Second visit to Imgane Nakji Bossam, a Gumi Indong lunch spot

I think there's a pretty big difference between visiting a good restaurant once and going back a second time. If a first visit is just "oh, this is nice!", making it back for a second visit means there was a dish that kept coming to mind afterward.

I go around eating all sorts of things in Gumi, and there are plenty of places I only visit once and never go back to. This time, though, I had such a good memory from my first visit that I went back to Imgane Nakji Bossam.

It's an easy place to find as a Gumi Indong Jinpyeong-dong restaurant, and the appeal is that it's not just about the octopus stir-fry — you also get to enjoy tender boiled pork alongside it. It's the kind of place where someone who loves spicy food and someone who prefers mild food can go together without fighting over what to order. After eating this time too, I thought "yep, glad I came back again" — here's my revisit review of Imgane Nakji Bossam.

Imgane Nakji Bossam location, parking, and atmosphere

Imgane Nakji Bossam is located in Jinpyeong-dong, Indong, Gumi. It's on the restaurant row of Jinpyeong-dong, so it's a convenient area to browse for a meal.

There's parking space right in front of the restaurant, and across the street there's a CU convenience store — if you go around the corner past it, there's a free Simin Haengbok public parking lot behind it. Great location if you're driving. Group seating and reservations are also available, so it's fine for family meals or gatherings.

The dining hall is spacious and clean, and I really liked how much space there was between tables. It felt more comfortable to eat, and solo dining looked possible too — there was actually an older gentleman eating alone.

What's in the Imgane Han-sang set?

Here's the menu. Imgane Nakji Bossam's signature dishes are grilled spicy octopus, the Imgane Han-sang set, and herbal boiled pork, plus sides like yukjeon (pan-fried beef). Of all of these, the Imgane Han-sang set caught my eye from my very first visit.

It comes with abalone porridge, grilled spicy octopus, boiled pork, and rice all at once, so you get a full, generous spread without ordering separate dishes. The Imgane Han-sang set currently starts at ₩17,000 per person, and includes abalone porridge + grilled spicy octopus + boiled pork + bibimbap.

The water is boiled water so it tastes good, and the side dishes were being set out nicely.

From bean sprouts to salad, japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), and yeolmu kimchi (young radish kimchi), the overall spread here goes together well, and once the whole table was set, it looked pretty generous.

There's a setup to go with the pork, plus sesame oil and gim (dried seaweed) for mixing into rice!

And another highlight — the abalone porridge and bean sprout soup served before the meal. Your stomach already feels warm before the main dishes even arrive.

The grilled spicy octopus and boiled pork combo

Once the main dishes are set out, the table fills up in an instant. With octopus stir-fry and boiled pork both on the table, it's the kind of visual that makes you crave rice right away. In particular, the octopus glistens with the red sauce, and it's the kind of look that makes you want to photograph it before diving straight in.

The boiled pork, in contrast to the octopus, is mild and tender, and eating them together was a really good combination. By the way, I felt the pork was noticeably better than last time!

And of course, the main is still the main. The bouncy, chewy grilled spicy octopus. The octopus isn't cut into tiny pieces, so the springy texture really comes through when you bite into it. It's chewy without being tough, and above all, the smoky char flavor coming off the sauce is the highlight.

The octopus itself is delicious, but vegetables like onion and cabbage are stir-fried in with it too, so there's fun in picking out the vegetables in between bites. The sauce soaks nicely into the vegetables, giving a different flavor when eaten with rice.

You might think of the boiled pork as just a side dish, but honestly this combination is basically the real main. Eating it with the cabbage and seasoned salad adds a tangy, crunchy touch to the mild pork, keeping it from feeling greasy.

And when you add octopus on top of that, you get the springy texture of the octopus layered in too, which is a different taste altogether from eating the octopus stir-fry alone!

Making octopus stir-fry bibimbap

Since the octopus stir-fry sauce is so good, rice is a must, right?

Put rice in a wide bowl, pile on plenty of octopus stir-fry, add gim and sesame oil, and mix it all up — done.

As the sauce soaks in between the grains of rice, a spicy-sweet flavor comes up, and with springy octopus in every so many bites, one spoonful leads to another and a whole bowl of rice disappears in no time. In particular, the smoky char flavor lingers subtly, which is clearly different from rice mixed with plain gochujang sauce.

The newly added self-serve fried egg bar

And here's the difference between my last visit and this one — the newly added self-serve fried egg bar. There's now a self-serve corner where diners can grab an egg themselves and fry it up.

It goes especially well with spicy-sauced dishes like the octopus stir-fry. Break the yolk a little and eat it with rice, or pile the octopus stir-fry on top and mix it in — both are delicious!

Ah, and one more thing — the minced garlic served alongside. Pile it generously onto the boiled pork and it puts most garlic bossam to shame...

Wrapping up the revisit

If you're looking for a Gumi Indong Jinpyeong-dong restaurant, Imgane Nakji Bossam is worth a visit. Since I went back after a first visit, this place was already proven for me, and this time too, the combination of grilled spicy octopus and tender boiled pork was so satisfying. It's a great place to bring along both people who love spicy octopus stir-fry and people who prefer boiled pork or Korean food in general, so I especially recommend it to anyone looking for a Gumi Indong lunch spot. If you want a hearty Korean meal in Gumi's Jinpyeong-dong, I recommend Imgane Nakji Bossam!

Business information

• Address: 43-3 Indong 26-gil, 1st floor, Gumi, Gyeongbuk, South Korea
• Hours: 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:20)
• Closed: Every Tuesday
• Parking: Space in front of the restaurant or alley parking; nearby free Simin Haengbok public parking lot
• Accepts Gumi Sarang gift certificates
• Groups, reservations, and takeout available
• Baby chairs provided