Hongdae Korean BBQ with Mom, half-and-half naengmyeon: Gogikkun

But this is my own space, so no lies here. Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch (고기꾼김춘배 홍대본점) is on Hongdae's Red Road, and since it's on the 3rd floor rather than street level, I wondered if it would be crowded... ^^ Nope, it was packed from early on a weekday evening, which surprised me. I loved that I could have both hanwoo (Korean beef) and hanbon (Korean pork), and that I could get mul naengmyeon (cold broth noodles) and bibim naengmyeon (spicy mixed noodles) in one go. This is my Hongdae Korean BBQ recommendation review~

Gogikkun Hongdae Main Branch: hours and location

Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch is open 12:00–23:00 on the 3rd floor, with last order at 22:00. The 4th floor closes 30 minutes earlier.

You know that narrow, super-crowded alley on Hongdae's Red Road? That's where it is. The road is so chaotic I usually try to avoid it, but for meat I'll happily walk in!!!! The restaurant is on the 3rd floor, and the entrance is the one marked "Main Building" (본관)~

Good for a Hongdae group dinner? The 3rd-floor main hall and 4th-floor annex

The 3rd-floor main hall is divided entirely by partitions, so it felt very private. The kind of atmosphere where you can focus on the people you're eating with? Ventilation was good too, so no smoke floating around. Comfortable, thumbs up~

Remember the entrance said "Main Building"? So where's the annex~? The annex and the restrooms are on the 4th floor~ The 4th floor feels different from the 3rd: single big tables in a totally open layout! Either floor is recommended for a group dinner in Hongdae, very suitable. Actually, that day there was a huge group dinner on the 3rd floor, not even the 4th, and I thought my ears were going to give out.

Gogikkun menu prices: set or à la carte?

The beef and pork are from Korea, so prices run a bit high, plus it's Hongdae prices. You can order as a set or à la carte, but I'd recommend the set.

• Beef/pork set for two (한우/한돈 2인 세트) - ₩118,000
• Kkakttukbap (깍뚝밥, kkakdugi rice) - ₩8,000
• Half-and-half naengmyeon (반반냉면) - ₩7,000

Side dishes, meljeot and what's in the beef/pork set for two

The side dishes arrive first: pajeori (scallion salad), pa-kimchi (scallion kimchi), myeongi namul (pickled wild garlic leaves), white kimchi and pickled onions. The pajeori has a distinctive salty note added to the usual version! The classic pickled onions and myeongi namul got the most chopsticks from us.

The charcoal comes in, and there's a tiny bit of meljeot (salted fermented anchovy sauce) on the grill, so good! I'm not someone who dips everything in meljeot like crazy, but if it's missing I feel a little sad... and if it's there I'm happy... ^^

The beef/pork set for two comes on a rather stylish round plate with pork belly with skin, fresh galbi-sal (boneless rib meat) and sirloin, plated like art. The menu lists the sirloin as "today's hanwoo", so the cut seems to change depending on the day.

Oh my, hanwoo sirloin really is a different color from the rest T_T Shiitake, king oyster mushrooms and a bit of corn come alongside too.

Grilling the hanwoo sirloin first: that after-work beef taste

The staff told us to grill the sirloin first, so on it went. And the taste of beef after work, need I say more?

I'm impatient, so I cut it fast and grill it roughly. Beef is no good when it's overcooked, so you have to eat it a bit underdone (?)

It was tasty however I ate it, with whichever side dish. It's hard for hanwoo sirloin to be bad, after all~ Especially that thing that looks like grated radish: nutty yet a little salty, great to eat alongside!

What's the half-and-half naengmyeon like? Mom-approved BBQ restaurant noodles

The half-and-half naengmyeon is just ₩1,000 more than regular mul or bibim naengmyeon, and you get both versions in one. Right in the middle of eating I wanted to order naengmyeon, and there's a half-and-half? I ordered immediately, and I think it's so good!!!!!!!!!!

Of course, if two people come and each orders a half-and-half, that's a bit silly, but if two people are sharing just one and can't decide between mul and bibim, there's no better choice!!!!!!!!!!

It's the classic thin-noodle BBQ restaurant naengmyeon we all know. The seasoning is so spot-on you don't even need the mustard and vinegar... My family eats naengmyeon like a staple in summer, and even Mom, who ate with me, admitted the naengmyeon here is good. I like a fairly sweet-and-sour punch, and Gogikkun does exactly that T_T

Get the naengmyeon, then put the meat on.

Fresh galbi-sal and pork belly: how was the pork?

The fresh galbi-sal was the surprise kicker of the day. It looked so blunt (?) and clunky (?) that I didn't expect much, but what is this, it just melts in your mouth... Better than sirloin? So tender and springy, fantastic... I guess you can't judge meat, or people, by looks alone T_T

As for the pork belly with skin (ogyeopsal), it's pork belly with the skin attached, but the skin really had a strong presence haha. The scissors couldn't cut through the skin in one go... If you like that crunchy chew of pork skin you'll go crazy for it. For me, the skin stood out more than in the ogyeopsal I usually eat, so that part felt a bit jarring texture-wise.

Kkakttukbap for ₩8,000: a worthy stand-in for fried rice?

Kkakttukbap is ₩8,000 and seems to be about 2.5 bowls of rice. The reason we skipped one naengmyeon each and ordered only the half-and-half = to eat the kkakttukbap. Because this is a grill-over-the-brazier Hongdae BBQ place, fried rice isn't an option, and this seemed like it could make up for that.

First, I wondered if this amount is right for ₩8,000, and between the two of us it felt like a portion that never shrinks no matter how much we ate haha. Inside, as the name says, there's plenty of kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), and the aroma and flavor you get from kkakdugi come through nicely in the rice. A different charm from fried rice, and we ate it up happily!

Gogikkun Hongdae Main Branch: overall verdict

If you're looking for a Hongdae group dinner spot, I highly recommend Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch. The 3rd floor also has a long, partition-lined seating area, and the 4th floor, need I say more, is perfect for group dinners. I lost my hearing that day and gained the knowledge that it's perfect for them. The staff, who kept an eye on the tables and changed the grills regularly, were also kind.

Both beef and pork are delicious, but the fresh galbi-sal was insane... Definitely order the fresh galbi-sal.