Gopchang restaurant in Seomyeon, Busan: nakgopsae set at Taepung

Mom and I were on a Seomyeon date and couldn't decide what to eat, when Taepung Gopchang caught my eye nearby! So we came to this Seomyeon gopchang restaurant. They had nakgopsae (octopus, beef intestine and shrimp hot pot) and lots of other options, so I figured Mom and I could pick and choose a bunch of things — that's how we ended up here. Next time I want to bring Mom's friends along too. Whenever I eat something good, I end up thinking of the people I love.

Why Taepung Gopchang's spicy gopchang hot pot never tastes greasy

I'd heard this was a great gopchang jeongol (hot pot) spot in Seomyeon, and once I tried it, I really liked how spicy it was! Gopchang can be a bit heavy on the stomach because of the fat, but the spiciness here cut right through the greasiness.

Where is Taepung Gopchang, and what are the outdoor tables like?

Taepung Gopchang is located near Jeonpo Café Street and Bujeon Market. From Exit 8 of Seomyeon Station it's about a 5-minute walk. Being close to the subway station is always best, but even so it was easy to find without getting lost. Mom usually finishes work early so I usually go on her schedule, but that day she was running errands and said she'd walk over from Jungang Market instead. Luckily we managed to find each other without my mom getting lost, haha. Now that the weather's cooling down, outdoor bar-style (yajang) drinking spots are getting popular, and that's how I found this Seomyeon gopchang restaurant, Taepung Gopchang. There are seats inside too, but also outdoor tables with that yajang vibe. I wanted that outdoor bar feeling, so we sat outside.

Ordering Set Menu No. 2 at Taepung Gopchang

There are set menu options, so you can either go with a set or order individual dishes à la carte. We went with Set Menu No. 2. I was somehow drawn to the Taepung nakgopsae, so we decided on Set Menu No. 2 from the sign out front before heading in.

Nakgopsae lunch special for 9,000 won, drinks in the evening

The lunch special stone-plate nakgopsae is ₩9,000 per person, including rice! In the evening it turns into a spot for grilled gopchang with a drink. It's hard to find a good place in Seomyeon for a meal with a drink on the side, but the menu here works well both for a proper meal and as bar food, which is probably why so many people come.

Side dishes: onion sauce and white kimchi

There's no separate dipping sauce — you dip everything in the onion sauce. The sauce was so good we all went 'ooh' while eating it. You know sauce is the most important part of Seomyeon gopchang, right! The intestine matters too, but wrapping each bite with the white kimchi was delicious as well.

The menu board. There were plenty of rice dishes I wanted to try, but somehow I wasn't that hungry that night. And the side effect of that: I'll definitely be hungry the next day, haha. It's that magic where you don't feel like eating much at dinner but wake up starving the moment you open your eyes.

How does the stone-plate nakgopsae taste?

The stone-plate nakgopsae has glass noodles, gopchang, shrimp and more all mixed in. At first I couldn't find the glass noodles, but I finally spotted some swollen noodles at the end, haha — still tasty even when a bit swollen. I guess glass noodles really are the king of hot pot add-ins. Somehow they feel less fattening too, which was a little comfort to my conscience.

The spicy smell hits you right away. If you're good with spicy food, you could probably eat it like a food fighter. But I'm a total spice lightweight, so I was huffing and puffing the whole time. Still ate it happily, though. Maybe because it's a stone plate, it kept bubbling and stayed warm for a long time even after the flame was off.

The mixed grill: heart, gopchang and vegetables

The mixed grill has vegetables and beef heart in it too. Under the makchang (thick intestine) there are various vegetables that soak up all the fat, which makes them incredibly tasty, and grilling them together with potatoes was delicious. Normally I'm not hungry before going out for gopchang, but the smell alone gets my appetite going.

The staff told us the gopchang and heart were already fully cooked and we just needed to grill the vegetables a bit more, so we finished it all pretty quickly. Having a staff member grill and cut everything for us right there made things so much easier. I'm not sure if it's normally self-serve, but since they did it for us, we just sat back and said thank you, haha.

Finishing the nakgopsae with a bowl of rice

We ordered one bowl of rice, and maybe because it was ordered alongside the nakgopsae, it came with bean sprouts and seaweed mixed in. Our Taepung Gopchang date was a success! Going out to eat with Mom like this after a while — that's my healing point.