Gopchang and somaek night in Geomdan New Town, Incheon: Hwang Gop

A while back my husband and I were near Ara Station in Geomdan and suddenly craved gopchang and somaek, so we went to Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch. It turned out to be a genuine hit with a waiting line, and the intestines were packed full with a clean flavor, plus solid side dishes. Let me give you the full review!

How to get to Hwang Gop from Ara Station, and where to park

Hwang Gop is about 600m from Exit 1 of Ara Station on Incheon Line 1, roughly a 10-minute walk. There's a separate waiting area inside the restaurant.

If you drive, parking support is available, but since the restaurant is located in the commercial building of the LH Geomdan Complex 26 apartments, you'll need to use that complex's parking lot. Enter through the rear surface lot of the LH26 complex and head toward the Building 2605 commercial block for the closest spot — worth keeping in mind for your visit.

• Hours: Sun-Thu 15:00-24:00 / Fri-Sat 15:00-01:00
• Parking: Available (use the apartment commercial parking lot)
• Free corkage for 1 bottle (excludes alcohol sold in-store)

What does Hwang Gop look like inside?

The inside of Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch was brighter and more cheerful than I expected, and spotlessly clean.

I liked that there was none of the greasy smell or stickiness typical of gopchang restaurants.

The tables were also fairly spaced out, so we could eat comfortably without bumping into other diners, and we ordered through the tablet at the table.

Self-serve bar, tableside grilling and the free dishes at Hwang Gop

At Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch, you can freely help yourself to more side dishes or vegetables from the self-serve bar.

And you don't have to struggle grilling at the table yourself — the staff bring it out already grilled to the right doneness, so you just need another minute or two of extra cooking. It's a simple system, and we could eat cleanly without any oil splattering.

And really generously, there's a full bowl of cool muksabal (acorn jelly soup)

and a taste-sized portion of yukhoe (beef tartare) as service dishes, which paired perfectly with the gopchang menu that can otherwise get a bit heavy, so it went down easily.

Even just the basic setup already looks like a full spread, haha.

Mixed gopchang and golbimmyeon set, 48,900 won: how does it taste?

We ordered the mixed gopchang + golbimmyeon (spicy cold mixed noodles) set (₩48,900) and fried rice with soju and beer (₩3,000).

First up, the perfectly grilled mixed gopchang for two, plus the golbimmyeon! It came piled with gopchang, makchang, daechang, heart, samgyeop-yangji (pork belly-style beef brisket), mushrooms, chives, and potato.

I wish I could send you the smell too — that savory aroma just kept rising, and since it had been a while since I'd had gopchang, my mouth was watering nonstop.

First, the samgyeop-yangji and heart get just enough grilling to remove the raw color, then dipped in salt-sesame oil. Ohhh, this is it, this is exactly it.

Tender, with meaty flavor rising right up — ugh, I need a drink for this, honestly not having one would be a crime.

My husband had to drive so he just clinked glasses with me, and I took both cups for myself lol. Mixed up a refreshing somaek and cheers!

This time, gopchang grilled to a nice brown with the fat packed in — cheers again! Greasy gopchang really does call for somaek, no argument there.

Makchang gets more savory the more you chew it, and daechang has a rich, mellow charm — I found eating it together with the golbimmyeon and cheongyang chili cut through the richness perfectly and was so good.

The golbimmyeon had just the right amount of tangy sauce and generous toppings — if you're a fan of bibim noodles, definitely order it!

Finishing with fried rice for 3,000 won

So what's next after gopchang? Of course, fried rice... The fried rice at Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch comes already stir-fried!

I would've regretted skipping it. It's got a spicy kick, great savory depth, and a clean finish! A delicious dinner that made me understand exactly why there's a waiting line here.❤

Is Hwang Gop in Geomdan New Town worth a visit?

If you're looking for a great dinner spot near Ara Station in Geomdan, if you're truly searching for a delicious gopchang restaurant, or if you want somewhere to have a cool drink and good conversation — I recommend visiting Hwang Gop Geomdan New Town Branch👍👍