Korea University is in the neighborhood of Anam. It is a more laid-back and university-town feel neighborhood. Despite being the "outskirt of Seoul", I think Anam is not as bad as I thought it was hearing what everyone says about Anam. Living in Anam gives a good balance between the city and the residential environment.
Anam has a wide-arrange of delicious restaurants at a cheap price. You will never go hungry because there are many places to choose from. All of the restaurants are within walking distance from KU & my goshiwon. I recommend using Naver Map to bookmark the locations for future reference.
Restaurants in Anam That Hits The Spot!
Salmon Iyagi 🍣
This hole-in-the-wall salmon sashimi place would want you to keep coming back. However, you always have to wait for a table because it's a small restaurant with limited tables. It's popular among the young-adults and couples. They are known for their big platters of sashimi that come with corn cheese, braised spicy salmon, and salmon collar. The salmon is super fresh, thickly sliced, buttery, and melts in your mouth!
Address: https://naver.me/5Yn5XIEx
Salmon Sarang 🍣
Another great salmon sashimi place! Right next to Cafe Pine. This place is never busy. I always get the sashimi bowl with avocados that only costs 12,000 WON (~$8.41 USD). I love how I can do a self-checkout when ordering because I don't need to embarrass myself speaking in Korean. You can also get unlimited banchan (side dishes) and seaweed soup!
Address: https://naver.me/FU3DOZHz
Kyochan Anam Branch 🍗
Kyochan is my favorite fried chicken place in Anam. Eating fried chicken is a must in Korea because they have perfected the recipe. It is super juicy, well-marinated, and crispy that is finger-licking good. I love getting their original flavor. It is a sweet-soy-based sauce that gives it a glossy finish. I recommend eating with a group of friends because the portions are big. Don't forget to order the fries!
Address: https://naver.me/Ge8ZVgjS
Promachi 🥪
The best sandwiches I ever had in Korea. I would say it is as good as EARLs in Hawai'i. I got the chicken pesto panini with the mushroom soup. BEST. COMBO. EVER. The panini was super cheesy and the bread was easy to chew. Dipping the sandwich in the mushroom soup was heavenly!
Address: https://naver.me/xmiKUcyo
Minyong 🍳
I LOVE & ADORE THIS BRUNCH PLACE. Everything on their menu is good. I HIGHLY recommend getting their gnocchi. It is my all-time favorite dish from them and probably the best thing I had in Korea LOL. The gnocchi was super light and fluffy. It literally melts in your mouth. The sauce was super rich and creamy. It is a chef's kiss. The scrambled egg and egg in hell were also good.
Address: https://naver.me/GB0WUszB
칠기두삭면소롱포 고대점 🍜
If you're ever craving for Chinese food, go to 칠기두삭면소롱포 for their xiao long bao and beef noodle soup! The broth is super flavorful and the noodles has the perfect chew. Most of their dishes are under 10,000 WON! Super affordable and you will definitely leave the restaurant with a food baby.
Address: https://naver.me/IDSr2hpY
고품콩 🐷
고품콩 has the best pork belly places in Anam. They serve quality pork belly that is irresistible. Pork belly hits differently in Korea. The pork belly in Korea is on the leaner side with the perfect meat and fat ratio. It is similar to eating pork chop but better. Koreans eat pork belly by adding wasabi, radish, ssamjang, green onions, and bean sprouts to the lettuce wrap. It's the best way to eat it because there's a lot of texture and flavor dancing in your mouth. The ahjummas do all the cooking. All you have to do is enjoy the show and eat!
Address: https://naver.me/IDSr2hpY
Yamato Tendong 🍤
This is not the place for you if you can't wait and have a short tempura. I got the
규텐동 which is a beef tempura rice bowl that comes with sweet pumpkin, eggplant, peper, lotus root, egg, and miso soup! The beef was super tender and the egg was cooked perfectly with a nice jammy egg yolk. Inside of the restaurant was filled with many Supreme merch haha.
Address: https://naver.me/5DkAiuME
Cafes to Study At
Cafe Pine
The wifi can be a little wonky on the second floor, but it is super cute inside. They have a lot of study rooms that you can reserve if you ever need to do a group project. I always and only get the hot peach tea.
Address: https://naver.me/52MIdrHR
Make Mi Happy
I recommend getting their earl gray cake. It is super light and creamy. The cream has a nice sweet infused earl gray tea taste. The smores M&M cookie was okay.
Address: https://naver.me/FBQOZw1v
Heyppy
This cafe has a very cozy and homey ambiance. It is pretty similar to Make Mi Happy because they also sell cakes. I always and only get the earl gray cake.
Address: https://naver.me/xasDFA5c
Cafe Ann
My usual go-to cafe if I know that I'll be studying late at night because it is open 24 hours.
Address: https://naver.me/Fp18XIQ1
Waffle Ally
They're known for their waffle + gelato set. The waffle reminded me of a croffle because it is more on the dense side with a caramelized outside. They have two branches in Anam. A pretty good place to study with a lot of seats and tables compared to other cafes.
Address: https://naver.me/GMessZmY
Oy Coffee
Very chill place to study with a nice open window with a lot of natural light coming in.
Address: https://naver.me/GY2RQyLt
Places to Check Out
24-Hour Self-Service Ice-Cream Shop
This place is literally ice-cream heaven! It's open all-day everyday so you can always go here for very cheap ice-cream! The cheapest ice-cream there was 600 won (~$0.42 USD).
Address: https://naver.me/G9sElglw
Arcade
I love going to the arcade for the dance dance revolution. They have a lot of claw machines, race car games, and air hockey.
Address: https://naver.me/xlO6FupF
Karaoke
Sing your heart out after midterms or late-night hangouts with friends. There are good amount of karaoke places around Anam. The karaoke we went to was only 20,000 won (~$14 USD) for one room for one hour, but we stayed for more than an hour because it is common for karaoke places to add more time if it is not busy.
Daiso
Daiso is an all-in-one convenient place to get your necessities for your room, hygiene, stationaries, masks, kitchenware, etc at a very affordable price. I am always bound to buy something at Daiso because of how cheap it is especially with the current USD to the WON exchange rate.
Address: https://naver.me/xXPBTZ72
Olive Young
Olive Young is like the Korean version of Sephora. It is everywhere in Seoul! You can get affordable skincare and cosmetics. Be on the lookout for 1+1 promotions!
Address: https://naver.me/FOXJM4Sb
Don't let the phrase "outskirt of Seoul" scare you that you'll be living far from the "fun stuff". I was surprised how there was a street filled with many restaurants because nobody talked about it. Anam has a lot to offer for being the outskirt of Seoul. It is super convenient to get what you need for the most part within walking distance. I hope this blog shows enough of what Anam is worth. This is just a few of the many restaurants that Anam has. I recommend walking around to try and check out the other restaurants, yuh ✨