Insadong & Jongno

A salt-bread (shio-pan) bakery at 45 Yulgok-ro, right by Exit 1 of Anguk Station, open 07:30–20:00 every day. Per an October 2026 blog, the takeaway line took under 10 minutes, while eating in meant a wait of about two hours. A plain salt bread, soft or hard, is ₩3,800 and the cheese-honey version ₩4,900. A 2026 blog describes it as a new shop from the owner of London Bagel Museum.

A sundubu (soft tofu stew) restaurant on the second floor of a building on Insadong 5-gil; blogs say the tofu is made in-house every morning. Opening is 07:30 per Kakao Map but 08:00 per Naver and DiningCode, and it closes at 20:30. Spicy or clear sundubu is ₩10,000 and beef-tripe sundubu ₩12,000. With about 120 seats, a blog says it is only crowded at lunch, 11:30–12:30.

A bakery cafe in a hanok at 5 Gyedong-gil, near Anguk Station Exit 3 — the Anguk branch of Cafe Onion. On weekdays it opens at 07:00, so you can have pastries and coffee for breakfast; on weekends and public holidays it opens at 09:00. An Americano is ₩5,500 and a caffè latte ₩6,000 (Kakao Map).

A sundaeguk (pork and blood-sausage soup) restaurant at 40 Jong-ro 5-gil in Cheongjin-dong, opening at 06:30 every day. Sundaeguk and pork-bone soup are ₩11,000 each, ₩13,000 for the large, and for sundaeguk you can choose meat and sausage, meat only, or sausage only (October 2026 blog; Kakao Map's menu, last updated in June, still shows ₩10,000 and ₩12,000). A blog notes it appeared on the TV show "Welcome, First Time in Korea?" in June 2026.

A haejangguk (hangover soup) restaurant at 32 Jong-ro 3-gil. The shop says it opened in 1937 in Pimatgol's hangover-soup alley and is now run by the third generation. The signature is a clear beef soup with tripe and ox-blood curd: ₩12,000, or ₩15,000 for the large. It opens at 06:00 every day, which makes it an easy breakfast.

A haejangguk (hangover soup) restaurant at 107-1 Supyo-ro in Nagwon-dong. It is open 24 hours every day, so any time works. The signature is Yangpyeong-style soup with ox-blood curd and beef offal; there is also pork-bone soup, offal soup, blood-curd soup and sundaeguk. Sources differ on the price of the signature soup: blogs from April and July 2026 say ₩10,000 (₩12,000 large in the April post), one June blog says ₩13,000, and Kakao Map lists no prices.

A seolleongtang (ox-bone soup) restaurant at 38-13 Ujeongguk-ro. The shop says it opened in 1904, and the Michelin Guide website lists it as a selected restaurant (not a Bib Gourmand). Seolleongtang is ₩15,000, or ₩18,000 for the large (Kakao Map). It opens at 08:00 every day, so breakfast works, though it is one of the later openers among Insadong and Jongno's breakfast spots.

A branch of the Isaac Toast chain at 1F, 98 Supyo-ro, toward Exit 15 of Jongno 3-ga Station. It is open 07:00–22:00 Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays; Kakao Map, Naver and DiningCode all agree. A November 2024 review says you can't eat in (takeaway and delivery only), so treat it as a grab-and-go breakfast.

A wood-fired bagel shop using the first to third floors of a building midway along Insadong-gil: you queue and order on the ground floor and sit upstairs. It opens at 08:00 every day; closing is 18:30 on weekdays and 19:30 at weekends per Naver, DiningCode and blogs, while Kakao Map shows later times. A plain bagel is ₩2,800 and a butter salt bagel ₩3,900. An October 2026 blog found a wait to eat in at weekday lunchtime and noticed quite a few foreign customers.

A bagel bakery at 20 Bukchon-ro 4-gil, open 07:00–18:00 every day. The waiting list runs on CatchTable at the door, and reviews say staff hand out a drink while you wait. A plain bagel is ₩3,800, cheese-honey ₩5,300 and potato-cheese ₩5,500 (Kakao Map, updated September 2026).

A bread and toast café on Supyo-ro 28-gil in the Ikseon-dong area, toward Exit 4 of Jongno 3-ga Station, open 08:00–22:00 every day (last order 21:30). Kakao Map and Naver both give those hours, and Naver says it is open all year. Per the Kakao Map menu, steamed bread is ₩12,000, plain honey bread ₩14,000 and the French toasts ₩22,000–26,000. Kakao Map lists it as 밀토스트집 (Miltoast-jip) rather than by the branch name 밀토스트 익선점.

A bagel and brunch café on Donhwamun-ro 11da-gil in Ikseon-dong, toward Exit 6 of Jongno 3-ga Station. It opens at 08:00 every day and closes at 21:50 (Sunday to Friday) or 21:30 (Saturday), per Kakao Map and Naver, and the owner's Naver listing says it does not take reservations. Blogs mostly feature its bagels, bagel sandwiches and soups. Per the Kakao Map menu, the brunch set is ₩20,500, seasonal fruit French toast ₩21,000 and soup ₩10,500.

An ugeoji (dried cabbage leaf) soup shop at 131 Supyo-ro in Nagwon-dong, right by Jongno 3-ga Station Exit 5. There is essentially one dish: ugeoji haejangguk with rice for ₩3,000, plus two fried eggs for ₩2,000. It is known as a regular haunt of the late TV host Song Hae. It opens at 04:20 every day, the earliest breakfast near Insadong.

An old-school stew shop at 12 Jong-ro 16-gil in Gwancheol-dong. There are just four dishes: soybean-paste stew with river snails, plain soybean-paste stew, soft-tofu stew and kimchi stew, served with rice in a large metal bowl with bean sprouts and sesame oil. It opens at 07:00 every day and reviews often call it good for eating alone. Prices differ: ₩8,000–9,000 in an October 2026 blog, ₩7,000–8,000 on Kakao Map (updated May 2026).

A long-running gomtang (beef soup) restaurant on Donhwamun-ro 5ga-gil, just south of Ikseon-dong, toward Exit 2-1 of Jongno 3-ga Station. Its sign says "85 years of tradition", and one 2026 blog quotes the owner as saying it is in its 87th year. Kakao Map, Naver and DiningCode all list it as open 24 hours. Gomtang is ₩13,000 and haejangguk (hangover soup) ₩11,000.

A branch of a gukbap chain at 91 Supyo-ro in Gwansu-dong, open 24 hours every day. Beef gukbap topped with yukjeon (thin pan-fried beef) is ₩11,000, plain beef gukbap ₩10,000. It is tagged as easy for solo diners.