Sinseon Seolleongtang (Myeongdong Branch)

Milky soup made using ox bones and brisket at Sinseon Seolleongtang
Milky soup made using ox bones and brisket at Sinseon Seolleongtang (Myeongdong Branch)

Sinseon Seolleongtang (Myeongdong Branch) is a popular restaurant found all over Korea serving up tasty bowls of ox bone soup known as seolleongtang. This restaurant, located in busy Myeong-dong, is popular with foreign visitors including Japanese tourists who have flocked here after the restaurant was featured in a Japanese magazine.

Seolleongtang is a soup made by simmering ox bones for hours until it turns into a milky white broth. The longer the broth has to simmer, the better the broth tastes as the flavor is extracted from the bones. The ox bones, usually leg bones, are from Australia. Added to the warm and rich broth is brisket and sliced green onions.

Exterior of Sinseon Seolleongtang in Seoul
Exterior of the restaurant

The taste of seolleongtang is very unique with a taste that resembles that of mushrooms. It has a very neutral flavor with less salt than you would expect for a soup. The sliced brisket is tender and adds much needed protein while the green onions add texture and crunch to the soup.

Served with the bowl of seolleongtang is a refillable bowl of rice. When the rice is mixed with the soup, it soaks up all the flavors and makes each bite quite delicious and filling. To the side of the table are self serve containers holding different types of kimchi and other condiments such as salt, pepper, and red chili flakes.

Milky white broth of seolleongtang
Milky white broth of seolleongtang

Other than seolleongtang, you can try out Baekse Seolleongtang (special ox bone stew), Doganitang (ox knee bone stew), Mandu Seolleongtang (ox bone stew and boiled rice with dumplings), Sinsun Jjinmandu (steamed dumplings), and Modeum Suyuk (assorted boiled tender beef).

The Sinseon Seolleongtang menu includes photos of each dish and descriptions in English, Korean, and Japanese. Service here is friendly and workers are use to serving foreign visitors. Servers will gladly refill your bowl of rice or offer you a spoon or fork if the metal chopsticks give you a little bit of trouble while trying to eat the brisket and rice.

Inside Sinseon Seolleongtang in Seoul
Interior of the restaurant

Sinseon Seolleongtangis open 24 hours a day. It is a great place to visit for a dinner with friends, late at night when everything else is closed, or for an early lunch after a late night of drinking. The soup is also a great cure a for hangover after a long night of drinking in Myeongdong.

Sinseon Seolleongtangis a solid choice for a unique and tasty bowl of Korean seolleongtang soup in an area that can be filled with touristy restaurants.

Table of Contents

Hours

24 hours

Directions

Take Subway Line 4 to Myeong-dong Station (Exit 8).
Make a left and continue for 300 meters.
Turn right onto Myeongdong-gil where you see the ABC Mart.
Continue for 25 meters to reach the restaurant on the right.


Sinseon Seolleongtang (Myeongdong Branch)
3-1, Myeongdong 10-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul

Map

Last Updated on Dec 28, 2021