Sundaeguk sets compared at a 24-hour Gangnam restaurant: Sinju Okmi

Today's post is about a sundaeguk (blood sausage soup) restaurant near Gangnam Station and Yeoksam Station that's open 24 hours, so you can eat well any time. It's Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch, and what struck me was how wide and clean the space was — not what you'd expect from a sundaeguk place at all. I visited as a sponsored guest, but it was genuinely delicious, so I'm planning to go back and pay with my own money.

Where is Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch, and is it really open 24 hours?

Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch is located near Gangnam Tax Office, so it's easy to reach from both Gangnam Station and Yeoksam Station. Since it's a sundaeguk restaurant open 24 hours, you can use it for a weekday lunch, an evening work dinner, or a hangover cure after an all-nighter — whenever you need it.

Sinju Okmi is a brand aiming for real old-school, traditional sundaeguk made with pork boiled fresh in-house. They boil domestic pork slaughtered that same day four times a day, so the flavor of freshly boiled pork stays alive, they say. Their signature menu is Korea's first tonic-style mushroom (gosari) sundaeguk — gosari, sometimes called "beef of the mountains," is boiled and stir-fried fresh in-store every day before going into the soup!

There's a menu board out front listing sundaeguk, pork and rice soup, pork cutlet, and more.

You can join the waitlist through Catch Table. I visited around 3pm so there was no wait, but weekday lunches often have one.

Inside Sinju Okmi: a wide, clean room that doesn't feel like a sundaeguk joint

Since it's newly opened, the space is so clean and spacious it's hard to imagine it's a sundaeguk restaurant. Usually you picture sundaeguk places as a bit old and worn-down, right? But Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch has none of that — clean interior design and generous spacing between tables are its trademark. The store is spacious, so tables have plenty of room, and you can eat comfortably without worrying about the next table.

There's even a quirky well in the middle, haha.

I sat at a sofa seat, and the table was nice and wide.

Ordering is done via tablet. The sets that come with suyuk (boiled pork) are around 15,000 won, and single dishes are around 10,000 won.

Leaving a Naver receipt review gets you a purple sweet potato puffed snack, haha. The freshly boiled pork apparently comes out at 10am, noon, 4pm, and 6pm.

What side dishes and self-serve bar items come with the meal?

On the table there's seasoning sauce, perilla powder, and salted shrimp, so you can add them to your sundaeguk to taste. The basic side dishes are cucumber peppers, ssamjang, dried radish strips, and diced radish kimchi.

There's a big self-serve bar where you can help yourself to as much diced radish kimchi and extra side dishes as you want. You can also grab whatever tools you need — small plates, scissors, ladle — from the self-serve bar. Another big plus of this place is that it doesn't have the usual sundaeguk-restaurant smell! It's rare to find a sundaeguk restaurant of this quality right in the middle of Gangnam.

There's also chives and cheongyang chili, and I helped myself to the chives.

There are also self-serve aprons.

Nibbling on cucumber peppers while waiting for the sundaeguk to arrive.

How does the suyuk (boiled pork slices) in the set taste?

I ordered a set, and the suyuk (boiled pork) came out first — two servings on a single plate.

The warm boiled pork is really tender and clean-tasting. Dipped in salted shrimp, it's a fantastic combination. Liver and lung come with it too.

The sundaeguk came out soon after.

Special spicy master sundaeguk set, 15,000 won

It's loaded with sundae (blood sausage) and organ meat. The sundae itself is made with sticky rice, not glass noodle sundae.

The spicy sundaeguk set is the basic sundaeguk with heat added. The spicy, sharp broth really wakes up your appetite. It's not that spicy. It's perfect for a hangover, and I'd recommend it to anyone who likes a sharp, spicy kick!

I'm genuinely happy to have found a great sundaeguk restaurant after so long.

I added plenty of perilla powder too. The seasoning was already just right, so I didn't add extra salted shrimp.

Bracken fern (gosari) master sundaeguk suyuk set, 15,000 won

The mushroom sundaeguk suyuk set is this place's signature dish. The broth is clear yet rich — usually sundaeguk broth tends to be cloudy and heavy, but this gosari version has a clean-brewed broth with the savory flavor of gosari layered on top, giving it that tonic-dish feel. You can taste the process of boiling and stir-frying the gosari fresh in-store every day right there in the broth.

You can't talk about Sinju Okmi without mentioning the gosari sundaeguk set. It's a handmade sundaeguk built on a healthy broth simmered daily from 100% domestic ox bone and vegetables using Sinju Okmi's own method, with head meat, handmade sundae, and beef tripe boiled in. Add gosari on top, and the broth turns even deeper and more savory.

Final verdict on Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch

I was looking for a 24-hour sundaeguk restaurant near Gangnam Station and Yeoksam Station, and Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch fit the bill perfectly. The space is wide and clean, unlike a typical sundaeguk restaurant, so you can eat comfortably, and both the mushroom sundaeguk set and the spicy sundaeguk set had their own charm — I left satisfied.

When you're craving that nostalgic sundaeguk from childhood trips to the market with your parents, or you just need a hangover cure, this is a place you can visit any time without hesitation. If you're looking for a good sundaeguk restaurant in Gangnam, I genuinely recommend Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch!