Jamsil gopchang restaurant, gopchang vs daechang taste test: Jinseong

I've been craving gopchang (beef small intestine) so badly lately that I spent days just searching before finally tracking down a proper place. This is Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch, famous around Bangi-dong! It sits right in the middle of Bangi Food Alley, and among gopchang lovers, this place is apparently already well known.

Where Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang is, and what 6pm looks like

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch is about a 600-meter walk from Jamsil Station Exit 10, right on a corner of Bangi Food Alley. With its white tile exterior and a huge sign that just says Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang, there was no way to get lost.

I got there around 6pm and the window seats were already nearly full. Seeing this much of a crowd while it was still light out told me the reputation as a Bangi-dong gopchang spot wasn't just talk!

I was a bit surprised to see a waitlist taped to the window. I got lucky and walked straight in, but during peak hours you'd better be ready to wait!

Inside Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang: tight tables, lively room

Inside it's casual, with white tile walls and bulb lighting. It's not a very big space, but with conversation buzzing at every table it had exactly the energy you want from a gopchang place. This is less a spot for a quiet solo meal and more one for a loud group dinner!

The tables have a round built-in griddle made just for gopchang, so grilling is easy. They said group bookings work too, so it could make a solid spot for a work dinner.

Menu and prices at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang

The menu at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch is really simple. Just three cuts — beef gopchang, beef daechang, beef makchang — plus two noodle/rice dishes. Fewer options usually means more confidence in what they do serve!

• Beef gopchang: domestic hanwoo 220g, ₩19,000
• Beef daechang: domestic hanwoo 220g, ₩19,000
• Beef makchang: domestic hanwoo 220g, ₩20,000
• Kkakdugi yangbap: ₩9,000
• Anchovy noodles: ₩6,000

Domestic hanwoo gopchang at 220g for ₩19,000 — that's genuinely great value, right? Given how gopchang prices have been going lately, that number on the menu caught me off guard!

We started with one serving each of beef gopchang and beef daechang. I was tempted to just get gopchang, but I was curious about daechang too, so we ordered one of each — and spoiler, that was absolutely the right call.

There was also this notice on the table. It said they carefully trim and prepare only top-grade hanwoo gopchang, and even promised to swap it out anytime if you're not satisfied! Reading a confident notice like that already got my expectations up.

Three house kimchis and the mijeolma sauce that come first

The banchan (side dishes) that came out surprised me all over again! Mustard leaf kimchi, altari (young radish) kimchi, and scallion kimchi — all three are house-made. It's rare to see a gopchang place put this much care into its kimchi.

And then the centerpiece of the place: the minari-pickled garlic sauce, commonly called mijeolma. It's packed with green minari (water dropwort) topped with chopped garlic.

A notice on the wall said to dip not just the gopchang but the cabbage, potatoes, mung bean sprouts, rice cake, and even the kimchi into this sauce! I tried it, and the moment it hits the mijeolma sauce, all the richness gets cut and it tastes so much cleaner. You really have to try this.

The scallion kimchi was so good that I noticed they sell it to take home too!

• Scallion kimchi to go: 700g, ₩20,000
• Ingredient origins: scallions from Jindo, Jeollanam-do; onions from Hampyeong, Jeollanam-do; pears from Naju, Jeollanam-do; chili flakes from Andong and Haman; garlic from Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do; sweet persimmons from Jinyeong, Gyeongsangnam-do

Seeing them list every ingredient's origin like that told me this is a place that takes kimchi seriously.

And then steamed egg! It came bubbling in a stone bowl with carrots and scallions dotted on top. The fluffy texture was perfect for soothing the wait while the meat cooked.

Beef gopchang vs beef daechang on one grill

Finally, the main event! The beef gopchang ran long around the edge of the round griddle, with rounds of sliced beef daechang tucked in between. In the center, mung bean sprouts, chives, potatoes, and rice cake sat piled high. Just from the look of it, you're already halfway won over.

Up close, the gopchang looked really plump! Can you see how it looks ready to burst with fat? It's been a while since I've seen gopchang this thick.

Staff grilled it for us, so all we had to do was wait! Missing the timing while grilling gopchang is usually the most stressful part, so having it handled for us was such a relief.

Grilling gopchang and daechang together on one griddle made comparing them a lot of fun! The long strips of gopchang burst with that fatty interior, while the rounds of daechang go down in one bite and taste even richer and nuttier. If you're not sure which you'll prefer, I'd recommend ordering one of each like we did.

What the first bite of hanwoo gopchang tastes like

I picked up a well-cooked piece of gopchang, dunked it deep in the mijeolma sauce, and put it in my mouth — and honestly, no one said anything for a while! Crispy outside, then the fat bursting out inside — if you love gopchang, you know exactly what that texture means.

What really impressed me was how there was zero off odor. You could tell just how carefully it had been cleaned and prepped! Paired with the scallion kimchi, it cuts the richness and you just keep reaching for more.

One plate wasn't enough in the end, so we immediately added one more serving of beef gopchang! It's so good that the 220g disappears faster than you'd expect, so I'd recommend ordering generously from the start. We ended up with two servings of gopchang and one of daechang.

The cabbage, mung bean sprouts, and rice cake, stir-fried in the rendered gopchang fat, were a real treat too. Gopchang alone can get old fast, but with plenty of vegetables mixed in, we never got tired of it.

Finishing with anchovy noodles and kkakdugi yangbap

The anchovy noodles we ordered midway through were ₩6,000, and the portion was quite generous! Topped with egg garnish, seaweed, julienned carrot, and fried tofu, with a really clean broth. A spoonful of that broth between bites of rich gopchang was so refreshing.

And then the restaurant's apparent signature dish: kkakdugi yangbap (radish kimchi rice)! It comes in a cast iron pan, with rice on the bottom and a fried egg, seaweed, kkakdugi (radish kimchi), and radish salad arranged neatly on top.

Mix it up well with a spoon and press it down against the bottom of the pan, and it turns crisp like scorched rice — the crunchy kkakdugi texture goes so well with the rice! For ₩9,000, there's no reason not to order it.

Parking and what to check before visiting Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang

It's worth knowing about parking ahead of time! Since it's tucked inside Bangi Food Alley, there's no lot at the restaurant itself, so you'll need to use a nearby public parking lot.

• Parking: no on-site parking; use nearby public parking lots
• Transit: about 603m from Jamsil Station (Lines 2·8) Exit 10
• Payment: local currency card, Zero Pay accepted

Given the alley layout, coming by subway is probably much easier than driving anyway — it's under 10 minutes on foot from Jamsil Station!

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch: address and hours

• Name: Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch
• Address: 19 Olympic-ro 32-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor
• Hours: Mon–Thu 16:00–23:00 (last order 22:00)
• Hours: Fri 16:00–24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Hours: Sat 13:00–24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Hours: Sun 15:00–24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Parking: no on-site parking; use nearby public parking lots
• Other: group bookings possible

Honestly, just being able to eat domestic hanwoo gopchang at this price with zero off odor is reason enough to go! With staff grilling it for you, there's nothing to worry about, and the mijeolma sauce plus the three house-made kimchis push the whole experience up a level.

If you love gopchang and you're around Jamsil or Bangi-dong looking for a place to eat beef intestines, give Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch a try! Next time I'm definitely trying the beef makchang I missed.