Garak-dong gopchang restaurant with green onion kimchi to go: Jinseong

Everyone has their own standard for a good restaurant, but I have a few: tasty, reasonably priced, friendly, and with one thing you can only get there. Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Garak Flagship, which I visited recently, checked every box.

Honestly, the way I found this place was a bit random. I was eating at Milgak right across the street when I noticed an unusual crowd on the other side. What is that place, and why are there so many people? I'd been curious ever since, so this past weekend I finally went with my family for dinner.

Cutting to the chase: there's a reason so many people go there. I understood exactly why the moment I walked out, full.

How long is the weekend wait at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang? About 30 minutes near Garak Market Station

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Garak Flagship is located at 27 Songpa-daero 28-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, in Garak-dong. We went on a weekend evening and waited about 30 minutes.

Luckily, since we arrived after 7pm, tables turned over faster than I expected, so it didn't feel like a long wait at all. This place is popular enough that if you're going during peak hours, it's worth planning for a wait.

Driving to Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang: what to know about the underground lot

If you're coming by car, here's one thing to keep in mind: the building is so large that the walk from the underground parking lot to the restaurant can feel longer than you'd think. It can be a bit confusing the first time, so I've included photos of the route — follow along if you're planning to visit.

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang menu and prices: hanwoo gopchang 220g for 19,000 won

The menu at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Garak Flagship is genuinely simple. This is a gopchang (beef intestine) restaurant, and rather than mixing in a bunch of other dishes, they focus on hanwoo (Korean beef) gopchang, daechang, and makchang, sold separately. The only dessert options are kkakdugi (radish kimchi) yangbap (fried rice with tripe) and anchovy noodles.

A short menu can actually be exciting — it signals confidence that they're really good at what they do. This menu had that feel.

We ordered hanwoo gopchang 220g at 19,000 won × 2 servings, plus kkakdugi yangbap for 9,000 won. Given today's prices, 19,000 won for 220g of hanwoo gopchang felt quite reasonable from the start.

The side dishes that won us over before the gopchang even hit the grill

What's fun about Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang is that it's enjoyable even before the gopchang itself shows up — the accompanying side dishes are really good.

They serve green onion kimchi, mustard leaf kimchi, and altari (young radish) kimchi in particular, which are great to eat alongside the rich, fatty gopchang. And what I really loved here was the soy sauce made with garlic and minari (water dropwort).

Dip the gopchang deep into the sauce, pick up some minari and garlic with it, and eat it all together — it cuts the richness while bringing out even more flavor.

It's not just that they're good at cooking gopchang — this place clearly knows exactly how gopchang should be eaten to taste its best.

How does the hanwoo gopchang taste? Clean, with no off smell

Finally, the hanwoo gopchang arrived. My first impression was that the portion was pretty generous. And most importantly — there was almost no unpleasant smell.

The signature savory taste of gopchang was fully there, but without any off-putting odor, so it was clean and I kept reaching for more.

It's delicious plain, delicious with the green onion kimchi, and delicious dipped deep into that minari-garlic soy sauce I mentioned. It's one dish, but the flavor changes every time you switch up the pairing, so there's never a dull moment.

Eating it, I genuinely thought: I guess all of the country's best restaurants really do end up in Seoul. Now I understood why there was always such a crowd whenever I looked across the street.

Green onion kimchi is the real kick here, and 20,000 won of it came home with us

There's something else that stuck with me as much as the gopchang itself: the green onion kimchi. It cuts right through the richness of the gopchang, and that combination was fantastic. A bite of gopchang, a bite of green onion kimchi, back to the sauce — I just kept eating.

I liked it so much that I ended up buying green onion kimchi to take home. It cost 20,000 won. At first I wondered how much kimchi 20,000 won could really get you, but the portion turned out to be quite generous.

It's rare to like a side dish at a restaurant so much that you pack some to take home, but here I just couldn't walk past it. If it's your first time at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang, make sure to try the green onion kimchi alongside the gopchang.

Finishing the meal with kkakdugi yangbap, 9,000 won

Once you've had your fill of gopchang, finish up with kkakdugi yangbap for 9,000 won. It's not just fried rice — true to its name, it's made with yang (beef tripe), so there's a nice chewy texture.

Fried rice after gopchang is a familiar combo, but adding tripe gives it a clear signature feel. Even though I was pretty full, I kept eating until it was gone.

Rather than just eating gopchang and leaving, having the kkakdugi yangbap really feels like the proper way to end the meal — I'd recommend it too.

Why Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang matches my standard for a good restaurant

For me, a good restaurant isn't just about tasty food. The price has to make sense, the service has to be good, and there has to be something that makes you want to come back.

By that standard, Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Garak Flagship was genuinely well-rounded.

• Clean hanwoo gopchang with no off-putting smell
• Reasonable price at 220g for 19,000 won
• Friendly service
• Various kimchi and sauces that pair really well with gopchang
• The finishing kkakdugi yangbap

The green onion kimchi and the minari-garlic soy sauce in particular were the clear signature that set this place apart from other gopchang restaurants. I first found this place wondering why it was always so crowded — now I'm the one standing in that line.

Looking for gopchang in Garak-dong? The place I'd go back to

I waited about 30 minutes on a weekend, but I'd happily go back. The hanwoo gopchang was great, but next time I want to order the daechang and makchang separately too.

Above all, I liked that they don't stretch the menu thin with extras and instead focus on what they do well.

If you're looking for a good gopchang restaurant in Garak-dong, it's worth a visit. Like me, you might wonder at first why there's such a crowd — and then understand exactly why once you've eaten there.

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Garak Flagship · 27 Songpa-daero 28-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul