Sindang Seoul Korean BBQ with chewy makchang: Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang

Hanwoo gopchang by Sindang Station, nearly full even on Monday night

A great spot for beef intestines in Sindang-dong: <Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang>

I started craving gopchang as early as Monday, so I went ahead and got my fix. Let me introduce Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang, which stayed packed even though it was Monday.

It is right in front of Exit 7 of Sindang Station on Line 6, open daily from noon to 11 p.m. On Fridays and Saturdays, it stays open until midnight. It was nearly full at 6 p.m. on Monday, with a slight wait starting around 6:30. They say gatherings and groups can reserve by phone.

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang menu and what we ordered

• Hanwoo gopchang ₩19,000
• Hanwoo daechang ₩19,000
• Hanwoo makchang ₩20,000
• Kkakdugi yangbap ₩9,000
• Anchovy noodles ₩6,000
• Drinks (500 ml) ₩2,000

It is a simple menu. Without much deliberation that day, the two of us ordered two gopchang, one makchang, then yangbap and Zero Coke for dessert.

A platter of gopchang with Mi-jeol-ma sauce to cut the richness

First, they put up this gray splash guard so the oil would not splatter as much.

Then out came the Mi-jeol-ma sauce. It is a garlic sauce with pickled minari (water celery), and this sauce is such a key player. Gopchang is naturally rich, so it can start to feel heavy as you eat, but the Mi-jeol-ma sauce adds acidity and completely clears that richness away.

Can you see the fragrant minari, the sweet-and-sour pickled flavor, and all that garlic? There is a little bite to it, too. It even has the Cheongyang chili peppers I love, and I also loved that they gave us such a generous amount of sauce from the start.

The hot steamed egg was complimentary, too.

The chive salad, inseparable from gopchang, arrived along with a little paper declaring the head chef's pride.

These are three kinds of house-made kimchi: green onion kimchi, mustard leaf kimchi, and ponytail radish kimchi.

Tender gopchang, chewy makchang

Two servings of gopchang and one serving of makchang arrived. When the timer goes off, they come over and cut it for you, so you just wait patiently.

Potatoes, cabbage, bean sprouts, and kimchi grill alongside it. Add the green onion kimchi and chives to the grill, too, and you get incredible companions for the gopchang.

I had one rice cake first.

I tidied everything up neatly so it could brown a little more.

The most important thing about gopchang is, of course, the gop—the rich filling. This one was quite generous. The outside was grilled just right while the inside was nutty and tender, so I kept picking up two pieces at a time.

I also dipped the nicely cooked vegetables deeply into the Mi-jeol-ma sauce and ate them alongside.

Looks like I missed the solo shot of the makchang. They cut it into big pieces like this at first, and it was a nice change of pace between bites of gopchang. At some point, I started liking makchang more than daechang, you know? Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang's makchang was chewy with a lovely bite, but not tough. Tender gopchang, chewy makchang—it is a system that keeps you alternating between them.

The kkakdugi yangbap dessert was a must, even when full

And here is the kkakdugi yangbap we ordered for dessert. This was something we had to eat even though we were full. It tasted like a rustic kimchi fried rice made by your grandmother—somehow familiar and deeply savory. There was plenty of garlic here, too; we are the people of garlic. I loved biting into the beef tripe and cubed radish kimchi, and the portion was generous, so I was seriously full.

Overall thoughts on Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang

I finally visited Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang, which has Sindang-dong firmly in its grasp, and now I understand why it is always busy. The staff were kind, and the pairing of Mi-jeol-ma sauce and meat felt like an especially standout strength. Overall, I was very satisfied.

Next time I will probably order the same combination... no. Next time, I need to try the anchovy noodles, too!