Extra beef shabu-shabu at Giheung Station, Yongin: Deungchon

Here's a Giheung shabu-shabu spot worth knowing — Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu, where you get meat, vegetables, kalguksu (knife-cut noodles), and fried rice all in one sitting.

Finding it on B2 of Giheung Station's ICT Valley

• Hours: 11:00 - 21:00
• Break time: 15:00 - 17:00
• Parking: spacious underground lot

Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Giheung Station Branch sits on the basement 2nd floor of ICT Valley! Park on B3 and take the elevator up. Find CGV first, then go straight to the left.

Table spacing and personal fans

The inside had plenty of tables with generous spacing between them — surprisingly comfortable for eating shabu-shabu. Each table also comes with an induction burner and a handheld fan, which was a thoughtful touch for anyone feeling hot in summer.

What we ordered and the setup for two

• Spicy mushroom kalguksu for 2: ₩20,000
• Shabu beef, 2 servings 360g: ₩20,000
• Extra vegetables: ₩5,000
• Total: ₩45,000

The two-person setup arrived! We only ordered 1 serving of meat at first, so the meat in the photo is a single serving. Haha, there's a reason people come to Deungchon — you get to enjoy kalguksu, fried rice, meat, and vegetables all at once! The vegetables usually come in the pot, but since we added extra, we got a whole separate bowl too. Eating it, I realized vegetables and meat together taste way better than just piling on meat alone!

How's the meat quality?

The meat quality here is just different. At other places with all-you-can-eat deals the meat tends to be fatty, but here the quality is good enough that ordering extra doesn't feel like wasted money!

The default vegetables already come in a generous amount, so you don't really need to add more. We just love vegetables so we added extra! There's mushroom and potato layered underneath the minari (water dropwort).

The kimchi that comes as a side is exactly the kind that pairs well with kalguksu — not too spicy, not too salty, more like a fresh geotjeori (lightly seasoned kimchi) feel, perfect with noodles.

The order for eating shabu-shabu

You drop the fresh meat in. A few swishes in the shabu-shabu broth and it's cooked!

Dipped in soy sauce diluted with wasabi, the umami just explodes! You'll understand why people keep coming back to Deungchon for this. Ugh, I'm craving it again already — I even had a summer cold once and after eating Deungchon it completely cleared up haha.

Both the vegetables and meat are fresh, so that fresh combination gives you a crisp texture along with the clean taste of the meat. The best part is that the meat isn't greasy or heavy at all!

Partway through, we added more of the extra vegetables into the pot. They cook fast, which is nice, but if you leave the minari in too long it gets tough, so cooking it just right keeps the texture alive! Eating meat together with vegetables is so much better than eating meat alone!

How generous is an extra serving of meat?

The extra serving of meat arrived! With 2 servings of meat plus extra vegetables, you can really eat until you're full. The added meat was in great condition too — delicious all the way through! I personally think this lean neck cut works best of all for shabu-shabu!

Piling mushroom and minari on top of the meat and eating it with the broth — the meat stays soft with no gamey smell, the vegetables stay crisp, and that clean, salty combination keeps pulling you back for more!

There's potato in there too — it needs to cook thoroughly to get that fluffy texture! The subtle spicy seasoning soaks in nicely, which pairs perfectly with the plain-tasting potato!

When to add the noodles and dumplings

Once you've mostly finished the shabu-shabu, you add the kalguksu and dumplings to boil. Keep in mind the broth thickens once the noodles go in! I usually don't love how it thickens up, but with Deungchon's spicy flavor, the thicker broth actually tastes better!

Stir well so the noodles don't stick to the bottom! At Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Giheung Station Branch, neither the self-serve sujebi (hand-torn dough) nor the kalguksu noodles tasted overly floury, so they went down easily and deliciously!

Finishing with fried rice

Once the kalguksu is cleared, it's on to the fried rice haha. With fried rice included as standard, it really is a full course, and you'll leave stuffed. Just ask the owner and they'll fry it up fresh for you!

Deungchon's fried rice isn't made with sauce — it's fried with egg and MSG, giving it that umami depth and a distinctive chewy bite that has quite a following. There are probably people who come to Deungchon just for the fried rice!

I can't skip the fried rice because of those crunchy, scorched-rice-like bits — the egg's clean flavor makes it sweet-and-salty in the best way. And dipping it in the kalguksu broth... ugh, that's exactly why people come to Deungchon!

Grab a yogurt drink for dessert on your way out!

For takeout, the beef alone is ₩7,000!

Free parking is available for 2 hours!

What I liked

Really fresh vegetables and meat that make a great combination

Here's my honest review after a delicious meal at Deungchon Shabu Kalguksu Giheung Station Branch 💗

• You get vegetables, meat, kalguksu, and fried rice all in one meal
• The meat quality is fresh
• The vegetables are fresh too, with great texture
• A good place to eat before a CGV movie