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You know that moment when someone on a food travel show takes a single spoonful of broth and their whole face just changes? That was Oh My Girl's Mimi on Baekban Gijang Episode 320, set in Hoengseong, Gangwon Province. We watched the episode, packed the car, and drove out there ourselves — and we're here to give you the unfiltered version of what to expect.
The short answer: the food is as good as it looks on TV. The longer answer: you absolutely need a reservation for at least one of these spots, and if you wait more than a week after the episode airs, good luck getting a table on the weekend.
📍 Why Hoengseong Is Worth the Two-Hour Drive from Seoul
Hoengseong sits about 1.5 to 2 hours east of Seoul along the Yeongdong Expressway, which got significantly easier to navigate after recent infrastructure improvements. The town holds a government-designated Hanwoo (Korean beef) Special Zone status, meaning the beef here isn't just good — it's regulated and traceable in ways you won't find at your average Seoul BBQ spot.
Baekban Gijang (백반기행) is a long-running Korean food travel program hosted by veteran cartoonist Hur Young-man. The show finds small, locally loved restaurants — the kind with no Instagram presence but a loyal neighborhood following going back decades. Episode 320 focused entirely on spots that Mimi from Oh My Girl grew up knowing. That context matters: these aren't tourist traps dressed up for cameras.
🥩 Samjeong (삼정한우) — Korean Beef Omakase, Done Properly
🔥 Fifteen cuts of Hanwoo, grilled in sequence by the chef — this is the main event
Samjeong is not a standard Korean BBQ restaurant where you flip your own meat. The chef handles everything — working through up to 15 different Hanwoo cuts in a specific sequence, explaining each one as they go. You'll encounter cuts like sachisal (chuck flap), chaekeut (sirloin), and toshisal (onglet) that rarely appear on typical restaurant menus. It's unhurried, educational, and genuinely excellent.
📍 Address: 4536-3 Gyeonggang-ro, Dunnae-myeon, Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do
📞 Phone: 033-342-3365
⏰ Hours: Daily 11:30 AM – 8:30 PM (Break: 3:00 PM – 5:30 PM)
🚫 Closed: Tuesdays
🎫 How to actually get a reservation:
- Lunch slots must be booked before 2:00 PM closing of the morning session
- Dinner reservations open after 5:30 PM (post-break)
- Weekend tables fill up 3 weeks out — not an exaggeration
- Weekday evenings are your best realistic window
- Budget roughly ₩50,000–₩70,000 per person (approx. $37–$52 USD)
🍜 Imone Kalguksu (이모네칼국수) — 30-Year-Old Doenjang Noodle Soup Institution
🥣 Fermented soybean broth, hand-pulled noodles, and the kind of comfort food that locals have driven across town for since the '90s
If you watched the episode closely, you saw Mimi go very quiet after the first spoonful — the kind of quiet that means something unexpected just happened. The broth here is made from doenjang (fermented soybean paste) simmered for over 8 hours, then combined with hand-pulled noodles made fresh each morning. It's deeply savory, earthy, and completely different from anything you'd find at a chain restaurant.
Jang kalguksu is the full name of the dish — "jang" referring to the fermented paste base. It's a Gangwon-do regional specialty that most travelers outside Korea have never tried. This is one of those rare cases where the regional version is simply better than anything adapted for city menus.
📍 Address: 40 Euphabuk-ro, Hoengseong-eup, Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do
📞 Phone: 033-344-8886
⏰ Hours: Mon–Fri 10:00 AM – 7:00 PM / Sat 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
🚫 Closed: Sundays
⏱️ How to avoid the line:
- Arrive at open (10:00 AM) — you'll walk straight in
- The 12–1 PM window is completely chaotic, skip it
- Weekday afternoons between 2:00–4:00 PM are the sweet spot
- Price range: ₩7,000–₩9,000 per bowl (about $5–$7 USD) — genuinely one of Korea's best value meals
🌿 Kkamu House (까무하우스) — Gondre Bibimbap Shrine That Opens at 6 AM
☀️ A mountain herb rice bowl that somehow fixes everything — especially if you're jet-lagged or running on four hours of sleep
Gondre (고려엉겅퀴) is a thistle-family mountain herb native to Gangwon Province. It has a mild, slightly grassy flavor and is used in rice dishes, soups, and side dishes throughout the region. Kkamu House centers its whole menu around gondre bibimbap — mixed rice with the herb, sesame oil, and a handful of well-executed banchan.
The thing that makes this place special is the grilled deodeok root (더덕구이) served alongside. Deodeok is a bellflower root with a pleasantly bitter, almost nutty flavor when grilled. The combination of the earthy gondre rice with the smoky, slightly caramelized deodeok is one of those food pairings that seems simple on paper but keeps you thinking about it long after the meal.
📍 Address: 4545 Gyeonggang-ro, Dunnae-myeon, Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do
📞 Phone: 033-343-7402
⏰ Hours: Daily 6:00 AM – 3:00 PM
🚫 Closed: Sundays (occasional unannounced closures)
☀️ Why morning is actually the best time to visit:
- Opens at 6:00 AM — you can drive from Seoul and arrive comfortably before the day fills up
- The kitchen closes at 3:00 PM sharp — don't push it
- Call ahead on the day of your visit — occasional surprise closures happen
- Prices: ₩8,000–₩12,000 (about $6–$9 USD)
🗺️ How to Hit All Three in One Day Without Burning Out
🌅 7:00 AM — Start at Kkamu House for gondre bibimbap. Light, grounding, and genuinely satisfying as a first meal.
🍖 12:00 PM — Samjeong Hanwoo omakase. This is your centerpiece. Take your time — the experience is meant to be slow.
🌙 5:00 PM — Finish the day at Imone Kalguksu. The broth will settle your stomach after all that beef. Try to arrive before 7:00 PM.
Geography note: Kkamu House and Samjeong are both in Dunnae-myeon and sit about five minutes apart by car. Imone Kalguksu is in Hoengseong-eup, roughly 20 minutes away. The triangle works well as a day route — no excessive backtracking.
📋 Before You Leave: Pre-Trip Checklist
- Samjeong reservation confirmed? — Book 1–2 weeks minimum. This is non-negotiable.
- Avoid Sundays — Most places in this list are closed. Plan accordingly.
- Call Kkamu House the morning of — Unannounced closures are common enough to warrant a 30-second phone call.
- Screenshot operating hours — Cell signal in the Dunnae area can be spotty. Offline access to info is helpful.
- Navigate by phone number — Korean navigation apps (Kakao, Naver Maps) are more accurate than Google Maps for rural addresses. Search by phone number for best results.
- Parking is tight — Weekdays and early arrivals give you the best odds of finding a spot without stress.
🎪 A Note on the Annual Hoengseong Hanwoo Festival
Every October, Hoengseong hosts its annual Hanwoo beef festival, and the town's visitor traffic multiplies dramatically. Wait times at restaurants easily stretch 2–3 hours, and reservations at Samjeong can fill up a full month in advance. If you're not specifically coming for the festival, avoid that window — or arrive on a weekday and plan to be at the restaurant before it opens.
In 2025, the Hoengseong Hanwoo Festival is expected during the first week of October.
❄️ Winter Visits: What You Need to Know
Gangwon Province is Korea's snowiest region, and Dunnae-myeon sits at enough elevation that it gets hit harder than the coast. Winter tires are essential. If the Korean Meteorological Administration issues a heavy snow advisory, pushing your trip by a day is almost always the right call. The restaurants will still be there. A ditch in the snow is a much harder problem.
❓ Common Questions
How long is the drive from Seoul to Hoengseong?
Plan for 1.5 to 2 hours via the Yeongdong Expressway under normal conditions. On weekend mornings, add another 30 minutes for outbound traffic around Seoul. If you're targeting Kkamu House's 6:00 AM opening, departing from central Seoul around 4:30 AM gives you a comfortable margin.
If I can only visit one restaurant, which should it be?
For the most distinctly regional experience — something you genuinely can't replicate in Seoul — go to Samjeong for the Hanwoo omakase. If budget is a factor, Imone Kalguksu delivers local authenticity at around ₩7,000–₩9,000 per bowl, and that's a meal you'll remember for completely different reasons.
Where can I watch Baekban Gijang Episode 320?
Search for "백반기행 320회" or "Baekban Gijang Mimi Hoengseong" on Naver TV. Clips from the episode are available free. Watching the episode before visiting actually helps with ordering — you'll know exactly which dishes the chef highlighted and can ask for them by name.
🎬 Final Thoughts
Here's the thing about Hoengseong: it doesn't feel like a place that's trying to be discovered. These restaurants have been quietly excellent for years — some for decades — and the Baekban Gijang episode just made that much harder to keep a secret.
If you're planning a visit, book Samjeong now and build your day around that reservation. The beef is worth the drive. The noodles are worth the early morning. And if you time it right, you can spend twelve hours eating some of the most honest food in Gangwon Province without touching a tourist itinerary.
Just don't wait too long. The weekend tables fill up fast, and they don't hold for stragglers.
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