Balsan Station Korean restaurant for rainy-day team dinners: Gungmin

Why I came to Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch in the rainy season

I visited Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch (국민낙곱새 강서점), a nakgopsae restaurant near Balsan Station. It's monsoon season and it's been pouring, so I kept craving something spicy and warm in Korean food, haha.

Is Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch big enough for a team dinner?

The restaurant is way bigger than I expected, so it looked fine for a team dinner or group gathering!!! The moment I walked in I saw the 3,000-won soju promotion sign, and it put me in a good mood!!

Parking and the giant screen

There's a big car park behind the building, so bringing a car was easy, and there's a large screen inside, so I thought the mood would be great on a baseball or soccer game day!! The day I visited, they were playing a World Cup BTS performance, T_T. Isn't that so thoughtful?!

And it's not a small screen! It's huge, filling almost a whole wall!! Watching soccer here would be so good, haha.

Lunch specials and the drinks lineup

Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch also runs separate lunch specials, so it seemed fine for office workers nearby, haha.

They have every kind of alcohol too!!! Chamisul Red Cap soju is hard to find, but here they have both the new Chamisul and the Red Cap. So thoughtful 🤤🤤🤤

With so many drinks, I checked the side menu, and there are plenty of snacks besides nakgopsae!! The next table was having a team dinner, but the tables are spaced apart, so it never felt noisy or uncomfortable!! Soju and a screen in a comfortable space, so good, haha.

Medium hanwoo daechang nakgopsae and the side dishes

At Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch we ordered the medium hanwoo daechang (beef intestine) nakgopsae.

The side dishes came out neatly, just the essentials, and the water kimchi was so refreshing I kept going back to it. Seaweed soup comes too, and a spoonful between bites of the spicy nakgopsae was just right!!! And I totally recommend perilla leaf wraps with mayonnaise. A perfect match.

Another small thing I liked: they have disposable aprons ready, so I could eat comfortably without worrying about sauce splatters.

Is the restroom at Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch clean?

I visited the restroom too, and it was well kept and tidy, with a faint pleasant scent, so good 🫪🫪

A dirty restroom makes me hesitate to visit a place, but here it always felt orderly, like it's checked regularly, haha.

Events and how to eat nakgopsae the right way

Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch has a receipt event! A photo event! Even a video event!!! There are lots of events, so be sure to join in, haha.

The table even has a friendly guide on how to eat nakgopsae deliciously 🫪 For anyone who can't read it in the photo, I've written it out here!!

• Stir evenly so the glass noodles don't burn.
• When the onions turn translucent and the rice cakes are cooked, press the down button to lower it to 5 and simmer 2-3 more minutes.
• Then lower it to 2 to keep it warm while you eat.
• Add fried rice ingredients to the leftover sauce, stir-fry on 5, then press the power button to turn it off and you're done.
• It's even tastier with perilla leaves and mayonnaise!

Added udon noodles: how were the daechang, octopus and shrimp?

Eating the hanwoo daechang nakgopsae, I couldn't not add udon noodles, so I ordered them right away. Hehe. They soaked up the sauce and tasted much better together. The daechang starts out white and turns appetizing as it absorbs the sauce, which was fun to watch, and it was rich and nutty, while the octopus and shrimp were good too.

I ate in a frenzy and before I knew it the pot was empty. When you crave spicy nakgopsae, I think you'll be satisfied if you try Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch once!

The winning crew of Street Woman Fighter (a Korean dance competition show) has visited too!! A real hit spot, highly recommended.