← All places
🍚

Home-style meals · Jongno

Balwoo Gongyang

발우공양

Tourist favorite

Korean Buddhist temple food served as a calm, multi-course meal, run by the Jogye Order across the street from Jogyesa temple. Every dish is plant-based, built on seasonal vegetables, mountain greens, grains and long-fermented sauces. A good choice for vegetarians, vegans and anyone curious about a different side of Korean cooking.

서울특별시 종로구 우정국로 56

Naver MapGoogle Maps

How it works here

🥢 How Korean restaurants usually work

Waiting

Wait not known
Reservation

What to order

  • Temple food courses (Wonsik, Maeumsik, Huisik)코스 (원식·마음식·희식)

    Several courses of seasonal vegetable dishes, from simpler to more elaborate.

  • À la carte dishes and drinks단품

    A few single dishes are also available.

How much to order

  • 👤 1-2One of the set courses per person; the simpler course is enough for a first visit.

Insider tips

  • Dishes are fully plant-based, so this is one of the easiest places in Seoul for vegetarians and vegans to eat a proper Korean meal.· 3 reviews

Why it's famous

The restaurant is run by the Jogye Order, Korea's largest Buddhist order, on the fifth floor of its Templestay Information Center. Its name comes from the formal monastic meal eaten from a set of wooden bowls.· 3 reviews

  • Tourist favoriteNamed in Seoul's 2026 Gourmet 100, the city government's list of the capital's best restaurants, in the vegetarian category.· 4 reviews

Did you know?

  • Baru-gongyang is the monks' formal meal: food is served into nested wooden bowls, eaten in silence, and every grain is finished, with nothing wasted.· 3 reviews

Good to know

  • On the 5th floor of the Templestay Information Center, opposite Jogyesa temple, a few minutes from Anguk Station (Line 3) and Insadong. Booking ahead is recommended.· 3 reviews
Where this comes from (14 reviews)

Summarized in our own words from Korean diners' blog reviews; each fact is backed by at least two reviews. Last checked 2026-10-28.