Cheonho Station Korean BBQ for groups: round tables at Gim Sukseong

I was craving pork belly after a long time, so I went straight out and ate some. I'd been searching for a good-value place where the staff grill for you, and lots of reviews said "for Cheonho pork belly, it's got to be here!" So no hesitation, I went to Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch (김숙성 성내점) 📝

Parking and atmosphere at Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch

Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch is an aged-meat BBQ restaurant near Cheonho Station, and the free parking near the restaurant only fits 2 cars. If there's no space, I'd recommend the nearby Cheonho public parking lot (about ₩3,000 per hour).

The exterior is full of retro, old-school charm, this aged-meat BBQ place 📍 There is free parking near the restaurant, but only for 2 cars, so check before you go. If it's full, I recommend the public parking lot near Cheonho Station! 🅿️ Cheonho public parking lot (about ₩3,000 per hour)

Can you book Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch for a group dinner near Cheonho Station?

Yes. You can book through Naver advance reservations for 2 up to 12 people, and groups of 9 or more must call. The inside is made up of round tables, and the wide spacing between seats made it comfortable 👍🏻 The place is bigger than I expected with plenty of seats, so I'd recommend it for company dinners and other group outings too.

• Naver advance reservations available
• Bookings for 2 to 12 people
• Groups of 9 or more must call

Since you can reserve, book ahead if you hate waiting in line 🏃🏻‍♀️💨

Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch menu and prices

Here's the menu at Gim Sukseong, a Cheonho Station pork belly favorite. Besides the main meat, there are all kinds of sides like fried rice and bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles) ✨ Best of all, prices are reasonable across the board, which I loved 💸

There are various events too, so join in and be sure to grab some tasty sides ❤️

• Write a review: choose one of minari (water dropwort) or corn cheese
• Follow on Naver: get a free steamed egg

Aaah.. a soju fridge that tugs at every drinker's heart..🧊 Besides soju and beer, Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch has a really wide range of drinks like highballs, Hwayo, and makgeolli (rice wine), so anyone can enjoy their pork belly even more.

What side dishes and sauces come with Korean BBQ at Gim Sukseong?

Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch serves a generous spread of side dishes, plus several sauces that go well with the meat. Let me introduce them first 🍽️

Three dipping sauces: mushroom doenjang, ssamjang and salt

The sauces for the meat, from the top, are mushroom doenjang (soybean paste), ssamjang (seasoned dipping paste) and salt, and the mushroom doenjang was the real kicker 🤤🔥 It's funky and salty, and I kept reaching for it.

Scallion kimchi, cabbage kimchi and spicy marinated raw crab

Next, the side dishes. Remember this: Gim Sukseong is a kimchi place. The scallion kimchi and cabbage kimchi are seriously good..👍🏻 Unusually for a pork belly specialist, they served yangnyeom gejang (spicy marinated raw crab) as a standard side, and it wasn't too salty and had a rich savory depth. Now I get why there's crab rice on the side menu..

Free kimchi stew with every table

Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch also serves a stew by default. The kimchi stew is closer to a refreshing soup than a heavy stew, so it was easy to slurp down.

I saw the soju fridge and couldn't resist, so I ordered..🍶 Mixing somaek (soju and beer) with slushy-ice soju blew the heat away and was so refreshing 🥶

Gim Sukseong Special 2: what's in the set and how does it taste?

Gim Sukseong Special 2 is ₩54,000 and comes with 2 servings of pork neck, aged pork belly and gabrisal (pork shoulder-loin), with at least 570g of meat in total. I wanted to try a variety of cuts, so I ordered this set.

One of the reasons I liked Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch is that the staff grill the meat for you. Thanks to that, I didn't have to worry about how the meat was cooking and could focus on talking with my company and have a relaxed, comfortable meal 💬

Watching the meat cook deliciously and waiting, and then, golden-brown grilled meat!!! 🥩🤤❤️

They say Gim Sukseong is an aged-meat place that uses meat cross-aged for 480 hours, or 20 days. The flavor was really deep and juicy. Through aging the meat became more tender, and the more you chewed, the richer the nutty savory flavor got. It was a taste that made me understand why people seek out aged meat ❤️

Best side to order at Gim Sukseong: cold noodles

The cold noodles (naengguksu) at Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch are ₩7,000, and the portion was really huge. I was thinking of getting the signature crab rice, but I was so full that I ordered refreshing cold noodles as a dessert, to help with digestion (?) 🍜

The portion is insane, right... ✨ The kimchi in the noodles isn't too sour, and the noodles are bouncy and chewy, so the texture was the best. Above all, the broth is cold and felt like it cleanly reset my mouth after the meat. If I had to pick just one side, it's the cold noodles!!! I confidently recommend it 👍🏻

Who Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch is best for

Visit once and you'll see right away why Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch is so consistently loved.

• Anyone looking for a spot for family meals, get-togethers or company dinners
• Anyone who wants high-quality meat at a good price
• Anyone looking for a proper aged Korean pork (handon) belly place

I recommend Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch, a pork belly favorite near Cheonho Station.