Late-night bossam and 10-minute kalguksu in Sangdaewon, Seongnam

Bossam Ae Kalguksu: a good-value bossam restaurant in Sangdaewon-dong

Bossam Ae Kalguksu Seongnam Sangdaewon Branch is a bossam restaurant in Sangdaewon-dong where ordering bossam gets you a free bowl of kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup). Lately the mornings and evenings have been getting chilly, and I was craving both kalguksu and bossam, so I went with a friend who lives in Sangdaewon, Seongnam. She'd already been and said it was a good-value spot ~~

Where Bossam Ae Kalguksu is and when it opens

• Address: 56 Geumsang-ro, 1st floor, Jungwon-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Close to Daeil Elementary School and Hangnyeon Shopping (800m from Exit 2, Dandaeogeori Station)
• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:30)

What does gabrisal bossam taste like?

When people think of bossam, they usually picture pork belly or shoulder, which I don't love because it's too fatty for my taste. But having it with gabrisal (pork jowl) at Bossam Ae Kalguksu felt totally different. The meat wasn't too dry, just tender and lean enough, so it went great with kimchi.

I'd had gabrisal bossam at another restaurant before and remembered it being delicious, so I got excited the moment we walked in. I like bossam, so while taste matters, I also pay close attention to price and portion — and Bossam Ae Kalguksu held up well as a good-value bossam spot.

The 8:30pm mood at Bossam Ae Kalguksu — plenty of solo diners

We went around 8:30pm, and there were quite a few people dining alone. On top of that, the owner and staff were really kind, which made the whole experience even better.

What we ordered and what it cost

We ordered the small gabrisal bossam for ₩37,000, which came with kalguksu as a free side. Giving kalguksu for free like that is such a nice touch!

Also, at Bossam Ae Kalguksu in Sangdaewon, Seongnam, the bossam set for one is ₩10,000 and the special bossam set is ₩13,000 — pretty good value. I should come back for lunch next time.

The refill bar has rice too

At Bossam Ae Kalguksu's refill bar, you can help yourself to kimchi, vegetables, and salted shrimp without hesitation. Another great thing — there's rice at the refill bar too! If you need more rice, you can just grab it yourself, which seemed perfect for anyone with a big appetite.

The basic side dishes, kimchi and chive kimchi, were amazing. Even just eating the side dishes made me want to dig into the kalguksu right away.

Free kalguksu, boiled 10 minutes instead of 7

The free kalguksu at Bossam Ae Kalguksu is the kind you boil warm in a pot at the table, and I thought since it was free, the portion might be small — but it came out huge. Along with the noodles, vegetables like zucchini, carrot, and green onion were prepared too, so you could add them to your taste.

While eating bossam, taking a spoonful of the warm broth in between went really well together. The instructions said to boil for about 7 minutes, but since I like my noodles well-cooked, I boiled mine over 10 minutes.

It felt wrong to have bossam without soju-beer, so we had another round~

How much food is in the small gabrisal bossam?

The first thing that caught my eye after ordering was, of course, the generously loaded plate of bossam! The meat came sliced neatly into easy-to-eat pieces, and even in photos the portion looks pretty substantial, right?

The portion for the small gabrisal bossam was seriously insane. The combination of bossam kimchi, radish kimchi, and napa cabbage was just the best. The spicy kimchi was so tasty, wrapping around the gabrisal bossam that could easily feel greasy and keeping it from being heavy at all — so good.

And of course, bossam can't do without kimchi! Eating the spicy seasoned kimchi together with the bossam cuts the richness and keeps you reaching for more. It was also great paired with garlic or vegetables.

The kalguksu came out warm in its own pot, so it was perfect for taking a spoonful of broth here and there while eating the bossam. Finishing off with warm broth after the meat was the perfect way to wrap up the meal. And once the meat cooled down a bit, dipping it in the kalguksu broth turned out to be a delicacy in its own right.

Above all, being able to enjoy bossam and kalguksu together made this feel like a genuinely good-value meal. The combination of well-cooked kalguksu noodles and kimchi warmed me up from the inside out.

Porridge from the leftover kalguksu broth

After finishing the kalguksu, it felt like a waste to just stop there, so in the end we added rice to the leftover broth and made porridge. Meat, then kalguksu, then porridge at the end — that's a properly filling meal completed. Porridge really never disappoints, and we were stuffed.

From bossam to kalguksu, rice, and finally porridge, I walked out completely full. If you're looking for a good-value bossam restaurant in Sangdaewon, I think it's worth a visit. Especially since ordering bossam gets you free kalguksu, and you can also help yourself to rice at the refill bar — it made for a really hearty meal at Bossam Ae Kalguksu. ❤️