Gwangjin late-night bar with 350g gravlax salmon: Yukhoe Gongjakso

Today I'm introducing a bar I found while hunting for a late-night spot in Konkuk with private booths — and honestly the food blew me away too: Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch! ✅

I remembered all the meetings I used to have at bars around Konkuk with room-like booths.. so while looking for a late-night option in the area, I stumbled on this place. The yukhoe (raw beef) and salmon were such good quality and so fresh — I ate myself full at this great-value spot haha. Every table has its own partition, so it felt like a private room where you could chat quietly with your group~

Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch: hours and parking

📍Hours: daily 17:00–06:00, last order 05:55

📍Other info: groups welcome, takeout, delivery, reservations, wifi, separate men's/women's restrooms

For free parking near Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch, they said you can park at the public lot near Hwayang Police Box or in front of shops that are closed for the night (apparently no enforcement there). Paid parking is available at Dongdo Centreville for 3,000 won an hour.

Getting there from Konkuk University Station or Children's Grand Park Station

This Sejong University-area spot is a 7-minute walk from Exit 1 of Konkuk University Station through Hwayang Market, or just 3 minutes from Exit 4 of Children's Grand Park Station!

If you're looking for a late-night bar near Konkuk or a good restaurant near Sejong University, this is perfect!! Open till 6am haha. Being near two universities clearly keeps prices reasonable, and the location is great too — apparently it's popular with both Konkuk and Sejong University students. Good spot to meet somewhere between the two campuses.

Partitioned booths that feel like a private room

Unlike a typical open bar, the partitions here give the space a reassuring sense of privacy haha. Great if you're looking for a comfortable spot for a Konkuk date or a friends' gathering where you can talk without being overheard~

With a partition at every table, you can drink and chat privately and quietly — perfect if you're looking for a meeting spot or a room-style bar near Konkuk. It's not too enclosed either, so it doesn't feel awkward, hahaha.

Free refills of the beef and egg soup side

As soon as we sat down, the basic side dish arrived — beef egg soup, and get this, it's unlimited refills~

The beef egg soup, made with a bone-broth base, being unlimited refill made it perfect for pairing with soju. Starting off with a hot soup dish as a freebie is a great start!

The menu at Yukhoe Gongjakso and what we ordered

Here's the menu board of this great-value spot — the variety is honestly huge!

For a yukhoe restaurant, I was surprised by how huge the menu is. Along with yukhoe and beef sashimi as the base, there's salmon sashimi, yakiniku, all kinds of skewers and soups, plus side dishes starting from 3,900 won — perfect for mixing and matching whatever you're in the mood for~

There was also a half-price 900ml sake promotion (19,900 won). What we ordered that day: mixed yukhoe 23,900 won, gravlax salmon sashimi 26,900 won, beef fire sushi 12,900 won, yukhoe bibimbap 9,900 won, and beef ramen 8,900 won, with grapefruit highball and draft beer to drink! They even had a non-alcoholic highball option, which was nice. Lots of choices, and a proper spread from drinks to full meal at this Konkuk-area bar with booths and great food near Sejong University..

With its unique interior and lighting, it's a great atmosphere for both drinking and dating haha. It's nice to have a place where you can handle the meal alongside the drinks, rather than just a drinking-only spot.

The draft beer and grapefruit highball arrived! So refreshing, and the side dish quality is so good that the drinks just kept going down smoothly at this Konkuk-area bar haha.

Mixed yukhoe platter, 23,900 won: tartare and beef sashimi on one plate

Such a gorgeous-looking plate — a combo where you get both yukhoe and beef sashimi at once, perfect if you can't decide between the two!

The visuals are just insane. Apparently this restaurant uses Australian grass-fed beef top round and eye of round, slaughtered fresh at dawn, flown in by same-day air freight and cut to order.

Honestly, freshness is everything with beef sashimi and yukhoe, and this was so fresh, which I loved.

Beef sashimi has a totally different appeal from yukhoe — you get to enjoy the meat's own texture, chewy and satisfying, so good~

The yukhoe has an egg yolk on top and is tossed in what they call their 'magic sauce'

It's not overly sweet or sharp, just insanely savory!!! Pairs so well with drinks, and for a bar the quality of this side dish is insane — seriously, highly recommend.

Alternating between the two styles on one plate keeps things from getting boring, and a sip of grapefruit highball cleanses the palate perfectly between bites — it went so well with the yukhoe! Getting both the beef sashimi and yukhoe combo for 23,900 won is such great value!

Gravlax salmon sashimi, 26,900 won for 350g of cured salmon

Wouldn't it feel incomplete to eat only yukhoe? You've got to enjoy the yukhoe-salmon combo properly.

One was a yukhoe sauce, and the tartar sauce plus soy sauce were for the salmon~

The gravlax salmon sashimi looked much more impressive than expected! For 26,900 won you get a whopping 350g of aged salmon — such great value at this Konkuk-area bar haha. The salmon isn't sliced thin and small but cut fairly thick, so each piece you pick up is just gorgeous~

It's affordable too, so ordering the mixed yukhoe and salmon sashimi together made us so happy. On top of that, being set up like a private room bar meant we could talk quietly and enjoy ourselves — loud bars just feel exhausting now.

It comes with wasabi, salmon, sauces, and radish sprouts and other extras, so there's fun in mixing and matching. The salmon here is so fresh — if you're someone who loves the yukhoe-and-salmon combo, come running..

Since the gravlax salmon sashimi is cured with beetroot, it has an even chewier texture. The portion is generous too, making it a proper drinking snack and a full meal at the same time.

If you're trendy you'll know??? The 'good vibes' combo of yukhoe + salmon ~~ Layering them together like this was pure paradise. Also a great spot if you're coming with a group and everyone wants to order something different haha.

Beef fire sushi, 12,900 won

Craving some carbs, so I ordered the beef fire sushi for 12,900 won!

It's cheap enough that adding it alongside the main dishes doesn't feel like a splurge, and the fire-torched beef sushi is the best. A good choice sitting somewhere between side dish and meal! It comes in bite-sized pieces that are easy to eat, and the quality of the sauce and sprouts made it feel like a proper sushi restaurant, not a bar.

Topping it with salmon made it even better, and honestly every single dish here is at a level of care and skill way beyond typical bar food quality.

Beef ramen, 8,900 won, to finish

After all that light(?) and fresh food like yukhoe and salmon, you need carbs to bring it home.. Once you've had a few drinks, ramen as the finale is basically the unwritten rule at any bar!! So I ordered the beef ramen for 8,900 won!

The spicy broth with beef on top made it feel like great value!

After the salmon, fire sushi, and yukhoe, I was craving something hot and spicy. The red broth was loaded with ramen and plenty of beef, making it much more substantial than a typical side ramen.

Yukhoe bibimbap, 9,900 won

The yukhoe bibimbap for 9,900 won was such great value! It's hard to find a proper full meal under 10,000 won, and this bibimbap topped with yukhoe is such a bargain.

I was debating whether to order more yukhoe, but ended up craving the bibimbap version instead. It comes in a big bowl with plenty of vegetables and seaweed flakes, plus lots of yukhoe piled in the center — insane value, has to be said..

Mixing the yukhoe with the seaweed flakes and vegetables all together was so delicious and made me so happy. A great spot near Konkuk to handle both dinner and drinks in one place.. I hadn't eaten dinner before coming so I ended up eating a ton, and it's nice that you can cover dinner entirely at this one bar!!

Thanks to the booth seating, we could talk comfortably and just relax fully.. I didn't expect much from the side dishes at a bar, but honestly everything was great value and delicious — a late-night bar near Konkuk that really delivered!!! 🥰

I recommend Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch — a late-night bar near Konkuk where the food satisfied me just as much as the atmosphere.