Seohyeon Station restaurant for ox bone soup and bossam: Gangnam Gyoja

I was looking for somewhere to eat seolleongtang near Seohyeon Station and found Gangnam Gyoja Bundang Seohyeon Branch, which serves seolleongtang, kalguksu, and bossam all in one place. When I asked around, people kept saying this place is delicious, so I didn't hesitate and went straight there.

How to get to Gangnam Gyoja Bundang Seohyeon Branch, and where to park

Gangnam Gyoja Bundang Seohyeon Branch is a 3-minute walk from Exit 5 of Seohyeon Station on the Suin-Bundang Line. The address is 208, Dadu Plaza, 10 Seohyeon-ro 210beon-gil, Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.

There's parking in the building, but it works via a car elevator down to the basement, so I found it more convenient to just take public transit.

What the restaurant looks like from outside

This is the exterior. Gangnam Gyoja is a chain with several branches besides Bundang Seohyeon. The tiled-roof look is clean and stylish, giving off strong 'good restaurant' energy — I liked it.

They sell kalguksu, sujebi (hand-torn noodle soup), gyoza dumplings, dumpling rice cake soup, dakgaejang (spicy chicken soup), seolleongtang, bossam, and more, with kalguksu as the signature dish. In summer they also serve chogyeguksu (chilled chicken noodle soup) as a seasonal item. It's rare to find a place that does chogyeguksu well these days, so I want to try it before summer ends.

Inside Gangnam Gyoja and the self-serve rice bar

This is the interior. Overall it felt bright, light, and clean. There were plenty of tables, and even though I visited in the evening, I saw all kinds of groups — students, couples, parents with families. Some people were dining solo too. The prices aren't intimidating, so students seem to come often.

This is the self-serve bar. You can get extra rice or refills as a side. One bowl was enough for me, so I didn't refill.

What's on the menu at Gangnam Gyoja Seohyeon

Here's the menu. Kalguksu and gyoza dumplings are the main dishes, but there's also a wide range including dumpling rice cake soup, seolleongtang, dakgaejang, bibim guksu, and bibimbap. I love kalguksu, but that day I really wanted rice, so I ordered seolleongtang with bossam.

Seolleongtang: generous meat and kalguksu noodles in the bowl

This is the seolleongtang. A bowl comes standard with kimchi and rice. Even as the basic seolleongtang, there was a lot of meat. I would have missed eating noodles too, but it came with kalguksu noodles mixed in, so I got to enjoy both rice and noodles.

I mixed rice into the seolleongtang broth and topped it with kimchi. For rice-and-soup dishes like guksu or seolleongtang, the kimchi really matters — and this kimchi was delicious.

Gangnam bossam with salted shrimp, mumallaengi and garlic ssamjang

This is the Gangnam bossam. It comes with two rows of boiled pork, plus salted shrimp, mumallaengi (dried radish salad), and garlic ssamjang (spicy soybean paste) to go with it. The bossam itself had a lot of bone, but the meat wasn't dry at all — it was tender and delicious.

It's tasty with the other sides too, but for me, putting mumallaengi on top of the meat was the best combo. Gangnam Gyoja Seohyeon does the main dishes well, but they're also great at the side dishes like kimchi and mumallaengi. I'd recommend Gangnam Gyoja Bundang Seohyeon Branch to anyone who loves seolleongtang or kalguksu!

Is Gangnam Gyoja Seohyeon worth it for seolleongtang and bossam?

• Close to Seohyeon Station, so it's great for lunch, and the restaurant itself has a clean, bright atmosphere.
• Beyond kalguksu, there's a wide menu of seolleongtang, bossam, dumplings, dakgaejang, and more, so there's something for every taste.
• The seolleongtang came with plenty of meat, and having both rice and kalguksu noodles made it a filling meal.
• The bossam was tender and soft, and it paired well with the salted shrimp and mumallaengi.
• The kimchi and mumallaengi were tasty enough to enjoy alongside the main dishes.
• In-building parking makes it convenient to visit by car too — a solid restaurant near Seohyeon Station.