Samseong Station Korean restaurant, giant seafood kalguksu: Obongjip

First time back at Samseong Station in a while~~ We'd just finished at a baby fair and were trying to figure out what to eat when we landed on this Samseong Station spot! Obongjip is a chain so I'd seen it around plenty, but Obongjip Samseong Branch is popular enough to have a wait at both lunch and dinner.

We came for something spicy and appetite-boosting for my wife, who's had no appetite lately — nakji bokkeum (spicy stir-fried octopus) and kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup). Result: total success!! She scraped her bowl clean haha. Review time!😘😘

Where is Obongjip Samseong Branch, and where can you park?

Obongjip Samseong Branch sits close to Samseong Station on Line 2 or Samseong Jungang Station on Line 9. No parking on-site, but you can pay to park at Samseong-dong First Parking Tower nearby! Access by public transit is great, so I'd recommend taking the subway.

What Obongjip Samseong Branch looks like inside and out

The storefront! Every time I see it I notice the photo of the woman who's presumably the founder — total masterpiece haha. Real artisan vibes haha. Wishing her all the money in the world...

And here's the interior! Plenty of tables, and the tableware and place settings are kept neat and clean.

At the entrance they've even got chargers, toothpicks, hair ties, and even floss. You can really tell the owner has good sense.

Obongjip menu and what this couple ordered

The menu! Nakji bokkeum, ojingeo bokkeum (stir-fried squid), and bossam (boiled pork wraps) are the mains, plus kalguksu, makguksu (buckwheat noodles), various anju (drinking snacks), and a bunch of side dishes on top. There's also a lunch special at pretty solid prices, so if you're eating lunch nearby, keep that in mind. We went with nakji bokkeum for two, seafood kalguksu for two, and buchu jeon. We were starving so we ordered a ton haha.

Nakji bokkeum for two, 28,000 won

The basic banchan (side dishes) arrive neatly arranged.

The basic banchan were pretty impressive! The stir-fried sausage was really good, and the miyeok-guk (seaweed soup) was refreshing too. Perfect for perking up the appetite.

You can grab extra banchan from the self-serve bar, so it never feels like a burden to load up.

Finally, the nakji bokkeum arrives. The octopus is insanely plump. One whiff of that smoky char and the sight of the perfectly stir-fried color and I knew right away this couldn't possibly taste bad.

Let's dig in carefully, no splattering. Taking a bite, the octopus's springy chewiness really comes through, and it's cooked just right — not tough at all. The seasoning had soaked in perfectly too, genuinely delicious. My wife, who's had zero appetite because of pregnancy, took one bite and her eyes went wide haha.

With rice, sesame oil, and gim (dried seaweed flakes) also on the table...

Perfect for making bibimbap! The bibimbap was insane haha. So good I wolfed down the whole bowl. Nakji bokkeum is a genuine must-order here. It was on par with the best octopus stir-fry I ever had in Mokpo.

Seafood kalguksu for two, 20,000 won: how big is the bowl?

Next up, the seafood kalguksu, served with some very appetizing kimchi.

The size is next-level haha. It's a two-person portion but it comes out looking like a wash basin. How on earth are we going to finish this...?

The kalguksu was also great, chewy in the best way! The noodles were springy and the broth was refreshing. And the geotjeori (fresh-tossed cabbage kimchi) served with the noodles was genuinely delicious haha — it paired so well with the noodles!

Buchu jeon (chive pancake), 15,000 won

We went back and forth but ended up craving pancake and ordered buchu jeon. We were already stuffed beyond belief, but a crispy chive pancake is impossible to resist~!!

The buchu jeon was also really delicious haha. Fried crispy almost like a deep-fried texture, exactly my style haha. Once we added the pancake we couldn't finish everything and had leftovers ㅜㅜ Only order the pancake if there are three or more of you!

Is Obongjip Samseong Branch worth it? Final verdict

They even had a nostalgic gacha (toy capsule machine)!! In every way, this place had a lot going on and showed real thoughtfulness. Food was top-tier, service was friendly as a given, and the portions were huge — impossible not to recommend. Nakji bokkeum and kalguksu, big thumbs up. Next time I'll definitely have to try the suyuk (boiled pork slices) too haha. Recommending Obongjip Samseong Branch!