Samseong Korean restaurant for a group: Obongjip's ₩62,000 combo

Looking for lunch near Samseong Station, it's surprisingly hard to find a spot that works for a whole group.

I wanted something spicy but also something filling like bossam, so I ended up at Obongjip Samseong Branch!!

Obongjip is famous for its fire-grilled octopus stir-fry, but this time I ordered the Obong Special, which lets you try octopus stir-fry, bossam, and makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles) all at once!!

Finding Obongjip Samseong Branch

It's tucked in an alley near Samseong Station, but the big Obongjip sign made it easy to spot. The restaurant is on the ground floor as shown in the photo, and you can see menu photos from outside, so first-time visitors can tell right away what kind of food they serve.

The address is 1F, 62 Teheran-ro 81-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul. A convenient spot for office workers near Samseong Station to grab lunch or dinner.

What's in the Obong Special (gabri), ₩62,000

Today's order: Obong Special + makguksu

That day I ordered the Obong Special (gabri) for ₩62,000. It comes with three things: fire-grilled octopus stir-fry for two, Obongjip bossam (small), and jaengban makguksu (extra charge applies).

If you'd rather try a range of Obongjip's signature dishes instead of just one, the Obong Special is a great call! Seriously, you won't regret it ..!!!!!!!!!!!!! Trust me!!

Trust me..?

Anyway! The octopus stir-fry, bossam, and makguksu each bring a different flavor character, which makes it easy for a group to find something everyone likes~~

Fire-grilled octopus stir-fry with real smoky flavor

The first thing that caught my eye was the octopus stir-fry, cooked down to a bright red!!! Plump-looking octopus mixed with cabbage and sauce, topped with chives and sesame seeds —

the octopus pieces are huge. Seriously. Huge.

You just cut the big pieces down to size with scissors and dig in! The sauce is well soaked into the octopus so it's great on its own, but personally I thought it worked even better with rice~~

A bibim combo with self-serve bar banchan

There's already a good variety of basic banchan (side dishes), and you can grab more from the self-serve bar if you want more!!

Bean sprouts, radish salad, stir-fried fish cake, rice, soup — all the sides that go well with octopus stir-fry are there. Here's the combo I recommend:

• Rice + fire-grilled octopus stir-fry + bean sprouts + roasted seaweed flakes
• Add a dash of sesame oil to taste and mix it all together!

The spicy octopus sauce mixes evenly through the rice, and the bean sprouts add crunch, giving a totally different feel from eating the octopus alone. If you order the octopus stir-fry, I'd recommend trying this mix at least once.

Obongjip bossam topped with bossam kimchi

Next to the octopus stir-fry comes a beautifully sliced bossam (boiled pork belly). The meat is cut thick, so it's easy to pick up piece by piece.

And bossam wouldn't be complete without the bossam kimchi served right beside it.

Switching between the spicy octopus stir-fry and the bossam kept things from getting monotonous. If eating octopus stir-fry alone feels like a bit too much, the Obong Special fills that gap nicely.

Tangy-spicy jaengban makguksu to reset your palate

The last item in the Obong Special is jaengban makguksu. The noodles come piled high with sauce, plus vegetables, seaweed flakes, egg strips, and nuts — it looks quite generous even before you take a bite!!! Mix everything together and you get that distinct tangy-spicy makguksu flavor ㅠㅠ

Seriously, order this. Order it twice!

I'd recommend pairing the makguksu with the bossam.

Eating them together, the mild richness of the meat matched really well with the noodle sauce.

Tray banchan and seaweed soup

Serving all the side dishes together on a tray fit the name Obongjip ('five-tray house') pretty well. Bean sprouts, radish salad, stir-fried fish cake and other sides that go well with the mains came out, along with seaweed soup~

After all that rich, heavily seasoned octopus stir-fry, a warm spoonful of soup hit the spot, and it was nice being able to grab more banchan from the self-serve bar whenever I wanted!

A solid meal when you can't decide near Samseong Station

I used to think of Obongjip as a one-trick octopus stir-fry place, but the Obong Special turned out to be a fun rotation — spicy octopus stir-fry, then mild bossam, then tangy-spicy makguksu. If you like eating a little of many things rather than sticking to one dish, this set is especially well suited to you.

If you're near Samseong Station looking for an office lunch spot or a place to eat with a group, this one's worth adding to the list. Next time I visit, I'll probably go straight for mixing the octopus stir-fry with bean sprouts, seaweed flakes, and rice again. :)

Obongjip Samseong Branch info

• Address: 1F, 62 Teheran-ro 81-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
• Ordered this time: Obong Special (gabri), ₩62,000
• Set: Fire-grilled octopus stir-fry (2 servings) + Obongjip bossam (small) + jaengban makguksu (extra charge applies)

Please do try it. Go back two, three, four times! Absolutely no regrets, so good ㅠㅠㅠ