Yangjae Station grill house with three chicken marinades: Yanggyegok

An evening comparing three flavors of pre-marinated dakgalbi, grilled ourselves over charcoal

Yanggyegok: two minutes from Exit 4 of Yangjae Station

I went to dinner with a friend at Yanggyegok's Yangjae branch. It's an easy walk — about two minutes from Exit 4 of Yangjae Station — and it's a place where you can choose between salt, soy sauce, and gochujang charcoal dakgalbi (grilled chicken). Curious how different they'd taste, we ordered all three.

Yanggyegok Yangjae branch: hours, parking and seating

• 2615 Nambusunhwan-ro, 1st floor, Units 109 & 110, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Transit: 128m from Exit 4, Yangjae Station
• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00
• Break time: Weekdays 14:30–16:00
• Last order: 21:00
• Parking: Free for up to 2 hours in the building's basement lot
• Other: Group seating available; corkage fee applies

Thanks to the big sign and distinctive exterior, the place was easy to spot even at night.

Inside, there were several round tables with fairly generous space between them. There was also group seating, so it looked like a decent option for meat gatherings or company dinners near Yangjae Station.

What we ordered at Yanggyegok and what it cost

We ordered one serving of salt dakgalbi at ₩15,000, two servings of soy sauce dakgalbi at ₩32,000, one serving of gochujang dakgalbi at ₩16,000, flying fish roe rice balls at ₩5,000, and chicken noodle soup at ₩10,000 — ₩78,000 total. At first we just wanted to compare flavors, so we ordered one serving each of salt, soy sauce, and gochujang. The dakgalbi comes pre-marinated and partially cooked, and you finish grilling it yourself on the tabletop grill. The staff flipped the pieces over the charcoal until browned, then cut them into bite-sized pieces.

Here are the three servings we ordered. The salt dakgalbi came as three chunks, while the soy sauce and gochujang versions were smaller, two chunks each.

Everything was listed as 300g per serving, and since the marinated flavors come in only two chunks each, going for the salt version might actually be the better deal :) Between the two of us we finished four servings of dakgalbi plus the rice balls and noodle soup, and honestly the portions felt a bit small ㅠㅠ Still, the dakgalbi itself was tasty across all three flavors, and it was fun comparing the different marinades side by side.

Salt, soy sauce or gochujang dakgalbi — which tasted best?

Of the three, soy sauce dakgalbi suited our taste the most. The salty-sweet soy marinade combined with the charcoal aroma for great umami, and the outside browned beautifully the longer it grilled. Since the first portion wasn't quite enough and the soy sauce flavor was so good, we ordered an extra serving.

The salt dakgalbi wasn't heavily seasoned, so it was clean and simple to eat, with the charcoal aroma coming through nicely too.

The gochujang dakgalbi had a spicy kick from the red marinade, giving it a different appeal from the salt or soy sauce versions.

All three were delicious, but if I had to pick just one, I'd go with the soy sauce dakgalbi.

Side dishes, the self-serve bar and the best lettuce wrap combo

The basic table setting came with perilla leaves, pickled radish, cabbage kimchi, white kimchi, and several sauces.

There was a self-serve bar, so we could grab more vegetables and side dishes whenever we needed.

A sign on the wall showed the recommended way to eat the dakgalbi: place a piece of pickled radish and a well-grilled piece of dakgalbi on a perilla leaf, then add flying fish roe and Yanggyegok's special mayo sauce, and eat it all in one bite.

Following the instructions, the fragrant perilla leaf, the tangy pickled radish, and the savory mayo sauce all worked well with the charcoal-grilled dakgalbi. The flying fish roe popped for extra texture, giving it a different taste from just dipping the meat in sauce.

Are the flying fish roe rice balls and chicken noodle soup worth ordering?

The flying fish roe rice balls were topped generously with roasted seaweed flakes and roe. Mixed together and shaped into bite-size pieces, the savory seaweed flakes and the popping texture of the roe went well together.

The rice balls were tasty on their own, but adding charcoal-grilled dakgalbi on top made them even more filling. If you want to order a variety of dishes alongside dakgalbi at this Yangjae Station Korean restaurant, the rice balls are a good pick.

There's no complimentary soup or stew included with the meal. Wanting something with broth to pair with the chicken, we ordered chicken noodle soup as an extra.

It arrived in a large bowl with knife-cut noodles, chicken, and vegetables, and the broth was hot and clean-tasting. Eating the chewy noodles together with the tender chicken made it satisfying enough as a full meal on its own, and it also paired well as a warm sip between bites of charcoal dakgalbi.

Is Yanggyegok worth a visit near Yangjae Station?

Yanggyegok's Yangjae branch was a place to grill pre-marinated dakgalbi over charcoal yourself and compare salt, soy sauce, and gochujang flavors. Considering the two of us finished four servings of dakgalbi plus the rice balls and noodle soup, the portions felt a bit small, but the flavors overall were good.

The umami-rich soy sauce dakgalbi in particular was the best of the three, good enough that we ordered an extra serving, and the combo of perilla leaf, pickled radish, flying fish roe, and special mayo sauce worked well too. If you're looking for dakgalbi near Yangjae Station where you can sample a range of marinades, it's worth a visit.