Busan tonkatsu restaurant worth lining up at opening: Katsu Gimseondo

Katsu Gimseondo hours, closing day and parking

• Hours: 11:30 – 21:00
• Break time: 15:00 – 17:00
• Last order: 20:00
• Closed every Tuesday
• Parking: 2 spots in the building's own lot; nearby street parking available 11:30–14:30

I'd heard there was a great tonkatsu spot in Jeonpo-dong, so I went to check out Katsu Gimseondo. I've always liked tonkatsu, and this place had been on my mind, so I made sure to arrive right at opening to avoid a wait.

Why arrive at opening? Inside the Jeonpo-dong alley shop

Katsu Gimseondo sits inside an alley in Jeonpo-dong, but it wasn't hard to find. Not long after I sat down, customers kept streaming in until the place was nearly full. Seeing it fill up this fast right at opening told me this is a genuinely popular spot.

There are both tables and bar seats, so it looked good for either two people or dining solo.

The kitchen is open, so you can watch the food being prepared inside. Everything was tidy and clean, which made a great first impression. Looking toward the open kitchen, I noticed a separate aging chamber too — since Katsu Gimseondo ages its meat for a long time before using it, seeing that process up close made it clear how much care goes into a single piece of tonkatsu.

Whose name is 'Gimseondo'?

At first I thought Gimseondo might be the owner's name, haha, but it turns out it's actually a fictional character who spent a lifetime studying tonkatsu. The sign explained that good tonkatsu isn't just about being crispy — it's about balancing the thickness of the meat, the texture of the breading, the oil temperature, and the sauce all together, which made the name feel pretty clever.

Pink salt and pepper were set out on the table, making it easy to season the tonkatsu however I liked.

What we ordered at Katsu Gimseondo: two sets and a side curry

Knowing the pork goes through an aging process made me even more curious about the flavor, haha. Since we wanted to try a bit of everything, we ordered the Gimseondo set, the half-and-half tonkatsu set, and a side of curry.

What comes with the Gimseondo set

The Gimseondo set arrived on one plate with pork loin katsu, tenderloin katsu, shrimp katsu, and a soft-boiled fried egg all together. Unlike a set with just one cut, it was fun to pick between different parts, plus getting to mix in shrimp and egg katsu along the way made the whole thing feel more substantial than I expected. With the plate piled full of different katsu, it felt pretty generous from the moment it landed on the table.

I tried it first with a little mustard on pink salt — the breading outside was crispy while the meat inside was moist and tender. It had good thickness too, without being dry, and chewed nice and soft.

Some parts had a chewy texture, and with a good bit of fat mixed in there was a savory richness alongside it, so the more I chewed the more the clean flavor came through. It was delicious with just a light dip in salt, and adding a touch of wasabi or mustard kept it from feeling greasy.

The shrimp katsu

The shrimp katsu was fried crispy on the outside, but the shrimp inside was plump, giving it a bouncy, moist texture that really came through. The shrimp's subtle sweetness and umami were well preserved too. It was crispier and tastier than I expected, so as someone who usually loves shrimp, this was an especially satisfying dish.

Half-and-half tonkatsu set: loin vs. tenderloin

The half-and-half tonkatsu set lets you try both loin and tenderloin on the same plate, so it was great for going back and forth comparing the texture difference between the two cuts. It's the perfect order when it's hard to choose just one.

Inside the thick cut of meat there was a subtle pink tint, and it was evenly cooked throughout. The breading wasn't too thick either, so the flavor of the meat never got buried. Some tonkatsu gets greasy after a bite or two, but the meat here was on the leaner, cleaner side, so it tasted better than I expected, and switching things up with sauce or wasabi here and there was nice too.

The cabbage served alongside was generous too. I poured on plenty of dressing — it had a tangy, clean flavor that worked well between bites of tonkatsu.

Even with its good thickness, the meat chewed soft without ever feeling tough or dry. Personally, I like tonkatsu where the meat outweighs the breading, and as you can tell from the photos, this place is the style where you really bite into the meat — and the more you chew, the more the clean meaty flavor rises up, so I'd recommend trying at least one piece plain, before dipping it in anything.

The soft-boiled fried egg over rice

The rice came topped with a soft-boiled fried egg and a soy seasoning, so mixing it all together turned it into something like soy sauce egg rice. I popped the egg on top and broke it up finely, then mixed it through with the soy seasoning. As the egg spread evenly through the rice, it added a clean, savory flavor that paired really well with the tonkatsu.

Is the side curry worth adding?

The side curry we ordered is a house-made curry with vegetables slowly sautéed in lard for flavor, and I could taste a subtle sweetness and depth from the first bite, with plenty of onion mixed in for texture. It was delicious just mixed into rice, but dipping a piece of tonkatsu into the curry completely changed the flavor, almost like eating a different dish — personally, I was glad I added it as a side.

It was tasty on its own with rice, but dipping a piece of tonkatsu lightly into the curry worked really well too. Personally, if you're adding one side to go with your tonkatsu, I'd recommend the curry.

Each dish was so well put together that trying a bit of everything left me more full than I expected. Since I wasn't locked into just one item, I got to mix things up, which kept it interesting all the way through. I came for the opening run, and before long the place was nearly full with customers streaming in, so I've already decided I'll be doing an opening run again next time too, haha.

If you're ever craving tonkatsu around Jeonpo-dong, this place is worth a visit.