Bukchon Dumplings is in the Insadong neighborhood of Seoul, which is well worth going to even if this spot wasn’t there.  The deep fried pork mandoo at Bukchon are excellent and make Insadong even more of a destination neighborhood.  Bukchon is in a narrow alley off the main drag in Insadong and serves three types of soup, three types of dumpling and kimchi.  The place is tiny with seating for about 12 people across two counters, and the fryer station is actually out in front of the restaurant in the alley under an awning. Apparently several Korean dramas have filmed scenes at this spot.

The menu and the fryer station out front

The Dumplings.  They serve steamed shrimp, steamed pork and deep fried pork mandoo and the fried dumplings are huge.  The pork dumplings are a combination of pork, scallions, tofu and glass noodles.  I got so distracted eating the pork dumplings I didn’t get around to trying the shrimp dumplings.  Three huge fried dumplings for 3,000 won, which is about three dollars.

Deep Fried Giant Mandoo

The Dipping Sauce.  They provide bottles of soy sauce and thin mustard sauce that you mix together to your taste.

Location.  It is difficult to find this place using Google maps because the streets in Insadong are mislabeled on their maps.

For orientation, along the main street through Insadong the side streets off the main street are sign posted as Insadong Gil 1 to about 15.  So to get to Bukchon, head north on the main street, which is called Insadong ru.  Look for a narrow alley marked Insadong Gil 9 on your right, next to a pharmacy. The alley runs along the side of the pharmacy (marked with a blue pin on the map).  Bukchon is mid-way down the alley.  Note that Google maps does not label this alley at all, and labels another street as Insadong Gil 9.

Also there are a couple of other locations in Seoul, one is in Hongdae