Cheese-bomb egg at a Gangnam Korean BBQ, ₩6,000 pork skin: Gogikkun

There have been so many fun movies lately that I'm going to CGV Gangnam almost once a week these days

Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam: Korean beef and pork sets five minutes from CGV Gangnam

That day I'd just watched Spider-Man and really wanted meat, so I was scrolling around when I found a place nearby selling Korean beef and pork sets together — dashed over right away (5 minutes from the CGV 👍🏻)

• ⏰ Mon-Fri 13:00-22:30 (last order 21:30) / Sat-Sun 12:30-22:00 (last order 21:00)
• 🅿️ Nearby paid parking lots (Bethel Parking / Hana Parking)
• 📍 Reservations available via Naver, Catch Table

Gangnam has these random uphill slopes that always throw me off, and this place is right on one of those slopes, so there's a bit of a climb .. but there's an elevator in the building, so once you get to that you can ride comfortably up to the 3rd or 4th floor!

3rd-floor hall and 4th-floor private rooms: how private is it?

The 3rd floor of Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam is mostly hall seating, while the 4th floor has private room-style spaces, including one that fits up to 80 people, so it's apparently great for group gatherings or company dinners too!

The waiting area has chairs and even a fridge with cold water, so you can wait comfortably (such a relief in weather like this these days .. 🥹)

The whole restaurant is a bit dim and each table has its own separated space, so even the 3rd floor hall feels like you don't have to worry much about the table next to you 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 It's not loud or chaotic — more calm and private, so it'd make a good date spot too

What side dishes and sauces come with the meal?

The banchan (side dishes) included wild chives, baek-kimchi (white kimchi), green onion kimchi, sliced green onion salad, and pickled vegetables — all good for cutting through the richness of the meat, so they paired well with it! The baek-kimchi especially was tangy and clean, and went well with both beef and pork

There were also lots of sauce options — Maldon salt, ssamjang (soybean paste dip), pyogwa wasabi, fresh wasabi — and they said they'd also bring galchi-sokjeot (fermented hairtail innards) separately on request! If you like pork, dipping the pork belly in galchi-sokjeot would probably go really well too 😋

Since it's summer, they also gave us complimentary oi-naengguk (cold cucumber soup), which was cool and tangy and delicious. And now, finally, today's main event: the charcoal brazier appears ~

They also give you a bowl of ice — they explained that if the fat drips and the flame gets too strong, you can tap the brazier with the ice to calm it down! Simple, but it lets you control the heat somewhat, so it seemed like a good method 🧊🧊

What's in the Chunbae Couple Set, and the ₩6,000 pork skin add-on

Here comes the meat we've all been waiting for 🥩 What we ordered that day was the Chunbae Couple Set — skirt steak + bone-in short rib + premium-select pork belly — and for just ₩6,000 more you can add pork skin to the set, so I added it without hesitation 😎 Couldn't pass up 50% off chewy pork skin ..

The meat came out prettier than expected. I can't really tell skirt steak from short rib apart, but anyone could see it was clearly good beef from the vivid color and the even marbling — just looking at it made me drool .. The pork belly was satisfying too, with a good balance of skin, fat layer, and lean meat, and only a little bone

The staff explained each cut of meat and grilled it for us at first, so we could just relax and chat while eating! Once it gets busier you have to grill it yourself, but they still came by to check on it in between, even while busy

How the skirt steak and bone-in short rib taste

The beef we grilled first was pretty thick, so when it was cooked the juices stayed nice and moist inside. Since it's grilled over charcoal, the outside gets nicely browned while the inside stays tender, and the juices burst out with the beef's signature savory flavor

Beef really is best when it's crisp on the outside but still has a bit of pink inside — dipped lightly in salt ..

Sides at Gogikkun Kimchunbae: cheese-bomb steamed egg and doenjang jjigae

We also ordered egg custard and doenjang jjigae as sides (the sides here are a hit too ..). True to its name, the cheese-bomb egg custard was bouncy with a savory cheese flavor — the best! The doenjang jjigae was packed generously with ingredients too, so it was great to slurp down with rice 😋😋

Premium-select pork belly and the added pork skin

Another star arrives: pork (it doesn't actually taste of rosemary, but there was some there so I tried it haha). The specially-selected pork belly had a crispy grilled skin along with the right balance of fat and lean meat, giving that crispy-outside, tender-inside texture I love 😋 After the beef, the pork belly had a totally different kind of charm

And of course, samgyeopsal (pork belly) pairs perfectly with wild chives and sliced green onion salad!

Last up, we grilled the pork skin add-on. It had pretty score marks cut into it and was coated in sauce, and that sauce met the charcoal fire for a real synergy effect!! They also serve it with soybean powder, so you get the chewy pork skin's savoriness plus that extra layer of flavor

Waiting and reservations: full even on a weekday evening

After finishing such a hearty meal, I looked around and even though it was a weekday evening, the restaurant was completely full and there was already a wait! If you want to eat comfortably, same-day reservations are possible, but it's better to book ahead on Naver if you can ㅎ

Discounts and promotions running now

The meat quality was great and the meal was so delicious

• ✔️ 15% discount for firefighters, military, and police
• ✔️ Gift given for gatherings visiting with a wedding invitation
• ✔️ Free serving of pork for pregnant customers

They run various promotions like these, so if you qualify, it's worth checking before you go. If you want to eat beef and pork together near Gangnam Station, or want somewhere a bit more comfortable and relaxed for a date over meat, Gogikkun Kimchunbae Gangnam was a good choice. The end _