Bangi food alley Korean BBQ, a Garak regular's first visit: Jinseong

Right after posting about a diet and wellness treatment, here I am posting about gopchang (beef intestines) next — even I find that a bit absurd and ironic haha. But it's Saturday, my day off, and how am I supposed to resist hanwoo gopchang with my closest friends 🥹 Someone teach me how to resist..?

Nah, let's just eat well without stressing, then go lie on a machine to lose weight later 😇~~

Catch-up time for us moms who've been busy parenting all week! This week too, as if by mutual agreement, we planned to meet up and chew on hanwoo gopchang, basically the soul food of moms like us.

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang — a place I've frequented for literally N years now. Back then I often went to the original Garak branch near my old place, but since moving, this was my first visit to the Bangi branch, which is near my new home!! Knowing it'd be crowded on a weekend, we met up quickly and rushed over 🏃🏻‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️

Where is Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi branch, and what are its hours?

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch is located at 19 Olympic-ro 32-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, inside Bangi food alley. You can walk there from Jamsil Station (Line 2) Exit 10 toward Bangi food alley, or from Mongchontoseong Station (Line 8) Exit 3.

• 📍Location: 19 Olympic-ro 32-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul
• 📍Directions: Walk from Line 2 Jamsil Station Exit 10 toward Bangi food alley / from Line 8 Mongchontoseong Station Exit 3
• 📍Hours: Varies by day, generally weekdays 4pm–11pm, Saturday 1pm–midnight, Sunday 3pm–midnight
• 📍Parking: Nearby public or paid parking lots available
• 📍Naver Reservation also possible in advance

The walk there. It's located right across from Lotte World Tower, inside Bangi food alley.

A loud, packed Saturday evening. Bangi food alley is super hot right now.

The main street right in the middle. As an old lady like me, I honestly can't tell if this Bulguksa-Temple-looking (?) building is a shrine, a bar, or a fortune teller's shop, but walk a bit past it and you'll find where I'll be lying down tonight: Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch.

How long is the Saturday evening wait at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang?

It's been so long since I had Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang!!! At 6:30pm on Saturday, there were about 3 parties waiting. There were even little stools to sit and wait, so we sat facing each other chatting away, and the wait flew by — we were seated in about 10 minutes.

Window seats with a view of Bangi food alley's vibe. Hot grill fire 🔥, cool breeze blowing in from outside 🌬 — perfect for spending a Friday-night-feel Saturday with a lover or friends you haven't seen in a while ?!

Menu and prices at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi branch

Hanwoo gopchang 220g ₩19,000, hanwoo daechang 220g ₩19,000, hanwoo makchang 220g ₩20,000. Considering this is hanwoo (Korean beef) slaughtered the same day, that's pretty good value. For dessert, there's kkakdugi (radish kimchi) fried rice made with house-made kkakdugi for ₩9,000, and anchovy noodles for ₩6,000.

Since the restaurant's very name is about gopchang, we first ordered one portion of hanwoo gopchang and one portion of hanwoo daechang.

Snapped a shot of the basic table setting.

This is the minari garlic sauce you can only get here. Dipping the gopchang into this is the whole point of this place... I already knew this, but even eating just the sauce alone is delicious haha.

An appetizer for the starving. Seasoned chives come as a default side too.

On a piece of paper proudly displayed on the table, you can see the confidence and swagger of the head chef. Written in formal calligraphy script: 'We'll always exchange it for you anytime^^' — you can feel the ease and confidence in that.

The three house-made kimchi siblings. Seokbakji (diced radish kimchi)/yeolmu (young radish)/scallion kimchi maybe...? I don't know the exact names, but I can absolutely tell the taste is amazing. All three are excellent companions to cut through the richness of the gopchang. Now it's time for the main event — the gopchang!!!

A 5-minute timer: gopchang and daechang grilled and cut by the staff

The gopchang and daechang, already partially pre-grilled, come out on a hot stone plate, topped with beansprouts, potato, kimchi, rice cake, and seasoned chives — quite a hearty-looking spread.

Right on cue, the free egg steamer arrived. At other places you'd have to order this as an extra, but here it comes free with the basic menu — such a generous feeling... 🥹

Also, exactly the kind of thing my friend Snoopy loves — setting a precise timer for the optimal cooking method!!! The golden cooking time that the gopchang-expert owner must have figured out after grilling countless portions!!! I'm the type who likes a clear guideline rather than a vague 'you can eat it now~', so this place suits me perfectly. While waiting for the 5-minute timer, I did my royal food-taster duty and tried the egg steamer first. (I always end up playing the role of royal taster wherever I go.)

When the timer finally goes off in that noisy restaurant, a sharp-eared staff member never misses it and comes right over to cut the gopchang/daechang into bite-sized pieces with scissors. Now that I'm in my 40s, having someone grill it for me like this is just so convenient and nice.

Took a moment to just zone out watching the gopchang grill. Time to try a bite of the finished gopchang, placed on top of the scallion kimchi.

Wait, the gopchang is already super soft and chewy and delicious, and then the scallion kimchi is amazing too — what am I supposed to do with myself...🥹 It's packed full of fat inside, but melts in your mouth. The daechang too — crispy outside, juicy inside haha. This daechang might just be the origin of the phrase 'crispy outside, juicy inside.'

The drinks just go down so smoothly. Behind us, a plate of kimchi already completely emptied hahaha. Needless to say the gopchang and daechang were amazing, but the house-made kimchi served as a side was seriously delicious too. A fantastic pairing with gopchang and daechang, which can get greasy after a while.

Order two more portions of gopchang and Jinseong brings a fresh grill

Round 2. We polished off one plate quickly, then added 2 more portions of gopchang for the second round. When you add on, they don't just bring the meat alone — they bring a fresh grill, potato, and rice cake too. Like it's the very first round again, visually pristine. Even if a new member joins later, you can easily pretend you haven't already devoured 2 portions.

They set a new timer, grill it, and come cut it once it's done. Since they handle this kind of labor for you, you can focus more on eating and drinking. With all that focus saved up, we ordered the best dessert menu item, the kkakdugi fried rice.

Kkakdugi fried rice, ₩9,000, to finish the meal

The dessert menu also comes out on its own separate iron plate, topped with a fried egg, seaweed flakes, and even radish salad on top.. This place never does anything halfway haha. A restaurant that gives it all.

Sure enough, bite by bite it disappeared instantly 🤭 The three of us ordered 4 portions plus the kkakdugi fried rice, and by the end our stomachs were bursting... but our hearts felt just as warmly full as our stomachs.

Even after not going for a while, Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi branch was just as good as ever! I want to go again.... Such a great spot and location for a first round of gopchang before moving on to a second spot elsewhere. Highly recommend for any kind of gathering or work dinner.