Seohyeon spicy ribs with flat glass noodles, medium heat: Gimcheongja

Today I'm introducing a spicy galbijjim (braised ribs) place near Seohyeon Station — Gimcheongja Maeun Galbijjim Seohyeon Station Branch. Anyone else love spicy braised ribs!? I have days where I just crave something spicy, and this place was perfect for that. 😆

Gimcheongja Maeun Galbijjim Seohyeon Station Branch: closing day and parking

Gimcheongja Maeun Galbijjim Seohyeon Station Branch is closed on Sundays, so make sure to check before you go. There's also a break time from 3 to 5pm. Parking is free for 2 hours in the building lot, so you can drive there too — just note it's mechanical parking!

How to find Gimcheongja: 2nd floor of Cheonji Building near Seohyeon Station

This is the building entrance. It's on the 2nd floor of Cheonji Building. You'll start to see the sign next to the parking lot entrance. Just follow the big sign and you'll find it.

This is the building's parking lot. It was bigger than I expected, so finding a spot wasn't hard. If you're around here, park and head up to the 2nd floor. There's also a separate mechanical parking area! I parked on the street nearby myself.

Inside Gimcheongja: entrance and atmosphere

There's a framed logo hanging in the 2nd-floor hallway. It's lit up too, so it stands out.

The vibe inside is clean and bright, and a lot of the people there seemed to be friends out for drinks haha.

Gimcheongja menu prices and the three spice levels

There's a menu standing on the table. Prices are ₩19,000 for beef spicy galbijjim, ₩16,000 for pork spicy galbijjim, and ₩12,900 for the pork spicy galbijjim set. The set is only available weekdays from 11am to 2pm, and it comes with rice and egg custard included. If you go for lunch, this seems like the best deal.

There are also side menu items. Egg custard is ₩5,000, fried rice is ₩3,000, rice is ₩1,000, and for add-ons there's rice cake at ₩3,000 and flat noodles at ₩3,000.

This is the main menu board on the wall. There's something important on the right side — the spice level choices.

• Mild is Shin Ramyun level of spicy
• Medium is fire noodle level of spicy
• Spicy has no comparison given

That's what it says! No comparison given is a little scary. I went with medium! All menu items require a minimum of 2 people to order. Eating solo isn't really possible here!

Egg custard and the banchan side dishes

First, the egg custard and side dishes come out. The egg custard comes packed full in a stone pot, soft and mildly seasoned. Eating a spoonful in between bites of the spicy stuff really cools your mouth down. If you're ordering spicy galbijjim, the egg custard is basically essential.

The side dishes are kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, pickled vegetables, and seaweed. There's also corn kernels, which were so good I kept refilling them 🥹💗

The medium-heat spicy galbijjim arrives

Ta-da-!!!!! The spicy galbijjim arrived. It's still before boiling. There's a mountain of chili peppers and green onion piled on top. The color of the broth alone looks serious. There's rice cake mixed in too.

With the egg custard set alongside it, the table was completely full. Now it's time to turn on the burner and start boiling.

Flat glass noodle add-on, simmered right at the table

Once it starts bubbling, the onions turn translucent and soften. As the broth reduces down, the color deepens. The smell at this stage is amazing.

I pulled out a piece of rib. Can you see the size? Each piece is seriously chunky.

The flat noodles that come included by default! ❤️ They soak up all the sauce and slide right down. Noodles with spicy galbijjim just feel like the standard combo.

This is how much rib meat is in there. The meat on the bones is thick. Cut it with scissors and the rib bone practically slides right out... It had been a while since I had spicy galbijjim and it was genuinely so good.

When I lifted it with tongs, the meat just separated from the bone. It's braised so thoroughly that even chopsticks can pull it apart. I took a bite — spicy, but with sweetness right behind it. It's not just spicy for the sake of it; the sauce is rich and full of umami. There was zero gamey smell from the meat either.

I tried the rice cake too. Chewy, and it soaks up the sauce nicely. If you like rice cake, add it as an extra!

Finishing with 3,000 won fried rice in the leftover sauce

Once you finish the galbijjim, fried rice is a must. They take the whole pot away and bring it back fried with rice and seaweed flakes in the leftover sauce. That's the mark of a true local favorite... 😯

When they spread it out flat and press it down like this, that crispy layer is the best part. The galbijjim sauce soaks completely into the rice, and you just keep going spoonful after spoonful. It's only ₩3,000 — you'll regret it if you skip it.

It was so spicy I ordered a Sprite too haha. And they thoughtfully filled it with a ton of ice...

Is Gimcheongja worth it? Final verdict

A great galbijjim spot near Seohyeon Station! The spicy galbijjim sauce hit the perfect sweet-and-spicy balance. It's not just spicy — there's sweetness and umami working together. If you're looking for spicy galbijjim near Seohyeon Station, I highly recommend Gimcheongja Maeun Galbijjim Seohyeon Station Branch!