Hongdae BBQ with tableside grilling, weekday dinner: Gogikkun Gim

It's been a while since I've oiled up my throat properly — and I did it at Gogikkun Gim Chunbae, a Hongdae samgyeopsal (pork belly) favorite.

I went on a weekday evening and there were SO many customers?! It was already famous as a Hongdae samgyeopsal spot, but it's gotten even more famous, with more group tables and tons of people in for company dinners lol.

Does Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae grill the meat for you?

Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch now has staff grill the meat for you. I asked, and apparently they started this about 2 months ago. They didn't used to do this here!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a place I've revisited, and how can it possibly taste even better than before...? It was already good, but now it's even more so. I went in September, so consider this a hot, fresh update! Trust me and go.

Name: Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch / Location: 3F, 36 Hongikro 3-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul / 2015 Tasty Road episode 38 (Nov 7, 2015), Jeju fresh galbi / Reservations and group bookings available, Wi-Fi, separate men's/women's restrooms

How to find Gogikkun Gim Chunbae: 3rd floor in Hongdae's Lush alley

Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch is in the Hongdae Lush alley, near the Ttareungyi hot pot spot. The location is great — close to the station, in that alley you all probably know, so you've likely walked past it before.

It's on the 3rd floor, so climb the stairs for a little cardio before dinner, go go!

Once you get up to the 3rd floor, there's a door like this. Come in here — but if you're over 170cm tall, duck a little on your way in haha.

Free side dish refills: baek-kimchi, spring onion kimchi, myeongi namul

These are the default side dishes at Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch! If you ask for more, they'll refill them like crazy, and every single one is delicious.

When I visited, there were so many groups drinking away the workweek that I couldn't get a photo of an empty table, but the space here is really spacious. The seats are comfortable too, not bad at all.

Gogikkun Gim Chunbae does vary a li.......ttle by branch......... but I can vouch, hand on heart, that the Hongdae main branch is genuinely delicious — I recommend it with full confidence!! The baek-kimchi, pa-kimchi, and myeong-yi namul were so good I refilled them. Even the side dishes here are killer.

What comes in the hanwoo and pork set for two

What I ordered was the hanwoo/handon set for two. I was given 150g of pork belly, 250g of fresh galbisal, and 200g of hanwoo sirloin. The galbisal here is legendary.

I figured I'd be grilling it myself, but they grilled it for me instead. A Hongdae samgyeopsal favorite that's now evolved into a grilled-for-you BBQ place — huge plus. And there are a lot of staff, so they rotate through grilling duty, which means you never feel awkward about it! I was so, so satisfied. It was really great..

Hanwoo sirloin on the wire rack: how the fat drains off

Ah, the color alone is killer. First they grill today's hanwoo, and of course a pro does it better than I would; ;

And the grill plate here is a wire grill, so all the fat drains off, which makes it even tastier. You know charcoal grilling is the way to go — it's the golden rule. I'm not just saying that to be nice — the meat quality and the wire grill were genuinely perfect. This is a place I revisited, and it was already good before, but this time it got even, even, even, even better!!

Half-and-half naengmyeon: cold broth and spicy noodles in one bowl

The half-and-half naengmyeon (cold noodles) arrives, whoa. They give you vinegar and mustard, but it was already seasoned well enough that you don't even need to add any.

There aren't many places that do half-and-half naengmyeon, so it's great being able to have both mul- (broth) and bibim- (spicy mixed) in one bowl, and this too was upgraded from before.. What have they been doing over there..? No joke, it got tastier.

Once it's grilled, they cut it and set it aside on the grill for you, so all you have to do is eat!

Kkakdugi fried rice and the receipt review perk

The kkakdugi (radish kimchi) fried rice — this too got even tastier than before lolllllll. Ah, it sounds made up, everything getting better. But it really did get tastier than before. Clean and refreshing — the kkakdugi fried rice got an upgrade too..

Here's how the receipt review works. Doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) or kimchi jjigae or steamed egg or pork skin. Wow.. every single option is delicious?.. That's Gogikkun Gim Chunbae, a Hongdae samgyeopsal favorite, for you. Generous to the end.

The standout fresh galbisal, and the 150g pork belly

They grilled the leg-endary fresh galbisal too. Wow.. they grill it with the determination not to waste even the smallest scrap of meat clinging to the rib, carefully picking it off — it's so touching, and it tastes just as touching. Tears streaming, that's how good it is.

I ate it wrapped in lettuce with baek-kimchi, ssamjang (dipping sauce), and myeong-yi namul. Everything's refillable and it was genuinely delicious. Ah.. this is the place for Hongdae company dinners, Hongdae group gatherings.. more than just fine, it's a place where you can eat happily..

Then the pork belly. It's known as a samgyeopsal place, but the pork belly's fat is nice and nutty too — a killer way to finish the meal. I should've ordered the doenjang jjigae too.

They even grill corn and mushrooms here, making it a generous, well-rounded spot — a Hongdae samgyeopsal favorite, a Hongdae group-dinner favorite with nothing to fault. With the grilling service, Gogikkun Gim Chunbae Hongdae Main Branch is even more upgraded now, so enjoy a great meal there. It'll be a meal you won't regret. I guarantee it.