Where steel collides with art: Nine places to eat, drink and explore in Seoul's vibrant Mullae-dong

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Where steel collides with art: Nine places to eat, drink and explore in Seoul's vibrant Mullae-dong

Published: 02 Jun. 2025, 15:55 Updated: 04 Jun. 2025, 12:36

LEE JIAN
[email protected]

Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI

[ABOUT TOWN]: Mullae-dong

Seoul is often viewed as a modern, trendy metropolis filled with high-rise buildings, bright billboards and zooming subways. But behind its stylish facade is a more down-to-earth, people's place that goes less noticed. Depending on the part of the city, busy-working locals find solace and joy in things such as sizzling pork belly in an intimate barbecue restaurant, soju shots under a tent, coffee on the roof of a decades-old building and walks along the city's hidden trails. Each dong, or neighborhood, has its own history and remnants of the times before its rapid development, making Seoul a checkerboard of cultures and atmospheres. In this series, the Korea JoongAng Daily looks at both the past and the present of Seoul's neighborhoods and recommends how to best spend a day there like a local: What to see, where to eat.

An alleyway in Mullae-dong in Yeongdeungpo District, western Seoul [LEE JIAN]

For most of its time in modern Seoul, Mullae-dong, a bygone steel industrial town in Yeongdeungpo District of the city's western region, was a passing station en route to Hongdae, a now-gentrified neighborhood frequented by underground artists. Today, however, many others flock to this old manufacturing town, four subway stops from Hongdae, for trendy coffee meets and dates. Among the clang of metals and musty smell, Mullae-dong is a low-key hot spot for locals where a burgeoning youth and food culture fuses the old and the new.

Rusty to hip: Mullae-dong's beginnings

Mullae-dong first developed as a residential area for Korean laborers in 1941 during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-1945). In the 60s, it became an industrial town focused on manufacturing steel parts, but businesses began losing ground to Chinese competitors in the 1990s. Many companies shuttered, and in lieu flowed young artists. Throughout the 2000s, the Mullae-dong has made a rare successful turnaround, organically regaining its vibrancy as a youthful and artsy town whose new culture coexists with the remaining industrial leg.

Itinerary

Home-cooked Korean lunch in a hanok

Begin the day with lunch at a cozy Korean restaurant inside a hanok (traditional Korean house) called Shimpyo Mallang. Inside its small double doors, the restaurant largely maintains its original hanok architecture, with separate rooms and a small courtyard at the center framed by warm wooden beams.

Yeolmu kimchi bibimbap at Shimpyo Mallang [LEE JIAN]

The menu features two fixed and two seasonal offerings, some comprising a single main dish and others accompanied by Korean sides, known as banchan, all neatly arranged on a wooden tray. While it isn't fancy, this eatery is the place to go if you want to taste healthy, authentic, homemade Korean cuisine.

On Friday, the seasonal menu was bibimbap with yeolmu (young radish) kimchi (9,500 won) and fried shrimp with rice (12,500 won). The eatery also has a fun drinks list, including ginger milk tea (5,000 won) with housemade ginger syrup and omija (magnolia berry) tonic (5,000 won), which mixes whiskey with gin and tonic. Reservation is advised.

Explore the Mullae Arts Village

A statue along the main street of Mullae-dong [LEE JIAN]

With a full stomach, it is time to explore, and you don’t need to travel far because the restaurant is inside the Mullae Arts Village – the next destination.

The gray cement walls along the narrow alleyways under the zigzag of low-hanging landlines come to life with rainbow-colored witty murals and quirky statues.

Murals along the alleyways of Mullae-dong [LEE JIAN]

Caffeine recharge

Espresso at Mullaebanggu [LEE JIAN]

About a dozen cafes dot the neighborhood alleyways, each with a unique vibe combining the past and the present, like Lucky Dabang, where you can experience a modern version or Korea’s traditional cafe, or dabang, culture or Rust Bakery, where you can enjoy pastries and coffee in a multistory brick building with rooftop seating.

For a more relaxed atmosphere, go to Mullaebanggu, a cafe-slash-shop that is a local's hideout. On the way, you can look around a dozen steel companies clustered around the northern part of town and glimpse their workers on the scene.

Iron bars at a steel manufactuer in Mullae-dong [LEE JIAN]

Mullaebanggu is in a rustic, low-ceilinged building with ample sunlight, giving off a hip, yet unpretentious and welcoming, vibe. It is often filled with locals who come to chat or work alone with their laptops. Its lineup of espresso allows customers to customize with numerous toppings as creative as caramel, ice cream and peanut bread.

Mullaebanggu also showcases a selection of custom stationery, key chains, postcards, glass cups and larger items like T-shirts and backpacks. Its items, by Chorok Studio, are also popular among locals online for their unique designs that portray trendy, positive images and fonts.

Cafe space at Mullaebanggu [LEE JIAN]

Make Mullae memorabilia

Across the main street from Mullaebbanggu is a slightly more commercial part of Mullae with more eateries and shops.

Notable places to drop by include the Artfield Gallery, which curates exhibitions with local artists, with different shows every few months. It has two locations in Mullae. Entry is free.

An exhibition at Artfield Gallery [LEE JIAN]

Vince Garage sells vintage male clothing, including U.S. casual and blokecore articles. Inside a rustic shed whose decor draws from the American West, its large selection includes old Rayban sunglasses, Polo Ralph Lauren jackets, Nikes and Edwin rugby shirts.

Vintage clothes and shoes on sale at Vince Garage [LEE JIAN]

At the Photo Market, instant photo booths are open around the clock. It costs 5,000 won to print five colored pictures on proper film and 5,000 won to print one black-and-white photo on paper. Outside, visitors can rent a film camera for a day from a unique vending machine to take shots of the neighborhood.

Inside the Photo Market, for instant photo booths in Mullae-dong [LEE JIAN]

Barbecue dinner

There are ample options for dinner — but to get the old Mullae feel, go to Golmogjib, a duck restaurant that opened in 2008.

Duck bulgogi at Golmogjib [LEE JIAN]

Its staple is the duck bulgogi (16,000 won), which is thinly sliced duck lightly marinated with sweet and salty sauce. It is stir-fried with chopped onions and chives, all barbecued on a stone pan brought to the table. Its in-house banchan — in particular, the scallion kimchi — add a tasty kick to the main course. Finish the meal in classic Korean style with some fried rice. When almost finished with the meat, spread a thin layer of kimchi rice on the same stone pan and fry it with the duck fat to experience a bomb of flavor.

Fresh beer in a woodshed

Belgian fries and beer at Old Mullae [LEE JIAN]

Make sure to save some space in your stomach for a draft beer at the neighborhood's mainstay bar, the Old Mullae. It was one of the earliest new businesses to settle in Mullae, which renovated a manufacturing site in a large wooden shed into an unfussy cafe-slash-bar. It is a spacious venue with fresh air blowing in from its large open doorway, making it an ideal spot for beer during a warm evening breeze.

Exterior of Old Mullae, a local pub [LEE JIAN]

It prides itself on its selection of beers, which include IPAs, Pale Ales, lagers — some of which infuse fruits — and an Earl Grey flavor. Prices range from 8,000 won to 11,000 won.

For food, Old Mullae's signature menu is the Mullae Platter (40,000 won), which includes generous portions of fries, wings, nachos, sausages and salad. For something lighter, opt for just the fries, which receive the best reviews online. Its Belgian Fries (15,000 won) are served hot and crispy, drizzled with sour cream and nacho sauce and sprinkled with bacon bites, relish, red peppers and pepper. The bar is open until midnight.

BY LEE JIAN [[email protected]]