Hi everyone!
This time, a friend of mine suddenly
got a serious craving for ganjang gejang,
so while we were looking for a good place to eat around Gongdeok,
we ended up stumbling across this spot by chance.
Honestly, finding great restaurants near Mapo Station
—especially a solid ganjang gejang place—
is harder than you’d think, right?
So I went in with cautious expectations,
but to give you the short version:
Seosan Kkotge is genuinely
a place I’d happily recommend.
Basic Info
Place: Seosan Kkotge
Address: 12-3 Dohwa-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Phone: +82-2-719-9693
Hours: Wednesday to Tuesday, 11:50 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Break time: 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
(Service resumes at 5:30 p.m.)
Parking: Paid parking lots nearby
Rating: 4.3 / 5
What to expect:
A specialty restaurant for fresh blue crab dishes, including ganjang gejang and spicy marinated crab
A generous meal for about $29 per person
A cozy local spot with an old-school neighborhood feel
Location and how to get there near Mapo Station
Seosan Kkotge is located
near Mapo Station.
It’s tucked behind the Seoul Garden Hotel
in a small side alley,
so if it’s your first time visiting,
you might wander a little at first,
but once you find it, the location is actually pretty straightforward.
So if you’re looking for restaurants near Mapo Station,
I’d say it’s still
fairly easy to access.
The restaurant doesn’t offer its own parking,
so I recommend using
a nearby public or private paid lot.
A true local favorite from the very first impression
Even from the outside,
doesn’t it just have that look?
It really gives off
that hidden neighborhood gem energy.
Even the sign feels like
it belongs to a long-running old-school restaurant,
so before I even walked in,
I could already feel
my expectations rising.
When you’re searching for restaurants near Mapo Station
or the best ganjang gejang in Seoul,
finding a place with this kind of atmosphere
is weirdly satisfying.
Small dining room and a useful tip before you go
The inside was
smaller than I expected.
There were about seven tables,
give or take,
so the whole place felt pretty compact.
Maybe because of that,
during busy lunch and dinner hours,
seats seem to fill up fast.
If you go at peak time like I did,
there’s a good chance you’ll have to wait,
so if you’re looking for the best ganjang gejang in Seoul,
I definitely recommend making a reservation
before you go.
What comes with the ganjang gejang set
At Seosan Kkotge,
the menu is basically
built around one thing:
the ganjang gejang set meal.
So there’s really no need to overthink it—
you just order by the number of people,
which honestly makes things easier.
Since there were two of us,
we ordered the set for two.
While looking for restaurants near Mapo Station,
seeing a menu this simple and focused
made me even more excited.
A generous spread of side dishes
Once we ordered,
the banchan started arriving one by one.
There was salted oyster, kimchi jjigae, and steamed egg,
plus yellow croaker, gamtae seaweed, roasted laver, and seasoned vegetables.
In no time,
the whole table was completely filled.
At a glance, you could tell
everything was meant to be wrapped and paired with rice and crab,
and the combination with the ganjang gejang
looked like it would be perfect.
As one of the best ganjang gejang spots in Seoul,
you could really tell
they put thought into even the smallest side dishes.
The jeon was so good we ordered more
And personally,
one of the things I loved most here
was the jeon.
They serve both crab meat jeon
and pollock jeon,
and both were way better than I expected.
Especially the crab meat jeon—
I took one bite and immediately ordered another round.
Crispy on the outside,
moist and tender inside—
you know that perfect texture?
It works as an amazing drinking snack
and an equally great side with rice.
The main event: ganjang gejang finally arrives
And then finally,
out came the star of the meal: ganjang gejang.
The presentation alone was absolutely stunning.
You get
two large crabs,
and they were packed with roe,
enough to make my mouth water instantly.
If you’re searching for restaurants near Mapo Station
or trying to find a great ganjang gejang spot,
this visual alone
already feels like half the battle won.
First bite of the ganjang gejang
Now it was finally time
for the part we’d been waiting for.
The moment I cracked into the first bite,
wow—
every leg was seriously packed with roe.
Can you see it?
If you’re hunting for restaurants near Mapo Station
and come across this level of quality,
it instantly puts you
in a good mood from the very first bite.
Why this ganjang gejang tastes so clean
When people think of ganjang gejang,
they usually expect it to be salty first, right?
But here,
the seasoning was actually milder than I expected,
and somehow that made it even better,
because there was zero fishy taste.
If anything, the lighter seasoning
made everything taste cleaner and more delicate,
and it really highlighted
how fresh the crab was.
That alone makes it
worthy of the best ganjang gejang in Seoul conversation.
The best way to eat it: with rice
And once you eat it with rice,
it’s game over.
Put the crab meat and roe
right on top of a spoonful of rice,
and it just melts
in your mouth.
Especially inside the shell,
there was so much roe packed in there
that I scraped up every last bit with a spoon.
Seriously, skipping that would be a mistake.
If you’re looking for restaurants near Mapo Station,
this is the combination you absolutely have to try.
A perfect finish with nurungji tea
After we had nearly finished the crab,
they brought out sungnyung at the end.
And honestly, that was such a nice touch.
Paired with the side dishes,
it was the perfect palate cleanser.
The whole meal
wrapped up in such a clean, satisfying way
that the two of us
polished everything off in no time.
To sum it up,
this is absolutely one of the restaurants near Mapo Station
I’d recommend to anyone looking for great ganjang gejang.
It’s the kind of place
I think is worth trying at least once.
First of all, the ganjang gejang itself
has a clean, not-too-salty profile,
so even if you usually find
soy sauce crab a little overwhelming,
this version is easy to enjoy.
More than anything,
the crabs were so full of roe
that every bite felt extra satisfying.
On top of that, the side dishes were strong across the board,
and the jeon was delicious too,
so overall,
the full table spread felt high quality.
The price is a little on the higher side,
but for this level of quality,
it actually felt
completely reasonable to me.
If you’re looking for the best ganjang gejang in Seoul
and want a truly satisfying meal,
I think Seosan Kkotge
is a place you’ll be very happy with.
I recommend this place for:
Anyone who wants to try really good ganjang gejang
Anyone searching for restaurants near Mapo Station
Anyone who prefers clean-tasting crab without any fishiness
Anyone who loves a generous Korean table spread
That’s it for my
honest paid-by-me review.
Likes and comments are always welcome!
And I’m always happy to connect with fellow bloggers.