Sadang gopchang grill with chive refills after a 20-min wait: Bareun

Looking for a good spot for a weekend drink in Sadang, I ended up at Bareun Hwangso Gopchang, a Sadang gopchang (beef intestine) restaurant. Gopchang is a dish that's easy to get wrong if it's not fresh or has a gamy smell, so it's telling that this place is popular enough to have a wait.

Bareun Hwangso Gopchang location, hours and parking near Sadang Station

Bareun Hwangso Gopchang is at 4 Dongjak-daero 7-gil, 1F, Dongjak-gu, Seoul, 220 meters from Exit 10 of Sadang Station. It's open from 16:00 to 24:00 every day of the year, though it closes early once the gopchang runs out.

• Amenities: group seating available, takeout, Wi-Fi
• Parking: free for 1 hour at Sadang-dong 1044-15 (25 spots) and Sadang-dong 1042-22 (40 spots)
• After parking, text your license plate number to get free registration

It's about a 5-minute walk from Exit 10 of Sadang Station, so the accessibility made it a perfect meetup spot.

How long is the weekend wait at 6pm?

We showed up around 6pm on a weekend and there was already a wait. Living up to its reputation as a Sadang gopchang hotspot, for sure. Luckily the turnover was fast, so we got in after waiting about 20 minutes.

The interior is on the small side, which actually gave it more of a hideout kind of vibe. A good spot for a casual drink after work.

There were even celebrity autographs on the wall!

Assorted gopchang price and what's on the platter

We ordered the assorted gopchang platter for two, plus some drinks.

• Assorted gopchang, 1 serving: 24,000 won

It includes gopchang, daechang, makchang, and heart, so it's a great menu for people like me who want to try a bit of everything. Considering how pricey gopchang has gotten these days, the value felt pretty satisfying too.

The basic side dishes are simple: pickled perilla leaves, leeks, and gopchang sauce.

They also give you a fish cake soup loaded with bean sprouts, with a strong pepper flavor that goes really well as a drinking side dish. A spoonful between bites of gopchang kind of resets your palate.

Assorted gopchang for two: 48,000 won

The assorted platter is made up of gopchang, daechang, and makchang totaling 250g, with heart served on top like a freebie. They told us the heart doesn't count toward the gram weight.

The visuals were just... gorgeous.

Why you eat the heart first, and how the gopchang tasted

At Bareun Hwangso Gopchang, the staff tell you to eat the heart first. The heart was so, so tender and juicy. Unlike tough or dry heart I've had elsewhere, this one got savory the more you chewed it — genuinely delicious. No smell at all, you could tell right away it was fresh, to the point I wanted to order more heart on its own…

The daechang was plump, and the gopchang was packed full of fat inside, so the more you chewed, the richer and more savory it got. There was no gamy smell whatsoever, so even people who usually worry about that with gopchang could probably enjoy this one haha.

Fat-soaked potatoes and chive refills

The potato side dish that comes with the assorted platter soaks up the gopchang fat, turning crispy outside and moist inside — a surprisingly great treat.

Refilled the leeks to grill together in the gopchang fat~!

Was Bareun Hwangso Gopchang worth the 20-minute wait?

There was a wait, but the meal was satisfying enough that the time didn't feel wasted. Fresh gopchang with no gamy smell, fat packed all the way through, and plump daechang — everything about it was satisfying, whether for a drink or on a day you're craving gopchang. If you're looking for a good gopchang restaurant in Sadang, I recommend Bareun Hwangso Gopchang :)