Children's Grand Park bar: DIY yukhoe sushi, BBQ jokbal — Yukhoe

Today it's Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch (육회공작소 세종대본점), a bar near Children's Grand Park and Konkuk Univ. with a wide menu and great-value sides starting at ₩3,900.

We ordered a bit of everything: yukhoe (Korean beef tartare) that I always love, yakiniku (Japanese-style grilled beef) I'd wanted to try, tako wasabi and a jokbal (braised pigs' feet) set. Hope it helps anyone planning a visit.

Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch: hours, location and parking

Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch is open every day from 5pm to 6am the next morning, with last order at 05:55. It's a 5-minute walk from Exit 4 of Children's Grand Park Station on Line 7, and it has parking, Naver Reservation and an indoor restroom.

• Hours: daily 17:00 - 06:00 next day (last order 05:55)
• Transit: 5-minute walk from Exit 4 of Children's Grand Park Station, Line 7
• Parking available, reservations available (Naver Reservation) — see the tips below for free and paid parking
• Restroom: indoors

Outside Yukhoe Gongjakso near Children's Grand Park Station

It's 2 minutes from a bus stop, and Children's Grand Park Station and Konkuk Univ. Station are both nearby, so it's easy to find on foot.

It's a popular Sejong University spot that many students use instead of the school cafeteria, so there are waiting seats and a menu board set up right out front.

Does Yukhoe Gongjakso have partitioned booths and group tables?

Every seat at Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch has partitions, so it feels a bit like a private-room bar. Along both sides there are long group tables without partitions, which would be perfect for a Sejong University group drinking night.

It's a bar, but since yakiniku is on the menu, every table has a smoke extractor. And there are cute phrases and nicely styled props both inside and outside.

Yukhoe Gongjakso menu and how tablet ordering works

The menu at Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch covers yukhoe, salmon, yakiniku, stews and soups, jokbal and bossam (boiled pork wraps), and sides, and you order by tablet. Wide menu, great value: a budget Konkuk Univ. bar.

Ordering by tablet is easy, and the beef egg soup that comes out by default is unlimited refill, so it works as a drinking snack all by itself. Order a beer first!

Today's order:

• Sejong University double yukhoe (세종대육회더블)
• Magic-sauce yukhoe (마법소스육회)
• Top blade yakiniku on a charcoal brazier (부채살야끼니꾸화로구이)
• BBQ jokbal + DIY rice balls
• Tako wasabi (raw octopus with wasabi)
• 2 draft beers and a cola

Top blade yakiniku grill: easy enough for first-timers?

The top blade yakiniku on a charcoal brazier at Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch was the first dish out, and the heat was moderate, so even a first-timer was unlikely to burn it. Dipping it in the salt-and-oil sauce was the best sweet-salty combo.

It was my first time trying yakiniku, but the price is so friendly at this great-value Sejong University spot that I went for it.

They bring tongs to match the number of people, so it's easy to grill from both sides, and the heat is moderate so it hardly burns. (Easy to grill)

The beef is slaughtered the same day, so it's super tender with a lightly sweet seasoning. Dipping it in the salt-and-oil sauce they bring along was the best sweet-salty combo.

Sejong University double yukhoe vs. magic-sauce yukhoe: what's the difference?

The Sejong University double yukhoe at Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch comes divided into single portions, and it was so good that we added the magic-sauce yukhoe (₩9,900). The names differ, but I was told all the yukhoe is the same beef except for the spicy one, so keep that in mind.

It's literally a double, split into individual portions, so you can eat without fighting your companion, haha.

Lightly sweet and salty yukhoe with a rich savory depth. It's fresh too, so it isn't chewy and has no smell.

Eat it with sprouts, or build your own yukhoe sushi on the rice balls that come with the jokbal set.

My companion and I both love yukhoe, and the Sejong University double yukhoe was so good that we added the magic-sauce yukhoe. The different names were confusing, but I was told all the yukhoe is the same except the spicy one, so keep that in mind.

How big is the BBQ jokbal with DIY rice balls?

The BBQ jokbal at Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch comes with DIY rice balls, and the meat was so generous that the two of us ended up leaving a little. It was tender and delicious.

I wanted something filling that goes with warm rice, so I ordered the jokbal.

There was so much meat that when it first arrived I wondered if we could finish it all. (We left a little in the end...) The jokbal smell announced itself the moment it landed, and the meat looked moist.

They say it's the same jokbal as the jokbal factory recently featured on TV, and it was tender and delicious.

Tips for visiting Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch

Free and paid parking near Yukhoe Gongjakso

For free parking, use the park parking lot near Hwayang Police Station or the space in front of closed shops; apparently there's no enforcement. Paid parking is at Dongdo Centreville (₩3,000 per hour). Ask the restaurant for details.

Yukhoe from beef slaughtered at dawn

They say the Australian grass-fed top round and bottom round, slaughtered at dawn, arrive the same day by air express and are trimmed right away. No wonder the yukhoe is so good.

Beet-cured salmon

We were going for salmon the next day, so we focused on yukhoe at Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch. The salmon is cured with beets, combining its softness with a faint beet sweetness, and apparently it's a popular dish.

Cheap sides and ₩9,900 yukhoe bibimbap

The sides and their prices at Yukhoe Gongjakso Sejong University branch are really excellent. Sides run from ₩3,900 to ₩12,900; the magic-sauce yukhoe we added was ₩9,900 and the tako wasabi ₩8,900.

The yukhoe bibimbap (rice bowl) is also ₩9,900, so I hear lots of students come here instead of the Sejong University cafeteria.

Open until 6am

Open from 5pm to 6am, it's apparently the latest-open place among the Hwayang-dong restaurants near Children's Grand Park Station.

This is what it looks like at night.

Verdict: is Yukhoe Gongjakso worth it?

• Living up to the name Yukhoe Gongjakso (Beef Tartare Workshop), the yukhoe was the best dish
• Yukhoe bibimbap for ₩9,900? A recommended Sejong University spot
• Yakiniku for the first time: fun to grill and tasty too
• A Konkuk Univ. bar with a wide menu and great value