep this as the main meal instead of arriving after a full market lunch.

If you are eating alone

Start by comparing bowl-based meals, then confirm the restaurant's single-diner policy. Soup on the menu does not establish that one-person orders are accepted. Show 혼자 식사 가능한가요? (Can I eat here alone?) and 1인분 주문 가능한가요? (Can I order one portion?). For a chicken pot, ask about the minimum order before joining a queue.

Keep a nearby alternative

If the first choice is closed, the wait does not fit your plans, or the minimum order is too large, open the Jongno restaurant list. Compare map locations before choosing: being in the same district does not mean a restaurant is next door. Save the Korean name and address of your main choice and one alternative.

Menu and address references checked September 5, 2026: Visit Seoul: Samcheong-dong Sujebi and Korea Tourism Organization: Jin Ok-hwa. Confirm current hours, prices and order conditions with each restaurant.

Taste with a guide or cook yourself

Want a guided food activity? Compare a market walk with a cooking class before choosing a time slot.