Gangnam Korean BBQ, 400g platter and yukhoe bibimbap: Gungmin Hanwoo

Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch 📍 1F, 15 Teheran-ro 86-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch

I recently visited a Korean BBQ spot near Samseong Station that's not only great value but serves absolutely insane quality hanwoo (Korean beef). I was so satisfied I have to share it — this is Gungmin Hanwoo House Samseong Station branch, a hanwoo place near Samseong Station that really knows what it's doing!

Where is Gungmin Hanwoo House, and how far is it from Samseong Station?

Gungmin Hanwoo House is about a 9-minute walk from Exit 4 of Samseong Station. Walk straight out of the exit and take one left turn, and you're there — easy to find. The sign has the restaurant name in big letters, so it was simple to spot haha. Ever hear the theory that if a restaurant sign is red, the place is usually good?

Inside Gungmin Hanwoo House: seating and atmosphere for group dinners

The inside of this Korean BBQ restaurant near Samseong Station was neatly arranged. Overall the vibe was pleasant and the tables were nice and big, which I liked.

Since it's a popular spot in Samseong-dong, there were tables of families dining together as well as a lively group having a company dinner.

Menu and cuts at this Gangnam hanwoo grill restaurant

Gungmin Hanwoo House near Samseong Station says it only serves the top 1% of hanwoo. There are grilled sets that let you try great cuts at good value, and you can also order individual cuts à la carte. There are also meal menus like galbitang (short rib soup), bulgogi hot pot, and yukhoe bibimbap, so you could enjoy a good meal here for lunch or dinner.

What two people ordered: the 400g premium platter and No.9 yukbi

• Premium platter 400g
• No.9 yukbi (yukhoe bibimbap)

I came with my boyfriend, just the two of us, so we picked the premium platter grilled set. In portion and quality, it looked like exactly the right amount for two people to eat until full.

The banchan surprise: yukhoe hidden in the water parsley salad

Once we ordered the meat, a neat row of side dishes arrived — crunchy gungchae (a kind of stem lettuce) that I really love, bean sprouts, water parsley salad, and white wood ear mushroom salad. Being a good spot for company dinners near Samseong Station, I could tell they put thought into the banchan too. And isn't the combination a bit unusual? I love mushrooms, so I was into the white wood ear mushroom salad. And the water parsley salad — I didn't notice at first, but it was actually packed with raw beef (yukhoe). A place that gives you hanwoo yukhoe as a basic side dish? That's rare...

Four cuts in the premium platter: thickness and how they grill

From top to bottom the cuts were tenderloin, seolhwa sirloin, top sirloin, and finally whole rib finger. Every single cut had insane quality. Thickly sliced meat with perfect marbling... it looked so fresh.

We were told to grill the seolhwa sirloin first. They said it would coat the charcoal grill in fat so we could keep enjoying the meat afterward.

Let's grill the sirloin first, properly! I'm usually not a fan of thinly sliced sirloin cuts, but the thickness at Gungmin Hanwoo House was ideal — exactly the thickness that grills perfectly.

Doesn't it look absolutely delicious? The thickness means the outside cooks through nicely while the inside stays juicy.

My boyfriend is really good at grilling meat... For reference, my ideal doneness for beef is medium rare. This — right here, grilled to about this point and dipped in salt — one bite and I understood why hanwoo grade matters so much. The quality was... no joke.

Best cut of the night: the tenderloin

The tenderloin, one of my favorite cuts, was also grilled perfectly. It was sliced at the ideal tenderloin thickness too, which made me happy. Tenderloin has to be thick to be good!

Again, beautifully grilled meat dipped in salt — and I have to say, tenderloin is my number one.

So delicious. Not chewy at all, the texture was amazing, and the juices just burst... this is why you eat hanwoo, right?

Grilling tip: lay a mushroom on top of the top sirloin

We grilled the top sirloin carefully too. My boyfriend's grilling trick — placing a mushroom briefly on top of the meat like this makes it taste amazing. Even the mushrooms were delicious at Gungmin Hanwoo House.

Whole rib finger, served in one uncut piece

We grilled the whole rib finger too. I love a chewy texture so I really like rib finger cuts, but this is the first time I've seen one served as a whole piece. A cut that visually promises it couldn't possibly be bad.

Finishing the meal with No.9 yukbi (yukhoe bibimbap)

Since it was dinner, we wanted some carbs too, so we ordered the yukhoe bibimbap. The yukhoe quality at this Samseong Station favorite was also very much to my liking. It came on a huge plate piled with vegetables and raw beef — the visual alone was already satisfying.

Being such a popular restaurant near Samseong Station, there were autographs from lots of celebrities on the wall — including one from Lycene (Risenne)...! So this is a place Lycene comes to as well.

Is Gungmin Hanwoo House worth it? Final verdict

Gungmin Hanwoo House near Samseong Station delivers perfect hanwoo quality at a great price. If you're wondering where to go for hanwoo that will actually get you talking about how good the meal was, it might also be worth checking out the Daechi-dong branch of Gungmin Hanwoo House, another spot known for excellent beef.