Mixed-intestine soup for a cold at a Gangnam restaurant: Sinju Okmi

Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch

Address: 21 Teheran-ro 10-gil, 1F, Gangnam-gu, Seoul Hours: Open 24 hours, no days off Sunday: closes at 11pm Monday: opens at 10:30am Takeout, WiFi, groups, waiting area, high chairs

Why a cold sent the writer back to Sinju Okmi near Gangnam Station

Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch is a 24-hour sundaeguk (blood sausage soup) restaurant on Teheran-ro 10-gil near Gangnam Station, and this time I went back on a weekend because I had a cold and wanted something hot and soupy. With the temperature swings lately, I properly caught a cold and flu. Usually I bounce back in two days, but this one dragged past a week. I meant to stay home this weekend, but cooking felt like too much effort and I really wanted hot soup, so I came back to Sinju Okmi. As I've said before, the sundaeguk here is genuinely clean-tasting and delicious — I raved about it last time. Even though it hasn't been open that long, it's already become known as a Gangnam Station favorite, with waits even on weekday lunches, apparently.

Inside Sinju Okmi Gangnam and its round-the-clock opening hours

Sinju Okmi definitely has a more upscale interior than most sundaeguk restaurants — it almost feels like a nice hanjeongsik (Korean set-meal) restaurant. The inside is very spacious, and it was busy even on the weekend, so I just snapped a photo of an empty table. It looks great for group gatherings, work dinners, or family meals. Except for a few hours between Sunday and Monday, it's open 24 hours a day, no days off, no break time, so you can drop by whenever — a real Gangnam Station go-to. Parking and corkage (paid) are also available.

We'd made a reservation, and we were seated at a window table looking out.

The self-bar at Sinju Okmi, built around a well

My favorite spot in the place was this self-bar. Being able to grab as many side dishes as I wanted was great, of course, but that well in the corner is just so cool-looking that I kept staring at it. There are a few more side dishes beyond what they bring you at first, so I'd recommend swinging by the self-bar again partway through your meal.

What is on the menu at Sinju Okmi Gangnam

Sinju Okmi Gangnam Branch is a Gangnam Station spot with a wide range of sundaeguk (blood sausage soup) styles. Since I was sick, I figured I might as well eat something restorative. There's also pork gukbap, intestine soup, sundae (Korean blood sausage), suyuk (boiled pork), and grated potato pancake, plus a kids-friendly king pork cutlet — and ordering the set menu gets you a slightly better price, which is what a lot of people seemed to order. Being selected for the 2024 Blue Ribbon Survey only raised my expectations even more! Also, for the gukbap you can ask for sundae-only or meat-only without any special request needed.

Freshly boiled pork comes out four times a day: 10am, 12pm, 4pm, and 6pm. They say leaving a Naver receipt review gets you a ₩4,000 purple sweet potato rice puff snack.

Heotgae tea served instead of water

Instead of water, they serve heotgae (raisin tree) tea, which is supposedly good for fatigue recovery, reducing swelling, and quenching thirst — and honestly, that's exactly the tea for me right now.

I had a nutty, warm cup before the food arrived.

The side dishes are similar to any other gukbap restaurant — peppers, onion, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), and radish salad — but the kkakdugi had a nice spicy kick that was surprisingly good.

Mixed intestine gukbap

How spicy is the special spicy bracken mixed-intestine gukbap?

The full name is the special spicy bracken mixed-intestine gukbap, and it really is spicy, just as advertised. You get pork intestine (osori-gopchang style), gopchang, and head meat all in one bowl, so it works as a meal or as drinking food. I was honestly surprised by how much stuff was packed in. I'm a total spice-wimp, so it was spicier than I expected and I couldn't finish the broth, but once I got home I found myself craving it again. The broth had a strong savory depth, the bracken added nice aroma and softness, and the intestines alone were enough to fill me up.

Mushroom master sundaeguk

Is the sanghwang mushroom master sundaeguk good when you have a cold?

The mushroom master sundaeguk is apparently made with top-grade sanghwang mushroom, meant for people who need recovery and an energy boost — which already sounds pretty special, right? If you want more chives, just hit the self-bar. The broth has this good-for-you, herbal-medicine kind of aroma. It felt like finishing the whole bowl might actually cure my cold, so I mixed in rice and scraped the bowl clean. It's packed with a generous amount of ingredients, and the meat, especially the white sundae (blood sausage), was excellent. Clean with no funky smell but deep in flavor — exactly the style of gukbap I like best.

They boil domestically raised pork, slaughtered that same day, four times a day — of course it tastes good. If you're looking for a proper sundaeguk restaurant, give Sinju Okmi near Gangnam Station a try. I ate well and left feeling completely full.