Hoengseong butcher shop: hanwoo brisket and gopchang for valley BBQ

This time I stopped by "Hoengseong Hanu Jeongyukjeom" on a half-price Hoengseong trip — the plan was to swim in the valley and then grill hanwoo (Korean beef) afterward. It's an old-school butcher shop that's been in Hoengseong for over 40 years since 1976, where you can see the beef in person and pick your own cuts.

Where is Hoengseong Hanu Jeongyukjeom, and what are the hours?

Hoengseong Hanu Jeongyukjeom is at 10 Munhwacheyuk-ro, Hoengseong-eup, Hoengseong-gun, Gangwon-do, and it's open daily from 07:00 to 20:00. Parking is available right in front of the store.

This hanwoo shop is near the Hoengseong IC, so it was easy to find.

You can't talk about hanwoo in Hoengseong without mentioning this place — it opened way back in 1976 and has been running hanwoo processing and wholesale/retail here in Hoengseong for over 40 years.

Choosing hanwoo cuts from the showcase in person

Walking into the store, the showcase was lined with fresh hanwoo, and the marbling looked amazing.

All kinds of cuts were laid out, and being able to look at them with my own eyes before choosing was really great — you could tell at a glance how well-kept and fresh everything was.

The striploin (chaekkeutsal) and brisket flat (eopjinsal) had such pretty marbling that my mouth started watering just looking at them. Both are great for grilling, so I definitely recommend picking some up.

They also sell Korean pork belly, so you're not limited to hanwoo — having pork as an option too was nice for variety.

Inside the showcase there were all sorts of cuts on display, and just browsing them was fun in itself.

There's also a separate frozen section stocked for different needs, so you can choose worry-free depending on how you're using it.

On one side, they also sell ssamjang (dipping sauce), marinades and other sauces to go with the meat — we grabbed what we needed for grilling at the valley :)

How well did the takeout packing hold up on the way to the valley?

When you buy the meat, they pack it up really carefully, so neatly and thoroughly that I wasn't worried about it spoiling in the summer heat.

After arriving at the valley and swimming for a while, we pulled out the hanwoo we'd bought — brisket flat, chuck flap, striploin, and beef intestines — and after all that swimming, it looked incredibly appetizing. The packing was so good that the ice packs were still intact.

With the meat we set out just the essentials — baek-kimchi (white kimchi), cucumber peppers, ssamjang and salt — and even with such a simple spread, the hanwoo was so good it made everything taste richer.

Grilling brisket flat, striploin and gopchang at the valley

The sizzling sound and smell of the brisket flat cooking really got my appetite going.

I've learned that beef should be sizzled on both sides, no more :) Here's the brisket flat, cooked just right. One bite and the juices burst out, filling my mouth with that nutty, clean hanwoo flavor — Hoengseong hanwoo really is different. With good beef, you barely need seasoning; you can taste the meat itself fully.

Without stopping, we grilled the striploin right after, and one bite was tender while still carrying that deep beefy aroma. It's not too fatty, so you really get to enjoy the meat's own flavor — personally, striploin might be the cut I find most consistently delicious.

It felt like a waste to only grill hanwoo, so we'd also picked up beef intestines (gopchang). We grilled the brisket, striploin and chuck flap first, then finished with the intestines — the nutty fat inside had a totally different charm from the beef cuts. We grilled the intestines until golden brown and the surface got crispy, and the more you chewed, the more that nutty flavor came through. If the hanwoo cuts were about clean, savory flavor, the beef intestines were about deep richness and a chewy texture that kept pulling me back for more.

Honest verdict on Hoengseong Hanu Jeongyukjeom

True to a butcher shop that's specialized in Hoengseong hanwoo since 1976, the quality of the meat really stood out. Being able to see fresh, well-managed hanwoo with your own eyes and pick cuts yourself feels like the biggest draw.

Eating at a restaurant is nice too, of course, but buying it yourself while traveling and grilling it at a valley or at home, like I did, has a different kind of fun to it. The packing was so careful that carrying it around was no hassle at all. If you're planning a trip to Hoengseong, make sure to visit "Hoengseong Hanu Jeongyukjeom" and try it for yourself!