Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip at 50: The Samcheong-dong Patjuk Shop Still Known for Hand-Made Sweet Red Bean Porridge

In 2026, Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip reaches its 50th year, giving Samcheong-dong Patjuk fans a meaningful reason to look again at one of Seoul’s best-known sweet red bean porridge shops. The story is not built around a flashy reinvention, but around a small traditional teahouse at 122-1 Samcheong-ro in Jongno-gu, a bowl of danpatjuk, and a founder whose work became part of the neighborhood’s memory.¹

For readers discovering it through travel guides, Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip is usually introduced as a traditional tea house known for sweet red bean porridge. For longtime regulars, the deeper story is about continuity: the shop opened in 1976, became associated with danpatjuk, and remained tied to Samcheong-dong’s slower, older rhythm even as the area changed around it.²

A 50-Year Samcheong-dong Patjuk Story

Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip at 50 hand-made sweet red bean porridge

The shop’s 50th year matters because its origin is unusually clear. Kim Eun-sook opened Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip in 1976, and the shop’s signature patjuk has been described as a process built on hand work, from simmering the red beans to preparing rice cakes and chestnuts.² That detail helps explain why the anniversary feels more cultural than promotional: the main appeal is the persistence of a recipe and working style rather than a new campaign.

Tourism listings also frame the shop’s history through tea. OnTrip describes the place as a traditional teahouse whose owner had learned herbal tea, then later added sweet red bean porridge with younger customers in mind.¹ That small shift is important. The shop did not begin simply as a dessert stop in a modern cafe district; it grew from the world of traditional teas into a place where danpatjuk became the best-known draw.

Ktourmap similarly presents Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip as a Samcheong-dong spot for danpatjuk and traditional tea, noting that it has been loved steadily since opening in 1976.³ The listed garnish details are part of the charm: chestnut, ginkgo nut, red beans, and sticky rice cake appear in the sweet red bean porridge, giving the bowl texture as well as sweetness.³

Because the 50th year falls in 2026, it is tempting to treat the shop as a nostalgic relic. The available sources suggest something more active. A Seoul Metropolitan Government public expense record shows a card payment at Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip on October 15, 2025, listing the same address, 122-1 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu.⁴ That record is not a restaurant review, but it does help confirm the shop’s continued presence at the familiar address shortly before its 50th year.

The Founder Behind the Familiar Bowl

Any 50th-anniversary look at Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip has to include founder Kim Eun-sook. Kookmin Ilbo reported that Kim died on November 14, 2024, after a life closely connected to the Samcheong-dong shop she opened in 1976.² The same report said she donated more than 1 billion won during her lifetime, including to Seoul Community Chest of Korea, adding a public-service dimension to a story many people may know first through food.²

The shop’s reputation also appears in the words of her son, Ga Gwang-wi. In Kookmin Ilbo’s reporting, he referred to “customers coming for 40 years” and said, “Our shop is a landmark in its own way.”² Those are modest lines, but they capture why a small bowl of patjuk can carry so much local weight. A place becomes durable not only because it is listed in travel guides, but because people return to it across decades.

That sense of durability also fits the shop’s name. In English, Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip roughly carries the playful idea of being “the second-best house in Seoul.” The sources do not explain the full naming story, so it is better not to overread it. Still, the name’s humility suits the way the shop is usually described: well-known, long-running, and specific, without needing to claim too much.

What Visitors Can Know Before Going

For practical planning, the most consistent source-backed details are the address and operating hours. OnTrip lists the shop at 122-1 Samcheong-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, with hours of 11:00 to 20:30 and danpatjuk as the representative menu.¹ Ktourmap also identifies it as a Samcheong-dong danpatjuk and traditional tea place, with the same long-running 1976 background.³

Recent blog-style visit records can be useful for atmosphere and movement, though they should be treated more lightly than official or tourism information. A December 2025 mirrored blog post described the place as a “50-year” Samcheong-dong sweet red bean porridge restaurant and listed hours as 11:00 to 20:30, with last order at 20:00.⁵ A separate April 2026 mirrored visit post gave the address as 122-1 Samcheong-ro and also listed hours of 11:00 to 20:30, while mentioning that the area can be reached on foot from Anguk Station and that paid public parking options such as Samcheong 1 Public Parking Lot are nearby.⁶

Those details help set expectations without turning the shop into a checklist. If you are interested in Samcheong-dong Patjuk, the point is not only to find a dessert after walking through Bukchon or Samcheong-dong. It is to understand that this particular bowl sits inside a half-century story: a teahouse origin, a hand-prepared signature menu, a founder remembered after her death, and regulars who made the place part of their own routines.

Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip Samcheong-dong Seoul patjuk teahouse 50 years

Seoulseo Duljjaero Jalhaneun Jip’s 50th year is meaningful because the shop’s appeal has stayed close to its roots. Based on the available records, its story is a quiet one: opened in 1976, known for hand-made danpatjuk, still tied to 122-1 Samcheong-ro, and remembered through both its founder and the customers who kept coming back. For anyone tracing Seoul’s older food culture through neighborhood institutions, this Samcheong-dong patjuk shop remains a small but enduring landmark.