COEX south gate Korean restaurant, birthday table for 8: Obongjip

📍 서울특별시 강남구 삼성동 152-9 1층 오봉집 - 347m from Samseong-jungang Station Exit 5 - 13-min walk from Samseong Station Exit 5 ⏰ Mon–Fri 11:00–22:00 (break 14:30–17:00), last order 21:30 Sat–Sun 11:30–22:00 (break 15:00–16:00), last order 21:30 ✔️ Naver reservations available, paid corkage available

I went to Obongjip Samseong Branch last weekend. Eight of us were meeting up to celebrate a friend's birthday, and after debating where to go we decided — ah, let's start round one at Obongjip! It's so famous that I'd really wanted to try it, so I was totally buzzing, haha 😘

Where is Obongjip Samseong Branch? 5 minutes from Samseong-jungang Station, by the COEX south gate food street

Samseong Station was the easiest meeting point for all of us, so we ended up at Obongjip Samseong Branch. It's close to both Line 9 Samseong-jungang Station and Line 2 Samseong Station! - 5-min walk from Line 9 Samseong-jungang Station Exit 5 - 13-min walk from Line 2 Samseong Station Exit 5 It's on the COEX south gate food culture street, so there's tons of places to eat nearby too.

The group table for 8 and the atmosphere at Obongjip Samseong Branch

It looked big even from outside, but once we got in it was even bigger and cleaner than expected — really pleasant. The place is spacious with wide gaps between tables, so it's comfortable for eating and having a drink too. Each table has its own kiosk, which made ordering super easy, and since we came as a group of 8 they seated us at the group table in the back, so we could have the whole space to ourselves — all my friends were really happy about that 👍🏻

What 8 people ordered: the 78,000 won octopus special and maesaengi octopus soup

Obongjip Samseong Branch has everything from its signature fire-grilled octopus to bossam (boiled pork wraps), squid stir-fry, and yeonpotang (octopus hot pot), so you can enjoy a range of Korean dishes, and the set menus were really well put together, which I loved.

• Nakji Obong Special ₩62,000 (octopus stir-fry for 2 + small bossam + tray makguksu)
• Squid Obong Special ₩62,000 (squid stir-fry for 2 + small bossam + tray makguksu)
• Nakji Obong Teuk Special ₩78,900
• Squid Obong Teuk Special ₩78,900

I liked that the octopus and squid specials each come in regular and teuk (deluxe) versions. Since there were 8 of us, we ordered a bunch to share, planning to head to round two afterward — we settled on the Nakji Obong Teuk Special for ₩78,000, Maesaengi Yeonpotang for ₩32,000, and 2 rice balls for ₩6,000.

Seaweed soup with the side dishes: why it makes a Korean birthday table

They brought out the basic side dishes first, and there were so many varieties, plus seaweed soup came with it — perfect since one of us was celebrating a birthday 👍🏻 Apparently the name 'Obong' means tray. The idea comes from memories of families gathering around a galvanized tray piled high with food and sharing it together. The seaweed soup had a deep, rich broth, and the bean sprouts, baek-kimchi (white kimchi) and namul (seasoned vegetables) paired well with the octopus stir-fry, while the stir-fried sausages and the chili, garlic, ssamjang and salted shrimp for the bossam all matched the main dishes perfectly — every single side dish felt thoughtfully paired, which made it even more satisfying.

Anything else you needed was neatly laid out at the self-serve bar, and the seaweed soup was kept warm in a rice cooker so you could help yourself to as much as you wanted — I really liked that touch too.

Fire-grilled octopus stir-fry with 4 spice levels at Obongjip

Ahh, finally the smoky fire-grilled octopus stir-fry arrived, and it looked so good I basically blacked out eating it. Plump octopus was piled on whole and in big chunks, so the portion was no joke. You can pick your spice level to taste: mild / regular / spicy / hell.

There was a ton of plump octopus, and the cabbage and vegetables were all coated in that spicy smoky flavor that just calls for a drink. I honestly don't remember how much we drank at Obongjip Samseong Branch that day..😵‍💫 The octopus wasn't chewy in a bad way at all — super springy and plump with an amazing bite. Genuinely delicious — spicy-sweet with that smoky sauce flavor!! No wonder it's a go-to spot for office worker dinners, it really was that good.

Gabrisal bossam (pork jowl) and tray makguksu noodles

I guess I was starving, because the moment I saw it, eating came before taking photos. It was my first time trying gabrisal (pork shoulder blade) bossam and it was so tender and soft — this thing is a total treasure. It was so soft it practically melted the second I put it in my mouth 🤤 Paired with the kimchi and crunchy dried radish that came with it, it was such a perfect combination. The kimchi had that fresh geotjeori feel that went great with the boiled pork, and wrapping it with the crunchy radish added an extra crisp texture — so delicious! It also went really well with the spicy octopus stir-fry. The owner clearly knows what they're doing.

The buckwheat noodles, soba-like in texture, came topped with cabbage, lettuce, seaweed flakes, egg garnish and peanuts, and with the tangy-sweet sauce added it was impossible to mess up — I finished it in no time! It went great with the bossam too — wrapping it all together gave the perfect balance of spicy, sweet and nutty 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

Maesaengi yeonpotang for 32,000 won, kalguksu noodles included

You can't drink without soup. Just look at this maesaengi (fine seaweed) octopus hot pot. A clear broth with zucchini, onion, assorted mushrooms, bok choy, and one whole plump octopus dropped in — I couldn't help but go 'wow~'.

The octopus was so plump and chewy and delicious that even writing about it now is making me crave it again. After the spicy-sweet octopus stir-fry, the soup felt like it completely cleared my palate. With the maesaengi in there too, the broth was genuinely refreshing. Total soju-craving broth 🍶

The maesaengi yeonpotang comes with noodle sari included, so finishing off with kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) made for a perfect meal. Drinking goes down better with solid food to back it up, and Obongjip Samseong Branch delivered with fire-grilled octopus, bossam, makguksu and yeonpotang — genuinely a great Korean meal.

Is Obongjip Samseong Branch a good spot for a group dinner near Samseong Station?

Obongjip Samseong Branch has a healthy, tasty lineup — fire-grilled octopus, squid, bossam, makguksu and more — plus a lunch special, so it works well for a lunch visit too, and it seems ideal for a dinner work gathering or group meetup. My friend celebrating her birthday was really happy, and all 8 of us said it was genuinely delicious and talked about coming back. Octopus is often called the 'wild ginseng of the sea' for how nourishing it is, and honestly I didn't even feel hungover the next day! I'd fully recommend the set menu with hearty octopus, tender bossam and makguksu, finished off with the yeonpotang. If you're looking for good food near Samseong Station, a COEX restaurant, or a spot for a work dinner or group gathering, this one's especially worth it.