Yangjae meat restaurant with thick-cut pork belly: Gukgojip, Seoul

Hi, this is Ssongssong! Today I finally got to have a meal with two friends of mine. This was a historic day for me haha. They live in Busan so I always wanted to treat them to a meal but never got the chance, and it had built up into real regret.

Maybe that's why I wanted to take them somewhere even more delicious. There happened to be a startup 300 event around Yangjae, so while looking for a good beef and pork belly restaurant near Yangjae Station, I found a place called Gukgojip.

It's close to Yangjae Station, good value for money, and the meat quality looked amazing! Especially the photo of the galmaegisal (skirt meat) — wow, it couldn't have looked more delicious. Both my friends and I ate so well there. Let me introduce Gukgojip, famous as a meat restaurant near Yangjae Station.

Inside Gukgojip near Yangjae Station: atmosphere and seating

Gukgojip sits on Nambusunhwan-ro 355-gil near Yangjae Station, split between the 1st floor and basement. The staircase gives the exterior a pretty unique look, hahaha.

Inside, it's long and narrow, but the tables are spaced out neatly and cleanly. I saw a lot of tables for 8 or more, so it looks like a great spot for group dinners around Yangjae.

There's also a staircase down to the basement, and walking down past all those autographs, I understood exactly why Gukgojip is famous — haha.

The basement has a slightly hipper feel, maybe because of the red neon sign. It felt a bit quieter and calmer than upstairs, which I liked — the two floors give off completely different vibes.

Gukgojip menu and prices: what three people ordered

Gukgojip's menu had all kinds of delicious cuts — LA galbi, beef galbisal, seasoned galbisal, fresh galbi, thick-cut pork belly with skin, gabrisal, and more. They also have lunch options like gukbap, seolleongtang, galbitang, and jeyuk, so it looks great for lunch too!

We ordered two servings of beef galbisal (44,000 won), two servings of pork belly (40,000 won), and two naengmyeon for dessert, water and spicy combined (12,000 won)!

Side dishes and the complimentary stew at Gukgojip

This is Gukgojip's spread of banchan (side dishes)! Honestly the baek-kimchi (white kimchi) was a bit disappointing, but the jangajji (pickled vegetables) and pa-kimchi (green onion kimchi) were really good, haha. There was also a good lineup of sauces to go with the meat — galchi jeotgal (fermented hairtail sauce), wasabi, salt, ssamjang — which I loved.

A complimentary soup came out too, packed with meat, light but tasty. Mixed straight into rice — wow!!! I really recommend ordering the stew if you can.

Gukgojip beef galbisal: how is the marbling and texture?

Gukgojip's beef galbisal for two was the highlight of the day. Can you see that marbling... that color... I can honestly say it's the best-looking beef galbisal I've ever seen. How could it not be delicious, wow!!! It came out in a generous portion, and the color alone told me this was really a great meat restaurant.

As we pulled the meat apart piece by piece to cook it, it cooked through really quickly!

This is what such delicious meat looks like grilled. I actually never really liked beef galbisal that much before — I usually thought of it as chewy, but with a rubbery quality I wasn't into. This one was different. That chewy texture with fat that just melts away... this is what true fresh beef galbisal is... I realized this was truly the best meat restaurant near Yangjae.

Ahh... I want to eat it again already. Both friends were eating so happily too! I felt proud, haha.

Thick-cut pork belly served like premium galbi

It wasn't over yet. Before the happiness could fade, the pork belly arrived. They swapped in a grill plate for pork belly and brushed it with oil.

Gukgojip's pork belly comes cut like premium galbi (usaedae-style), so you get the fun of pulling it apart, and it's cut in a way that emphasizes that thick, hearty texture!!

The thick pork belly had that noticeable burst of juices and a texture that melts away. Eating it with the green onion kimchi and pickled onions was just... so good. The beef galbisal was amazing, but the pork belly, cut like premium galbi, looked even more appetizing visually, and that thick texture with juices bursting through made me realize Gukgojip really earns its reputation as a great meat restaurant near Yangjae Station, haha.

Finishing the meal with naengmyeon (cold noodles)

Finishing off with naengmyeon (cold noodles) gave that refreshing feeling — ta-da!!!!! After eating light but flavorful meat, nothing beats clean, refreshing cold noodles to wrap things up, haha. We ate so well!

Is Gukgojip a good group dinner spot near Yangjae Station?

I heard there was a great meat restaurant near Yangjae Station and went to check out "Gukgojip." As expected of a true meat restaurant — a varied menu, and meat quality with a finish and color that were just insane... I ate so well, and both friends enjoyed it so much too, which made me really satisfied.

They have plenty of group tables and a wide variety of menu items, so I'd recommend it as a group dinner spot too! That wraps up this post — I'll leave the location and business info below. The end.

• Location: 1F, 14 Nambusunhwan-ro 355-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Hours: 10:00 - 22:00
• Break time: 14:30 - 16:00 (except weekends)