Seomyeon galbijjim restaurant where the owner debones ribs: Sinchon

I visited Seomyeon after a long while today! I love spicy food and had wanted to come here for ages, so I finally got the chance haha. This place has run only spicy galbijjim (braised ribs) for 20 years, which made me trust it even more! Here's my honest review.

Where is Sinchon Yangpuni Seomyeon Main Branch, and what are its hours?

Sinchon Yangpuni Seomyeon Main Branch is at 27-2 Seojeon-ro 10beon-gil, 1F, Busanjin-gu, Busan, about 153m from Seomyeon Station Exit 2. It's open 11:30 to 22:00 on both weekdays and weekends, with last order at 21:00. During Chuseok, it runs 11:30-22:00 on Thursday 9/24, and 15:00-23:00 on Chuseok Day, Friday 9/25. Parking is available, and it was featured on SBS Live Today episode 1822 (Feb 22, 2017) for its spicy braised ribs.

Finding the Sinchon Yangpuni entrance down the alley

It's honestly amazing they've run this place at the same spot for 20 years..! That has to mean they have loyal regulars and confidence in the taste, right?

Main branch full? The second branch is across the street

The second branch is fairly new, so if the main branch is full, just head straight across to it!!

Spicy galbijjim price and ordering spice level 3

Spicy galbijjim (braised ribs) at Sinchon Yangpuni Seomyeon Main Branch is ₩14,000 per person. Great value!

We love spicy food, so we went with level 3 🌶️🌶️🌶️

If you book through Naver, they give you the potato pancake for free, so definitely reserve ahead if you're planning to go 💛

There's a QR code on the table for ordering. It made ordering super convenient.

Basic side dishes: soup and acorn jelly

Wait, soup as a starter after so long was so good?! I guess they serve soup as a basic side dish because the galbijjim comes out spicy haha.

We were just chatting away and it suddenly showed up lol. I was so looking forward to the seafood potato pancake. It looked super crispy 🫠🤭

Bean sprouts are piled on top and the braised ribs are laid underneath.

The owner cuts the potato pancake and debones the ribs

At Sinchon Yangpuni Seomyeon Main Branch, staff cut the seafood potato pancake and debone the galbijjim ribs for you. I was trying to cut it myself when the owner came over, saw me, and said he'd do it lol. (Turns out that's the normal service.. we were just too impatient and started cutting first •••)

The owner's hands are on another level 👍 Not a single piece of the fried pancake splattered, he cut it so steadily lol.

After cutting the pancake, he picks out every single bone from the galbijjim. It's amazing how cleanly the ribs slide out.. not tough at all, the meat itself is so tender. There's none of that heavy gochujang aftertaste, just a clean spicy flavor haha.

Once he's done deboning it like this, you just eat.

I'd wanted to try this place for so long, so I was excited haha.

How spicy is level 3 at Sinchon Yangpuni?

Level 3 at Sinchon Yangpuni felt a bit spicier than Buldak fried noodles ~?

The meat was really tender and so tasty. Rice cakes and noodles come included as a base too!

The pancake was already delicious plain, but especially dipping it like this !! was totally my style 🤩 crispy outside, soft inside haha.

Is Sinchon Yangpuni Seomyeon Main Branch worth it?

This is a famous braised ribs restaurant in Seomyeon, Busan that has specialized only in galbijjim (braised ribs) at the same spot for 20 years! It's not a chain — they only run this single Seomyeon main branch — and apparently they carry on a galbijjim recipe that the owner's grandmother-in-law brought down from Pyongyang as a refugee and started in Sinchon, Seoul (so fascinating..).

They place huge importance on good ingredients, using 100% domestic pork ribs and making it a principle not to use capsaicin. Since they've focused on just one menu for so long, it's a place worth checking out if you love spicy galbijjim — if you're looking for a place to drink and eat in Seomyeon, I really recommend Sinchon Yangpuni 🩷