Gopchang set for three with omasum in Songpa, Seoul: Midang Hanwoo

I've been eating a lot of gopchang (beef offal) lately haha. Recently I heard about a beef gopchang place that's butchered same-day, so I finally went to check it out.

Where is Midang Hanwoo Gopchang, and what are its hours?

• Mon–Sat 9:00–23:00 (last order 22:00)
• Parking support for dine-in guests

The restaurant from the street

Midang Hanwoo Gopchang sits between Garak Market Station and Police Hospital Station. Apparently it wasn't a gopchang place originally — they used to only sell mungtigi — but recently renovated and reopened as a gopchang restaurant.

Inside Midang Hanwoo Gopchang: plenty of families with kids

I came in early evening when it wasn't too busy yet, but by the time we finished and got up, the place was almost full — with lots of little kids there too.

You could really feel the owner's pride — he personally selects and butchers the hanwoo (Korean beef) himself.

So as you'll see in the photos below, it's not just standard gopchang and daechang — they carry a wide range of very fresh offal cuts.

Ordering the Special Hanwoo Gopchang Grill Set and fried rice

Special Hanwoo Gopchang Grill Set, fried rice.

Once you order, they set the table with a really varied spread of side dishes that go well with gopchang — we could eat a proper full meal.

And since it's same-day butchered beef, they also gave us raw liver (cheonyeop) and ginger, which looked incredibly fresh just from sight.

Since it was our first visit, we debated what to order and settled on the Special Set so we could try a bit of everything. There was no info on gram weight or portion size listed, so we had no idea how much we'd get — but it turned out to be a perfect amount for three people.

The owner grills every cut: was there any offal smell?

Even after everything was set on the table, the owner kept watching over the grill and cooking it for us himself, so even though everything arrived raw, we could eat comfortably without worrying. Since it came out raw instead of pre-cooked, you could immediately see with your own eyes just how fresh it was.

As each piece finished cooking, the owner recommended the order to eat them in. It had been so long since I'd had something this fresh with no smell at all, honestly TT.

What I'd been worried about especially was that when the gopchang, makchang and daechang first came out, there was nothing sprinkled on top, so I thought it might taste a bit fishy — but it was so good that worry completely vanished. The gopchang in particular was packed with fat inside, which I used to dislike, but because it was so fresh, it just tasted rich and nutty — genuinely delicious.

Teukyang for the first time, grilled crisp as a cracker

Then there was teuk-yang, which I was trying for the first time. The owner told us it tastes best cooked crispy like a chip. Following his instructions, it had a fragrant, distinctive aroma along with a texture that was crispy yet chewy — really interesting.

Daechang, the cut that takes longest on the grill

Last was daechang, which needs the longest cooking time — and it was genuinely delicious. I usually don't like daechang that much, but slow-cooked over a long time, instead of feeling greasy it came out crispy and full of nutty flavor.

The review prize draw and the fried rice finish

While eating, we took part in a review lucky draw event.

Unfortunately we drew fifth prize and got sikhye (sweet rice drink), but eating it alongside the richer food, which felt a bit heavy by then, turned out to be really tasty haha. It was almost perfect timing — right when we were starting to feel a bit full, the draw gave us this refreshing finish.

And of course, being Korean, we couldn't skip ordering fried rice. At the end the owner even brought out spicy marinated crab (yangnyeom gejang), and we finished it all off very satisfyingly. The crab especially had so much meat inside that you could scrape out plenty just with chopsticks. The fried rice was cooked right on the same griddle we'd grilled the gopchang on, so it was packed with that nutty, savory flavor — really delicious.

• Good restaurant near Police Hospital Station
• Same-day butchered beef gopchang spot
• Recommended gopchang restaurant near Garak Market