[Jeon Jin-young's Nopo Exploration] Elders and MZ Both 'Relax and Enjoy Drinks'... Jongno 3-ga Lee Kyung-moon Sundae Gopchang

Hearty Sundae Gopchang Jeongol
From Senior Favorite to 'MZ Hot Place'
'Open Run' from 5 PM on Weekdays

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] We decided to meet on a weekday evening to catch up with colleagues who are each struggling in their own daily lives. We planned to have a glass of soju together, and surprisingly, the location chosen was near Jongno 3-ga Station on Seoul Subway Line 1. When I remarked, "Are we really going to an old folks' hangout spot?" my colleague said there was an 'MZ (Millennial + Generation Z) hot place' in Jongno 3-ga. My colleague ended the debate over the location by saying, "If you arrive after 5 p.m., you’ll definitely have to wait in line, so come early before then." The meeting place was 'Lee Kyung Moon Sundae Gopchang' near Jongno 3-ga Station. I didn’t realize until we entered the restaurant that a strange scene of both elderly and young people gathering together would unfold.

The restaurant is run by a married couple who used to sell jewelry in Jongno 3-ga but switched to running a gopchang hot pot restaurant, their specialty, more than 20 years ago. By the way, the name ‘Lee Kyung Moon’ is the female owner’s name. The owner said, "I’ve been working so much that time just flew by. I don’t even remember the exact year we opened the restaurant." They sell sundae guk (blood sausage soup) at lunch and gopchang hot pot in the evening. The dish is characterized by being served in a stone pot filled to the brim with generous ingredients. The gopchang hot pot we ordered that day bubbled vigorously with bright red broth, blood sausage, pork intestines, and perilla leaves as soon as the gas stove was turned on. When I asked what’s left if you put this much blood sausage instead of glass noodle sundae, the owner said, "Even if prices rise, I try not to worry about ingredient costs. As long as people eat a lot and keep coming back, that’s enough." The broth was full of perilla seeds, releasing a nutty flavor the more it boiled. Perhaps because the side dishes never ran out, many YouTubers who are known for their drinking videos have recently visited this place. It is also famous as a spot that singer Choiza visits separately even after introducing it on a food show.

Gopchang Jeongol at 'I Gyeongmun Sundae Gopchang' in Jongno 3-ga.

Our team was the last to enter before 5 p.m., and soon a long line began to form outside the restaurant. Most of the people appeared to be college students or office workers. When I asked the owner if young people had always been frequent customers, she replied, "About three years ago, word of mouth started spreading among young people, and recently many have been coming to the restaurant." She said that during the day, elderly customers who come to Jongno early to enjoy drinks and office workers who come to relieve hangovers from the previous night sit mixed together. After all, there’s no age when it comes to relaxing and drinking.

Next to our table, an elderly couple was sharing soju. There was a broth container placed in the corner of the restaurant for anyone who needed a refill, and naturally, I offered some to the elderly couple at the next table, saying, "Would you like some broth?" When the elderly couple raised their glasses, we naturally poured more soju, and when we ordered fried rice, the couple who had been quietly watching our table also fried rice. Our conversations about life, love and marriage, and work deepened, and they nodded with a relaxed smile. Will today’s worries become nothing as we grow older? What kind of challenges will we face when we get older? In this half-young, half-elderly restaurant, our young group’s conversations about life continued late into the night. Whatever we talked about so passionately, it seemed to have flown away with the alcohol, as I couldn’t remember it the next day.