Kid-friendly gopchang restaurant in Yeonsu, Incheon: Yeonsu Gopchang

Yeonsu Gopchang, famous in the Yeonsu-dong food alley for gopchang stir-fry + makchang! I'd been craving intestine dishes for a while but couldn't decide between grilled, stir-fried, or soup — and Yeonsu Gopchang's assorted platter turned out to have exactly the lineup I was looking for, so I paid a visit :)

Starting my honest review of Yeonsu Gopchang, a must-visit spot in Yeonsu-dong, Incheon ~!

Where Yeonsu Gopchang is, opening hours and parking

• Address: 13-5 Saemmal-ro 21beon-gil, Yeonsu-gu, Incheon, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 16:00–02:00 (closed last Sunday of each month)
• Parking: 2 hours free at Neulbom underground public lot or Matgol-gil public lot

Yeonsu Gopchang, a well-known spot in the Yeonsu-dong food alley! I visited on a weekend before 5pm — a fairly early time (?) — but there were already people scattered throughout the place. That red-and-blue sign already gave off the smell of a gopchang hotspot ~.~

I think this place's real charm is exactly this kind of warm generosity? Sundae (blood sausage) and liver come free at every table, and depending on your order you even get a free kettle of fish cake soup or white sundae ;)

Yeonsu-dong is a food alley, so parking can be a real headache — but here you can use the Neulbom underground public lot or the Matgol-gil public lot for 2 hours free, so parking was easy.

Inside Yeonsu Gopchang: a dining room full of family tables

Inside Yeonsu Gopchang, a must-visit spot in Yeonsu-dong, Incheon! The tables open to the door had great weather and an outdoor-tent kind of vibe, which I really liked.

Actually, gopchang and makchang aren't exactly the most universally popular menu across all ages and genders, but I was surprised to see such a variety — families eating together from early on, moms and daughters chatting over a table, groups of elders having a gathering. I guess that means it's won everyone's taste buds?

What's at the self-serve corner

A self-serve corner set up on one side!

Perilla powder, soybean powder, salt, pickled radish, garlic, cheongyang chili — all the good stuff to go with gopchang and makchang. These are all served as default side dishes too, but it was nice to be able to grab more without hesitation whenever needed.

Yeonsu Gopchang menu and prices

The menu at Yeonsu Gopchang, a must-visit in Yeonsu-dong, Incheon! From various set menus for 2, for 4, or however you want to mix and match, to individual gopchang and makchang dishes.

The grilled gopchang stir-fry menu includes vegetable gopchang stir-fry ₩13,000, sundae gopchang stir-fry ₩13,000, spicy chili gopchang stir-fry ₩14,000, and white sundae stir-fry ₩13,000. Spice level is marked with chili pepper icons, which made it easy to gauge how spicy each one is.

The handmade aged makchang grill menu: salt-grilled makchang ₩14,000, seasoned grilled makchang ₩15,000, teriyaki makchang ₩15,000, fire makchang ₩15,000.

Side dishes include gopchang hot pot ₩10,000, cheese bomb steamed egg ₩6,000, steamed egg ₩3,000, teriyaki rice ball ₩3,500, self-serve rice ball ₩3,000, extra fish cake soup ₩4,000, sesame fried rice ₩3,500, and rice ₩1,000.

The kids' menu at Yeonsu Gopchang is completely free

And here's where the thoughtfulness surprised me — the kids' menu and extras! Strawberry jam morning bread, baby rice, kids' seaweed, even vitamins — all provided completely free for children..!

For parents who might feel hesitant about bringing kids to a gopchang restaurant, this place would definitely put their minds at ease. I'd never seen a place pay this much attention to detail before ~.~

Banchan setting and the kettle of fish cake soup

The basic table setting came out looking almost like a full spread — mayonnaise, makjang sauce, soybean powder and other condiments, plus diced radish kimchi, pickled onions, pickled radish, and even sundae and liver. But the highlight was definitely the kettle fish cake soup,,!

I loved that the fish cake came in a retro yellow kettle, and they even gave us paper cups to pour and sip the broth from. Sipping it from a paper cup instead of a glass somehow made the whole mood even better.

What comes with the Yeonsu Assorted Platter

What I ordered was the Yeonsu Assorted Platter, which comes as a set with vegetable gopchang stir-fry, salt-grilled makchang, gopchang hot pot, and sesame fried rice!

The gopchang hot pot came out first. Just watching it bubbling away in the hot stone pot already had me excited for the broth.

One spoonful in, and it was packed with pork gopchang, perilla leaves, and enoki mushrooms and other vegetables. The broth was spicy and hot, and the gopchang pieces were big and satisfying to bite into.

Next came the vegetable gopchang stir-fry and salt-grilled makchang! They arrive split in half on one plate, with a big pile of chives in the middle..!

On the left, salt-grilled makchang pre-grilled once already; on the right, vegetable gopchang stir-fry glistening with sauce!

There was even a guide on the wall for how to enjoy it best, so I read through it carefully and followed along.

Salt-grilled makchang

First bite of the salt-grilled makchang — my first genuinely delicious pork makchang in a while. It was great that it came already fully grilled, and the outside was cooked super crispy. Bite into it and it's crunchy, with savory fat flavor flowing out from inside. Because it was cooked thoroughly, the fat flavor wasn't greasy at all — it stayed savory.

Vegetable gopchang stir-fry wrapped in perilla leaves

The vegetable gopchang stir-fry portion was completely generous,, stir-fried together with cabbage, onion, perilla leaves, and chives, and each piece of gopchang was thick with a satisfying chew. There was also a huge pile of glass noodles..! Wonderfully chewy.

My favorite combination by far was this perilla leaf wrap :) Place a pickled radish slice on a perilla leaf, add gopchang and vegetables, top generously with mayonnaise, then cover with another pickled radish slice and wrap it up to eat!

Eating it this way, you get everything at once — the salty umami and slightly sweet flavor of the gopchang stir-fry, plus the tangy freshness of the pickled radish.

Finishing with sesame fried rice

For dessert, sesame fried rice — can't skip that. It came included in the set menu, so it felt very filling. Honestly I was sooooo full,, I debated fifty times whether to order it, but it's not just regular fried rice, it's

placeholder