Samseong Station Korean restaurant, 9 banchan date night: Obongjip

Because of the kids, I rarely get to eat spicy food these days. But my husband and I ended up at Samseong Station recently, and suddenly all I wanted was spicy octopus stir-fry. So we went to Obongjip Samseong Branch. When the kids are with us there's a lot to think about when choosing a menu, but this was a just-the-two-of-us dinner, so I finally picked something spicy for once.

Where is Obongjip Samseong Branch, and what are its hours?

Obongjip Samseong Branch is at 62 Teheran-ro 81-gil, 1F, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. On weekdays it's open 11:00–22:00 with a break time from 14:30–17:00 and last order at 21:30. On Saturdays and Sundays it's open 11:30–22:00 with a break time from 15:00–16:00 and last order at 21:00.

• ⏰ Mon–Fri 11:00–22:00 / break time 14:30–17:00 / weekday last order 21:30
• ⏰ Sat–Sun 11:30–22:00 / weekend break time 15:00–16:00 / weekend last order 21:00
• 📍 Location: 62 Teheran-ro 81-gil, 1F, Gangnam-gu, Seoul

The weekday and weekend break times are different, so it's easy to get confused — worth checking by day before you head over.

Ordering the Nakji Obongjip Special for two

That day, we ordered the Nakji Obongjip Special.

It's not just octopus stir-fry on its own — bossam (boiled pork wrap) and makguksu (buckwheat noodles) come with it too, so it was plenty filling for two.

We ordered just one menu item, but with octopus stir-fry, bossam and makguksu all together, we got to eat a little of everything, which was great. On top of that, we got a whopping 9 banchan (side dishes).

There's a separate self-serve corner for banchan, so you can go get more yourself if you run out. We didn't need to — the first round was plenty for us.

The pork bossam: mild, tender and easy to share

We started with the bossam. The pork was more tender than I expected and not very fatty, so it had a clean, mild flavor.

It went well with kimchi, and also worked nicely wrapped with mu-malaengi (dried radish strips). Personally, I loved pairing bossam in between bites of the spicy octopus stir-fry — since the stir-fry is pretty spicy, the mild bossam in between kind of tamed the heat a bit.

Smoky, spicy octopus stir-fry with an adjustable spice level

At Obongjip Samseong Branch you can adjust the spice level of the octopus stir-fry when ordering. This was also the dish I was most looking forward to that day. It had a subtle smoky char flavor along with the spiciness.

That said, it wasn't super spicy, so it was just right for someone like me who usually can't handle spicy food well. At first bite I thought, 'oh, this is fine' — but as I kept eating, the heat crept up gradually. Still, it never got to a level I couldn't handle.

And since the spice level here is adjustable, you just choose your preferred level when ordering. If you can't handle spicy food well, you can play it safe and go with the basic level like I did. The octopus itself was chewy yet tender, so the texture was great too. Eating the smoky spicy octopus together with the mild, savory bossam turned out to be a surprisingly good combo. I found this place while looking for restaurants near Samseong Station, and this particular pairing really won me over.

Makguksu noodles loaded with fresh vegetables

The Nakji Obongjip Special comes with makguksu too. The noodles had a good amount of vegetables mixed in, which I also liked.

The sauce was sweet and spicy, and the noodles were nice and chewy — great to eat alongside the octopus stir-fry or the bossam. We ordered just one menu item, but got to enjoy octopus stir-fry, bossam and makguksu all together, which made it a fun spread for the two of us to taste around.

How busy does Obongjip Samseong Branch get?

When we visited, the restaurant was genuinely packed. There were a lot of dine-in customers, and delivery orders kept coming in as well. It must have been a hectic, busy stretch, but the staff still handled everything kindly, which I appreciated.

Is Obongjip worth it for dinner near Samseong Station?

Around Samseong Station there are a lot of spots popular with office workers. This place has such a generous menu setup that it seems great for either lunch or dinner. Especially if you're like me and usually can't eat spicy food much because of the kids, coming here as a couple every once in a while for spicy octopus stir-fry seems like a nice treat.

It wasn't just octopus stir-fry — we also got to enjoy tender bossam and makguksu, all from a single menu item, which made Obongjip Samseong Branch feel like great variety in one order. If you're craving a hearty spread of spicy octopus stir-fry with bossam and makguksu, this is worth a stop as a Samseong Station restaurant.