5 Vegan Dining Spots in HBC
Bordering Itaewon and running down the southern foot of Namsan mountain is a small village called Haebangchon. As one of the oldest villages in Seoul, Haebangchon (popularly abbreviated to HBC) has an extensive history. Most notably, it was the settling place of displaced persons after Japanese Occupation (1910-1945) and the Korean War (1950-1953), during which families either fled from North Korea or lost their homes to the war. The massive number of unlicensed homes that appeared in the area marked HBC as one of the original shanty towns of Korea and its particular circumstances led to the naming of the village as “haebangchon,” meaning “liberation (haebang) village (chon).”
Still frame of an old video of the Haebangchon; Source: KTV 국민방송, “과거·현재 공존…해방촌 변화의 바람."
At a glance, it’s difficult to ascertain HBC’s history as a poor tragedy-stricken town. In recent years, the area has become a hot spot for trendy cafes, pubs, and more. Furthermore, its proximity to Itaewon-the designated foreigner district- has made it an especially popular place for expats to settle and start their own businesses. With such a large influx of foreigners, a great number of vegan restaurants and cafes also appeared. Below, I will be highlighting 5 vegan spots I’ve visited in HBC!
By Tofu
By Tofu is by far my favorite restaurant in HBC, if not one of my favorite vegan restaurants in Seoul! They offer a decent sized menu with nutritious and healthy ingredients; options include salads, sandwiches, and wraps along with a variety of drinks such as coffees, teas, sparkling beverages, and tap beer. A rotating selection of bakery items including cookies, muffins, cakes, and breads are also offered.
By Tofu’s most popular menu item is their Sunrise Bowl, which includes Baked Tofu, broccoli, quinoa salad, soy mayo, and lime vinegar. It is tasty and more filling than its size would lead you to believe. However, I’d personally recommend the byTOFU Wrap, which comes with tofu, quinoa salad, lettuce pickled carrots, jalapeno, a delicious creamy aioli sauce, and cilantro (optional) all wrapped in a large flour tortilla. This thing is everything I ever want in a wrap: its huge, stuffed to the max with veggies, and packed with flavor. I’m craving it now just thinking about it!
I also enjoy their iced Citrus Mint Tea, which is a Yuja tea infused with a mint tea bag, and their rice flour Levain Cookie. I like to take drinks and desserts to-go in my own Hydroflask and box since By Tofu offers discounts for bringing in your own reusable containers (-500 won for bottles and 10% for lunchboxes). Their efforts to reduce waste are also evident in the restaurant’s décor, which is made using upcycled waste materials.
Run by dog owners, By Tofu is extremely dog friendly, with pets being allowed both inside and outside. There’s even a water dish available for customers to borrow! Vegan dog treats are also sold at the front of the store.
The only downside to By Tofu is that the space is very small, seating a maximum of 16~20 people. If you’re set on visiting (which you should), aim to go either around opening or during off-hours, especially if in a group.
Address: 서울 용산구 소월로20길 10 바이두부
10 Sowol-ro 20-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Hours: Thursday-Monday: 9:30-17:00
Tuesday and Wednesday: Closed
The Royal Food & Drink
The Royal Food & Drink is a vegan-friendly brunch spot located near the top of HBC. While their menu isn’t entirely vegan, there are a plethora of vegan options on the menu, making it the perfect spot for anyone to grab a bite or drink together. The restaurant has also become well-known online for its outstanding views; I’m certain I see a picture from this place at least once a week on my Instagram feed.
As stated above, the menu has a mixture of vegan and non-vegan options. Vegan brunch options include the soy yogurt bowl, tempeh hummus plate, banana peanut butter French toast, and two types of sandwiches: tempeh hummus and veggie hummus. Non-vegan options include the salmon avocado plate, breakfast cheese and bacon bagel, chicken hummus plate, and the Royal’s breakfast which comes with tomato, chicken chipolata, bacon, scrambled eggs, mushrooms, and toast. The restaurant also has an extensive drink menu, including an assortment of red wines, cocktails, beers (on tap and bottled/canned), and coffees.
When I visited, I tried their veggie hummus sandwich. It was a huge sandwich, with fresh cucumber, tomato, avocado, lettuce, and micro greens served on a large piece of ciabatta speared with hummus. I enjoyed it a lot and felt very satisfied afterwards!
Overall, The Royal Food & Drink has a rustic industrial vibe with concrete and exposed piping decorating the space. There are three floors; on the ground floor is the counter for ordered along with a few tables. Going up the stairs to the second floor is an outdoor seating area with both covered and uncovered tables. A couple extra steps up lead you to another indoor seating area; this is where you’ll find the Insta-famous spot everyone uses to take pictures.
You can’t actually sit here as there’s a sign on the table designating it as a photo-only zone, so take your pictures then find somewhere else to sit down.
I found this spot to eat at afterwards and thought it looked cool too!
Hours: Mon-Thurs: 10:00-18:00 (last order 17:15)
Fri-Sun: 10:00-20:00 (last order 19:15)
Address: 서울 용산구 신흥로20길 37
37 Sinheung-ro 20-gil, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Vegetus
I’ve already mentioned Vegetus in a past blog post, but to comment on it once more, Vegetus it is a vegan café located on a corner street with a straight-forward western-inspired menu, friendly staff, and relaxing décor. I highly recommend ordering the Vegetus Burger, which comes with a lentil patty, grilled eggplant and onion, sprouts, cilantro sauce, and mayonnaise along with a side of salad and potato wedges. Vegetus also serves a variety of baked goods; I’ve only ever tried their brownie, which I found to be lackluster, but perhaps other items are better. Another thing to note is that the employees speak fluent English.
Hours: Monday- Fri 12:00-9:30pm (Break time 3-5 pm)
Weekends 12:00-9:30pm (No Break time)
Last order 9:00pm
Address: 서울 용산구 용산동2가 22-12
22-12 Yongsan 2(i)ga-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul
Hmm market
Hmm market is a vegan-friendly restaurant and produce market selling a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. The menu is small and changes monthly, but there are always a few vegan options available. Dishes include the soup of the day, salad, pastas, vegetable fried rice, sandwiches, and more. Hmm market also offers a fruit plate sold at market price; you pick your own fruits from their market and they’ll prepare them for you!
When I visited, I ordered the fruit plate along with the vegan sandwich which came with cauliflower, mushrooms, asparagus, paprika, cilantro, and romesco on sourdough bread. The sandwich was just okay, nothing note-worthy. The fruit on the other hand was fantastic; perfectly ripe, sweet, and juicy. I picked up an apple sweet mango along with some kiwis, apricots, and plums which in total about 11,000 won (~10USD). That may sound expensive, but considering the quality and the fact that this is Korea, where fruit in general is very expensive, I found the price to be completely worth it!
Hmm market also carries their own newspaper, written in both Korean and English. It contains a few homecooked recipes along with articles related to produce and agriculture.
Hours: Tues-Fri: Market 11:00 – 21:00 ; Cafeteria 12 - 21:00
Sat-Sun: Market 11:00 -22:00 ; Cafeteria 12 - 22:00
Closed Mondays and 1st Tues of every month
Address: 서울 용산구 신흥로5길 8
39-26 Yongsandong 2(i)-ga, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Monk’s Deli
Monk’s Deli is a small vegan restaurant located right next door to the aforementioned Vegetus. Menu items include Just Egg French toast, green pesto tofu-noodle salad, curry rice, and their tofu-chicken burger and fries.
I don’t personally have much to say about this restaurant as when I visited, they were sold out of everything I was interested in trying. I ended up ordering their triple berry yogurt smoothie, which I was less than impressed by as it was rather thin and lacked flavor. However, I don’t want to write the place off as most reviews give it high ratings. I’ll chalk up my experience to bad luck. Their tofu-chicken sandwich does look delicious and is one of their most popular items, so if you’re craving something like that, I’d recommend giving Monk’s Deli a try! The staff were nice and, being mostly foreigners, spoke English fluently.
Some things to note if you want to visit are that: first, the price of the food is rather expensive with main courses costing between 11,000~18,000 won each. Second, the restaurant is very small, with only four two-person tables inside and a couple chairs outside.
Hours: Wed-Mon: 11:00 – 21:30 (last order 20:30)
Tuesday closed
Address: 서울 용산구 신흥로 57 103호
57 Sinheung-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 04338
And that’s it for this post! Overall, HBC is an awesome area to explore for a few hours, with an endless number of restaurants and cafes to try. Besides the places listed above, a handful of other shops nearby offer vegan options, such as the café Laundry Project which has soymilk and The Baker’s Table, which has a vegan sandwich option. So just keep your eye out for something good and have fun! If there are any other places you know of, our would like to hear about, let me know in the comments below!