Samseong Station Korean BBQ after Dad's health checkup: Gungmin Hanwoo

Hanwoo energy food with Dad after his health checkup near Samseong Station

Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch (국민한우집 삼성역본점) is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Samseong Station where you can eat 1++ No.9 grade hanwoo. Today I had a very special restorative meal. Dad had a health checkup at a clinic near Samseong Station, and because of the colonoscopy he fasted for a whole day and said he had zero energy left. Poor Dad! 😂

"After the checkup, it's top-grade beef, no questions asked!" With that one thought, we headed to Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch, a well-known hanwoo spot in the Samseong Station area. Here's the story of how we properly recharged on No.9 grade hanwoo, the best of the 1++ grade. Let's get started!

Where is Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch, and what are the hours?

Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch is at 15 Teheran-ro 86-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul (1st floor), about a 5-minute walk from Samseong Station Exit 4, so it's really easy to reach. It's open on weekdays (Mon–Fri) from 11am to 10pm, with a break from 3pm to 5pm and last order at 9pm. It's closed every Saturday and Sunday, and there's no parking, so use a nearby public parking lot.

One curious thing: this Samseong Station area is more of an office district than a residential one, so the restaurants nearby are usually closed on weekends.

At weekday lunch, office workers from nearby line up here for meal menus like bulgogi (marinated beef) and galbitang (short rib soup), so it's a real office-worker lunch favorite.

Is it a quiet place to enjoy grilled hanwoo?

If you want to grill in peace at Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch, I recommend slightly avoiding the lunch peak or visiting in the evening. I booked through Naver and they had our table ready in advance.

The partitions in the restaurant are quite high and packed closely together, so it feels much more private than I expected.

Thanks to that, you can ignore the people around you and focus purely on the taste of the meat, so it's a comfortable place to eat~

What is hanwoo 1++ No.9 grade?

Looking at the Gungmin Hanwoo House menu, the number "No.9" catches your eye. I wondered what it was at first, but it turns out it means the very top tier within hanwoo 1++, the one with the highest intramuscular fat (marbling)!

What's in the 400g Gukdae platter I ordered for lunch

For lunch I ordered the "Gukdae platter 400g" (국대모듬), a good-value pick. It's made up of rib meat, premium sirloin and flap meat.

Oh, and the sweet-and-sour wood ear mushroom salad that came as a side dish was the top player in bringing out the flavor of the meat.

Each table is neatly set with cold water, salt and pepper, and I especially liked the thoughtful touch of a self-service corner where you can even charge your phone!

How do the charcoal-grilled flap meat, rib meat and premium sirloin taste?

We grilled the Gukdae platter of rib meat, premium sirloin and flap meat on a 🔥charcoal brazier🔥! Starting with the flap meat~

High-grade hanwoo is rich in marbling (unsaturated fat), and its true value shows when it's grilled over charcoal.

I took the first bite of the flap meat I'd put on first, yum~ The texture melting in my mouth was just art, pure art 😚😚

You can push the cooked meat to one side so it doesn't burn, so we could enjoy it warm and juicy down to the very last piece.

Gungmin Hanwoo House trims the beef fat away perfectly, so there was no greasiness, just a rich, nutty beef aroma, and above all the charcoal smoke soaked in between the grain of the meat. So delicious ❤️

It felt like starving cells waking up with the juices of 1++ hanwoo... I was truly happy!

When should you order the nurungji to finish?

After enjoying the meat at Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch, we finished with hot nurungji (scorched rice soup).

The nurungji takes about 15 minutes to cook after ordering, so be smart and order it ahead once you've eaten a fair amount of meat!

Is it worth recommending as a hanwoo spot near Samseong Station?

If you're looking for hanwoo around Samseong Station, I strongly recommend Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch, which has both top quality and good value. In the middle of Gangnam you can enjoy everything from meal menus around ₩10,000 to top-grade No.9 grilled beef. No wonder office workers line up here!