Korean BBQ at Samseong Station Exit 3: shrimp sirloin, Gungmin Hanwoo

I stopped by Gungmin Hanwoo House, a well-known BBQ spot near Samseong Station!!

Right outside Samseong Station Exit 3: the queue at Gungmin Hanwoo House

Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch is a hanwoo (Korean beef) restaurant located on Teheran-ro 86-gil, right in front of Exit 3 of Samseong Station. It was a Monday, right at rush hour, and I hesitated for a moment in the crowd flowing up and down the subway entrance before squeezing into the line already forming outside.

Office workers lining up at lunchtime is a common sight, but the crowd at rush hour changes by the minute. Samseong Station is at least less packed than Gangnam Station… but the longer the line got, the more clearly I could hear the rhythm of chopsticks hitting plates echoing somewhere inside me. 🤣

Stone walls and log tables: what Gungmin Hanwoo House looks like inside

Stepping inside, the first thing that caught my eye was the wall — gray, reddish-brown, and pale beige natural stones layered on top of each other. Light resting on the stone seemed to flow through the cracks between them. Before I even read the menu, the first thing I did was just look up and admire the soft light hanging from the ceiling. Kind of felt like a log cabin camping resort??

The tables were solid marble and raw log wood. A grill was set right in the middle, and smoke drifted up over the noise of a lively dinner crowd. The air conditioning kept the ceiling cool, but as soon as I leaned over the table, the fragrant smell of meat and charcoal hit me first.

Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch menu and prices

One line printed in the box at the top right of the menu caught my attention.

Specializing in top 1% hanwoo, grade 1++ No.9

Shrimp sirloin ₩42,000, outer skirt ₩32,000, skirt steak ₩42,000, tenderloin ₩38,000, sirloin ₩28,000, marbled sirloin ₩23,000, short rib finger meat ₩19,000, flat iron ₩19,000. The individual prices caught my eye, and quietly printed among those numbers was the mark: 1++ No.9.

So I deliberately ate a light lunch that day ㅠㅠ and by evening those numbers were dancing in front of my eyes. Beef brisket doenjang stew ₩10,000, Hamhung-style cold noodles ₩6,000 — as I closed the menu and read the prices for the fifth time, I realized a small mistake. What I'd actually come here to eat wasn't a "lunch menu." 🤣ㅎㅎㅎㅎ

Reservations are accepted even for lunch, so booking ahead is a must!! You need to secure a confirmed slot through the Naver reservation page.

Piece by piece: the marbling on the 42,000 won shrimp sirloin

The meat was stacked in tiers on a small wooden board. Beside it sat two pieces of king oyster mushroom stamped with the "Gungmin Hanwoo House" logo. In the distance, japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) sat in a brass bowl. The thickness of the marbling looked almost like lines on a palm. The marbling of 1++ No.9 hanwoo — a photo alone that promised something.

I bit into a piece of shrimp sirloin with my front teeth. It took about 4 seconds for the fat to slowly melt in my mouth. When people say meat "melts," I always thought it was just a figure of speech — but it really did melt. From the next bite on, there was no controlling the portions anymore. Outer skirt, short rib finger meat, flat iron — I ate my way through them, naming each one as I went. There was no need to think about the price again. ㅠㅠ 😭😭

Grilling hanwoo over live charcoal

Something changed the moment the meat touched the charcoal. Where the marbling was thickest, the fat began to melt — small at first, but unmistakable — the moment it touched the grill net. It moved at a different rhythm than it looked like from a distance. Not the rhythm of the charcoal's heat, but the rhythm of the fat dancing. The person next to me kept moving their chopsticks in silence, in time with it.

Smoke rose straight up over the camera, and the "Gungmin" stamp on the king oyster mushroom seemed destined to disappear… you're just too delicious 🤤 what a fate

As the smoke drifted up past my face, I noticed again how unchanging the staff's expressions were. Even with the place packed and only two staff on hand, they kept changing the charcoal, tidying the fire, and putting more meat on the grill — the whole cycle running smoothly and professionally.

The king oyster mushroom on the charcoal had "Gungmin" stamped onto it. I later realized that once it's grilled, the lettering disappears. Not just a mark for recall — maybe it was a way of branding the mushroom as the restaurant's own, part of a quality-check process too?

After the meal, and one small complaint

Sauce stains left in the brass bowl, white radish beside the purple onion — that was the entire side spread on the table. The tableware was neat and simple, and I could count on one hand how many times I reached for a dipping sauce. The meat alone was insanely good.

On the way out, I looked back at Samseong Station Exit 3. The same line stretched the same length as before. A thought crossed my mind that I'd probably be back for lunch again — but next time, I've decided I'm coming without the guilt trip. 🔥

There's also a way to get here through the underground of COEX Mall!! Or you could take a bus all the way to the POSCO Building 🤣

My muscle mass has gotten worryingly low lately — if you're reading this, make sure to check your skeletal muscle mass, not just your "style" muscle!!