Hongdae Korean BBQ with minari and fried rice: Gogikkun Gimchunbae

The evenings have started to get a little breezy lately, and it’s the season when the smell of grilling meat somehow makes you stop in your tracks~ This time, I visited Gogikkun Gimchunbae Hongdae Supgil Branch, near Gyeongui Line Forest Park, where you can properly enjoy Korean beef and Korean pork all in one go. But as soon as I arrived, I was a little surprised.

Wait… is this really a Korean barbecue restaurant?

A tiled-roof exterior and seats overlooking the forest path

It had such a lovely atmosphere at night. With its tiled roof, wooden exterior, and warm lighting, it felt less like an ordinary Korean barbecue spot and more like a stylish pub beside the forest path! Especially in the evening, the glow from inside makes it almost impossible to walk past without taking a photo.

From the window seats, you can see the forest path like this. Seeing trees outside while eating meat made it feel like a more relaxed meal, even though this is a Hongdae barbecue restaurant right in the middle of the city.

A retro interior with plenty of charm

The mood changes completely once you step inside. Metal tables, round stools, stacks of beer crates along the wall, even the refrigerators. Rather than looking like retro décor deliberately created for today, it felt like they had brought back the vibe of an old-school Korean barbecue restaurant exactly as it was, which made it even more fun. I also liked that every table had a generously sized grill, so it didn’t feel cramped even with meat, mushrooms, minari, and kimchi all on it at once. Shall we check the menu first?

Looking through the menu, you can have just Korean beef, just Korean pork, or a set that lets you enjoy both together. This was exactly what I liked! No need to agonize over beef or pork—you can just say, “Let’s have both!” The Korean beef-and-pork sets are divided by group size, so they also looked easy to order when visiting with several people.

And of course, it doesn’t end with the meat. There are meal dishes such as naengmyeon (cold noodles) and fried rice, plus the drinks that would feel sorely missed at a barbecue meal, making it a great setup for dinner and a drink. And finally, the meat arrives!

Korean beef and Korean pork on one platter

From this point on, the camera gets busy. Haha. The Korean beef and pork came out generously piled onto one platter, and from the marbling on the beef to the thick cuts of pork, the quality looked pretty good even at a glance. The Korean beef especially caught my eye.

Look at that marbling.

Fat was finely threaded through the lean meat, so it already looked delicious before it even hit the grill. At a moment like this, you don’t need a complicated explanation. It needs to go on the grill, quickly. The moment it lands, it starts sizzling—and the surface begins to gleam. Even someone who wasn’t hungry would probably start wondering what to have for dinner after seeing this, haha. You really shouldn’t make Korean beef wait too long.

I tried it as soon as the outside had turned nicely golden. It was cut thick enough to have a satisfying bite, while juicy meat juices spread softly through my mouth.

With meat like this, I think it’s better to taste the meat itself first rather than slathering it in all kinds of sauces. After one piece, a natural “Ah… beer” just comes out!!

So naturally, cheers right away! Whoever invented the combination of a piece of meat followed by a cold sip of beer deserves serious praise.

Thick Korean pork with minari and kimchi

After the Korean beef, it was time for Korean pork.

Once we had enjoyed the beef for a while, it was time to put the thick pork on the grill. You can really see the thickness just from the photo, right?

When you grill the exterior golden while keeping the juices inside, its savory flavor really comes alive with each bite. And at this point, eating only the meat would be a shame.

Out comes the minari (water celery). Grilling it alongside the meat so it picks up a little of the fat makes for an aromatic combination that cuts the richness and keeps you reaching for more. Once the meat, minari, and kimchi all go on the grill, the game is basically over.

At this point, “I’m full, but just one more piece” keeps repeating.

Pick up a piece of meat with minari and kimchi, and you get rich, fragrant, and spicy flavors all at once. Personally, I liked this combination much more than eating the meat on its own.

Mushrooms, naengmyeon, and stew to carry on the meal

The mushrooms can’t be passed over either.

There were king oyster mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and button mushrooms too, and mushrooms that have soaked up just a little meat fat are another treat. The button mushrooms are especially best when the inside fills up with juicy… mushroom juice? Eating a mushroom here and there after all that meat also made my mouth feel refreshed! Now it was time for naengmyeon.

If you eat barbecue without naengmyeon, it somehow feels as if the meal is not quite finished, right? Here, mul naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth) and bibim naengmyeon (spicy mixed cold noodles) come together on one platter, so you don’t have to give up either one.

Mix up the bibim naengmyeon well… then top it with a piece of meat! The savory meat paired really nicely with the spicy, tangy noodles. Naengmyeon at a barbecue restaurant is good on its own, but saving one piece of meat to eat with it is still the best.

Dipping the meat in sauce here and there was another treat. Rather than eating it only one way, I switched up the combinations—salt → sauce → minari → kimchi → naengmyeon—so I never got tired of it until the end. But it wasn’t over yet.

In comes a bubbling stew. Even after eating plenty of meat, smelling stew suddenly makes you think of rice… it’s not just me, right? There was a decent amount of meat in it too, making it nice to scoop up a piece and eat it with rice, while the pleasantly spicy broth completely cleared the palate after the meat.

The final course: fried rice on the grill

The real final course is fried rice!!

And the official ending at a Korean barbecue restaurant in Korea. Fried. Rice. Even the person who said they were full picks up their spoon again when fried rice arrives. The meat fat, kimchi, and seasoning had properly soaked into the grill, so the more it cooked, the more savory fragrance rose up. Waiting until the bottom was just a little crisp before eating added another layer of savory flavor and made for a neat finish.

If you want to eat Korean beef and Korean pork together in Hongdae, I had such a varied meal in one sitting: Korean beef, thick pork, minari, mushrooms, naengmyeon, stew, and fried rice. Especially on a day when you want Hongdae beef as well as samgyeopsal (pork belly) or other pork, being able to order Korean beef and pork together is quite appealing. Above all, its distinctive setting beside Gyeongui Line Forest Park and retro restaurant atmosphere gave it a different feel from an ordinary Hongdae barbecue spot. If you’re looking for somewhere for a date, dinner with friends, or a group meat meal, it’s a Hongdae restaurant worth stopping by at least once.