Beef intestine restaurant in Geomdan with a 22-month-old: Hwang Gop

Mom suddenly wanted gopchang (beef intestine) so badly... the problem being, we have 22-month-old Donghae. Haha. While booking, we were told there's no baby chair, which threw us for a second, but in honor of (?) 22 months of brave parenting — ignorance is bravery, as they say — we went for it!

Spoiler on the outcome: at 22 months, whether or not there's a baby chair barely matters to actual parenting-in-the-field. So off we went with Donghae to Geomdan's beef intestine spot, Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch.

Turns out it's not just a gopchang-only place — you can add samgyeop-yangji (pork belly and beef brisket) for Donghae to eat too, so all four of us ended up eating well, better than expected ^_^

Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch address and hours

Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch 📍 420 Ieum 1-ro, 1st floor, Geomdan-gu, Incheon, South Korea

• Mon–Thu, Sun: 15:00–24:00
• Fri–Sat: 15:00–01:00
• Store information lists last order at 23:00.

Parking is at the LH26 complex's back-gate lot

Park at the ground-level lot behind the LH26 apartment complex's back gate. Head toward the lot near the 2605 building/commercial building — the store info also directs you to the back gate, not the front. With a kid in tow, a long walk from parking is its own hassle, so getting a spot close to the restaurant matters.

A gopchang place with no baby chair — how our 22-month-old did

Being in Geomdan New Town, the vibe felt like a good after-work drinking spot too. We'd already been told there was no baby chair when booking, so we walked in slightly nervous about whether a meal with Donghae was even doable, haha.

But once inside, it turned out a baby chair or not doesn't change parenting-in-the-field much. He's at the age now where he sits fine in a regular chair.

Sit Donghae down, one of us feeds and soothes him, the other eats gopchang — our usual routine, haha... whether it's a baby chair or a regular one, he doesn't really sit still except when eating, lol.

There were flashes of fire from the kitchen and I wondered what was going on — turns out they torch the intestines briefly before sending them out. The flames were pretty dramatic, so that little fire show stuck with me.

Looks like once the weather warms up they do outdoor seating too. Gopchang plus outdoor dining... I already want to go back.

The menu

Hwang Gop has an assorted set (gopchang, makchang, daechang, and more all at once), and the set also lets you choose fried rice or golbaengi bibim noodles.

Order placed — assorted set plus samgyeop-yangji

• Hwang Gop assorted set (2 servings) + samgyeop-yangji ×2
• Sprite ×1, Chum Churum soju ×1

With Donghae along, I asked if samgyeop-yangji was a good option for a kid, and they said families with children order it a lot — so we did too!

We went with Hwang Gop's assorted set plus samgyeop-yangji added on. Mom and dad ate the intestines, Donghae ate the meat he could handle, haha.

I have no idea what the assorted gopchang looks like on its own — we added samgyeop-yangji from the start, and since we ate this combo twice, every photo I have shows a generously loaded plate of assorted gopchang plus samgyeop-yangji.

We ordered samgyeop-yangji to feed Donghae, but honestly it worked out even better than expected. The plate looked way more generous than gopchang alone, and having meat for the kid too made it the perfect order for a family outing. Even without a kid, I'd order it this way!

How the Hwang Gop assorted set tastes

With multiple cuts arriving on one plate, you really get that 'we came here for gopchang today!' satisfaction.

I originally planned to try the assorted plate first and then add more of whatever cut we liked, but dad ate way more than expected (?), so we just ordered a second identical plate, haha. We'd said 'let's eat light so we save room for fried rice,' but we caved in the face of gopchang, lol.

And of course, popping the egg yolk when you spot it — a must.

Why adding samgyeop-yangji worked so well with a kid

The biggest worry going to a Geomdan gopchang spot with a kid is 'what do we feed them?' — being able to add samgyeop-yangji was a real advantage for us. (We noticed another table with a kid ordering samgyeop-yangji too, haha.)

Having separate meat for Donghae meant mom and dad could eat gopchang guilt-free, haha, and since it all sits together on the assorted plate, it looks even more generous. You no longer have to write off gopchang restaurants just because you're bringing a kid! At least for our family that day, the assorted gopchang plus samgyeop-yangji combo was exactly right.

Gopchang without alcohol... the toughest moment while eating gopchang. The fact that it was a no-drinking day for me... isn't a shot of soju basically mandatory with gopchang? (Drinkers cry every time.) Lucky dad ^^

It's rough not being able to drink with such good food, but hey, this is probably how self-control gets built... amen 🙏 haha. Still, the gopchang was so good I kept eating even without alcohol. Is that actually more dangerous?

Save room for the fried rice

The gopchang was so good that we were about ready to say 'ah, we're stuffed, let's head out' and start wrapping up—

—when a line on the T-order tablet caught my eye: 'Be sure to try the fried rice.' Ah;;;;;;;; right, haha... why did I only notice this now. We'd already stuffed ourselves full with gopchang.

Getting so absorbed in the gopchang that we ate away all the room we needed for fried rice was the biggest mistake of the day, haha. Next time I'm absolutely saving room for fried rice. If anyone's reading this before their visit, please try it for me and report back...!

And the next thing on my list for next time, alongside fried rice: golbaengi bibim noodles (spicy-tangy noodles with whelk). Wrapping a savory piece of gopchang in that spicy, tangy bibim noodle sauce — how could that combo not be good? This time we focused too hard on the gopchang to get to the sides, but next time I'll pace the gopchang portions so I can try both the golbaengi bibim noodles and the fried rice.

Donghae's mom's final verdict

Hearing there was no baby chair had us wavering for a moment, but in the end, the challenge of taking 22-month-old Donghae to Geomdan's beef intestine spot Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch was a success (we made it through fine, so I'm calling it a success). I was a bit worried about a gopchang place with a kid, but being able to order samgyeop-yangji alongside it — solving the 'what does Donghae eat' problem — turned out to matter more than expected.

Best of all, they included a complimentary yukhoe (beef tartare) taster as a side dish, and the samgyeop-yangji we added for Donghae paired so well with the assorted gopchang that I'll probably order assorted plus samgyeop-yangji even without a kid next time! Our biggest mistake this time was eating gopchang so enthusiastically that we didn't save room for fried rice, haha. Next time, once the weather warms up, I want to go for outdoor seating and try Hwang Gop assorted plus samgyeop-yangji plus golbaengi bibim noodles plus fried rice, all in one go.

(Determination: activated.) Of course, next time we'll have Donghae with us too... parenting never stops ^_^;;; Go grandma and grandpa (?)