Yeongdeungpo bar with bossam and minari pancake: Buchigom

An open-air-style bar near Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station

The weather was lovely, so my friend and I suddenly made plans because we did not want to go home. We picked this bar from the menu, and luckily it was delicious and even had an open-air atmosphere. Buchigom Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Branch (부치곰 영등포구청점) is two minutes from Exit 4 of Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station, so it is easy to reach for a meetup or gathering.

I thought only the side I came in through was open, but the whole place was open, so it truly felt like an outdoor pocha-style spot.

I loved sitting by the window, looking out onto the street, and enjoying the cool breeze. They say they open all the doors and run the place in an open-air style in May, June, September, and October. Temperatures seem to be dropping quickly these days, so I thought it would be best to hurry over if you want to enjoy this cool weather.

The Juansang Set, chosen for the whole whelk soup

I usually choose from the bestsellers or signature dishes, and Buchigom had the filling signature Juansang Set. It comes with whole whelk soup, Buchigom bossam (boiled pork), and original minari jeon (water parsley pancake). I seriously debated the Hansang Set 1 with fresh whelk salad bossam, but I was curious about the whole whelk soup, so I ordered the Juansang Set.

As befits a signature set, the portions were generous, and the soup, bossam, and pancake were presented in a varied, neat spread. It was a clean, tidy meal that did not get in the way of the drinks.

Bossam that stayed tender until the end

It came with shredded radish salad, rinsed aged kimchi, and a fragrant seasoned side dish. The moist, tender bossam had cooled by the end, but it was still just as tender.

The complimentary bar snack was cabbage and ssamjang (seasoned soybean dipping paste). The ssamjang seemed to have nuts mixed in, and that was tasty too. It felt like they had even put thought into the ssamjang, so of course I enjoyed the bossam.

My friend's top pick: crisp original minari jeon

The original minari jeon had a really thin coating of batter, so it was lightly crunchy and crisp. It was my friend's number-one pick; my friend firmly believes that a jeon has to be crisp to be a real jeon. My friend kept saying they wanted to ask the owner how they make it so crispy. With so little batter, the fragrant minari really stood out too.

Whole whelk soup that was easy even for a beginner

The whelk soup contained large whelks, radish, green onion, chili peppers, and clams, making for a refreshing yet pleasantly spicy broth. It seemed like a broth that would not divide opinions too much. They gave us a fork for pulling out the whelks, but they slid right out even when I pierced them with chopsticks. It was easy to eat even for a whelk beginner like me.

At first, I did not realize it and had turned off the burner, but once the whelk soup was bubbling away, it was warm and made the open-air atmosphere feel even more alive.

The whelks were bigger than a spoon, hefty, and satisfyingly chewy.

Traditional Korean drinks that pair well with minari jeon

Buchigom had lots of choices, including local makgeolli (rice wine) and traditional Korean liquor, as well as traditional-liquor highballs, yakju, cheongju, and signature makgeolli. We could pair drinks with the minari jeon and whelk soup. They were also selling a random selection of four makgeolli, and I was happy to spot Boksoondoga, which I like.

A satisfying meal, from location and flavor to service

It was two minutes from Exit 4 of Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station, and the atmosphere was open-air dining itself, so we could properly enjoy it. I was happy with everything: quality bossam, refreshing spicy whelk soup, and the minari jeon whose secret my friend wanted to learn. It was a spread that made me think of both drinks and a meal, and the owner and staff were kind too. This was a Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station bar that satisfied me in location, atmosphere, flavor, and service alike.