Sangwangsimni Korean BBQ for two: hanger steak with wasabi, Yukseong

Wangsimni has so many BBQ places, and I found a really tasty one! Yukseong even grills the meat for you, so I ate in total comfort, and I'm going to introduce it right away~~~

Yukseong location, hours and parking

Yukseong (육성) is at 97 Muhakbong-gil, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the 1st floor, 288m from Exit 4 of Line 2's Sangwangsimni Station. By public transport, come out of Sangwangsimni Station Exit 4 or Wangsimni Station Exit 11 and it's about a 5-minute walk.

• Hours: Tuesday–Sunday 16:00–23:00 (last order 22:00) / closed every Monday
• Groups welcome, high chairs, separate men's/women's restrooms, reservations available
• No parking: use the paid Yuseong lot in front (first 30 min ₩2,000, ₩2,100 per additional 30 min, max ₩4,100)

The entrance and atmosphere

The silver-toned sign already felt sleek, and the full glass front lets you see the whole interior, which gave it a restaurant vibe.

A standing menu board was set up at the entrance, so we could check the menu and prices before going in.

Seating and reservations

Inside, the ventilation is good, so it was comfortable even for a BBQ place, and the tables are mostly for 2 or 4 with plenty of space between them. There were two of us, and because we reserved ahead, we got in right away with no waiting! They showed us to a table set aside for reservations, so we settled in easily.

The slogan "Samseong for semiconductors, Yukseong for meat" (a pun on Samsung's Korean name) has real impact haha

Yukseong menu and prices

The set menus are the Yukseong-grade set ₩87,000, Beom Set ₩53,000, Beef set ₩54,000 and Pork set ₩52,000. À la carte and meal items are below.

• Tosisal 140g ₩20,000
• Pork neck (jinmoksal) 170g ₩17,000
• Skin-on pork belly 170g ₩17,000
• Loin cap (gabrisal) 150g ₩17,000
• Yukseong doenjang stew ₩5,000
• BBQ-restaurant naengmyeon (water or spicy) ₩5,500
• Mother-in-law's heaping rice ₩1,000

Side dishes and freebies

We ordered the Beom Set! Yukseong already had a huge number of side dishes plated on the table.

There was house-made seasoned radish, mustard leaf pickles, and a cabbage salad mixed with black sesame dressing that tasted nicely nutty.

Wasabi, garlic shrimp sauce, yuzu chili, whole garlic, peppers, ssamjang (wrap sauce) and lettuce were all ready too.

There were also whole peppercorns and salt set on the table.

Free welcome wine and beef radish soup

The wine they serve free before the meal was impressive too. You can choose white or red, and we picked red.

Before the meat came out, we got beef radish soup! It's a freebie, and it was great, thumbs up.

Looking at the grill, they cook with corn-based fuel, and since the smell doesn't cling to you, maybe that's why the place feels so fresh haha

Beom Set (₩53,000): what's in it and how to eat it

Our Beom Set finally arrived^^ It's a set of the signature pork neck and beef tosisal, served with mushrooms!

Tosisal: salt and pepper first, then wasabi

The owner stressed that they specialize in tosisal for beef. They grilled the beef first, and recommended tasting it first with salt and pepper, then a second piece with wasabi on top.

Pork neck in bite-size pieces, wrapped with garlic shrimp sauce

Next up, the pork~~~ They even cut the pork neck into bite-size pieces like this!

I put garlic shrimp sauce on the pork and enjoyed it in lettuce wraps with garlic ssamjang.

Finishing with doenjang stew and the heaping rice

There was plenty of meat, so to wrap up we ordered Yukseong doenjang stew and the Mother-in-law's heaping rice! The rice bowl was so huge that four people could have shared it haha

Wangsimni BBQ at Yukseong: my overall verdict

First of all, I was happy with the excellent meat quality at this Wangsimni BBQ place! The owner is kind and they grill the meat for you, which made it an even more satisfying BBQ spot~~~