Siheung pork restaurant with its own butcher shop: Gongdan Gamjatang

While looking for a place to eat meat in Siheung, I stopped by Gongdan Gamjatang Samgyeopsal Siheung Main Branch. This place has apparently been running for a whopping 38 years — it started out as a gamjatang (pork bone soup) place and now also serves samgyeopsal (pork belly) and other pork dishes.

The exterior and parking at Gongdan Gamjatang Samgyeopsal Siheung Main Branch

Gongdan Gamjatang Samgyeopsal Siheung Main Branch is on Sicheong-ro 72beon-gil in Jang-gok-dong, Siheung, and there's a public parking lot right in front, so driving there was easy. The place has that distinct old-school-favorite vibe. Rather than being decked out fancy like newer restaurants, it has the comfortable feel of a place that's been operating in the same spot for a long time — and honestly, that atmosphere only raised my expectations for the food.

Having that public parking lot out front made parking super convenient~ Parking is always a bit of a worry when there's no obvious space at a BBQ restaurant, but here I didn't have to stress about driving over. It seemed like an easy place to bring family too, so if you're looking for a spot for a family meal, this could be worth noting!

Inside, there were multiple tables set up, so it looked fine for anything from a family group to a bigger party. The tables are the grill-your-own-meat type, so seating was comfortable, and overall it had that familiar, easygoing feel unique to old-school favorites. It's apparently the kind of place known by word of mouth as 'the unmarked spot that built its building on gamjatang' haha.

What struck me most was how customers kept streaming in during mealtime — even as an old-timer restaurant, it clearly still has a steady, loyal following. Since you can get both meat and gamjatang here, menu choices are easy for groups, and I thought this lineup would work well as a recommendation for a work dinner too.

The ₩14,000 gamjatang set meal spread

The gamjatang set meal (gamjatang-baekban) at Gongdan Gamjatang Samgyeopsal Siheung Main Branch is ₩14,000. This was the first menu item I want to introduce — for ₩14,000, you get gamjatang, stir-fried pork, and pork cutlet all in one spread, which honestly surprised me a bit when I saw it on the menu. It's not just a gamjatang set meal on its own — you also get stir-fried pork and pork cutlet together, so it seemed like a great fit for anyone who wants to try a bit of everything at once haha.

A meat restaurant that also runs its own butcher shop

Gongdan Gamjatang Samgyeopsal Siheung Main Branch also runs its own butcher shop, where you can buy meat at a cheaper price!! Buying it fresh straight from the butcher shop seems like it would be even nicer.

The variety was great, everything looked fresh, and the prices were low too, which felt really nice 🧡 The butcher shop sells a wide range of cuts, and it was great that you can buy meat a bit cheaper than at a regular supermarket.

The 800g mixed pork platter for ₩64,000 — how does the gongdansal taste?

We also ordered the 800g mixed pork platter for ₩64,000. It's a set of several cuts you grill all together, so the meat comes out piled high on the plate, and once it was up on the grill, it looked incredibly appetizing just from the visuals.

One cut in particular caught my eye — the gongdansal. Apparently this is pork neck meat, and its distinguishing feature is the good balance of fat mixed in with the lean meat. As it grilled to a golden brown on the plate, the surface cooked up beautifully while the inside stayed juicy~~

Tasting it, the texture was much softer and chewier than I expected, and the fatty parts had a nice savory flavor too. It wasn't overly greasy — overall it was on the lighter side, which kept me reaching for more. In particular, I liked that when I bit into it, it wasn't tough or stringy — it pulled apart softly while still leaving that satisfying chewy texture.

Mot-ijeo bul-naengmyeon, ₩10,000 — how spicy is it really?

The mot-ijeo bul-naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles) is ₩10,000. As a must-have dish alongside grilled meat, we also ordered the mot-ijeo bul-naengmyeon. Even the name hints at spiciness, and eating it, it really was a properly spicy noodle dish, more so than I expected.

At first you get a sweet flavor, and the spiciness builds up as you go — the kind of dish where the heat really stacks up the more you eat. It's not just a mild hint of spice — it's genuinely spicy, so I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who loves spicy food.

I personally love a sweet-and-spicy sauce, so this was totally my style. Taking a bite of meat and then a bite of the bul-naengmyeon, that spicy kick would hit and pair really well with the lighter meat.

Gongi-jeyuk for ₩3,000 — is that price real?

The gongi-jeyuk is ₩3,000. And the menu item that surprised me most in terms of price was this ₩3,000 gongi-jeyuk. I ordered it just as a simple side dish since it was only 3,000 won, but when it arrived, the portion was actually quite generous?? Is that price for real...??

Instead of a regular plate with just stir-fried pork on it, its distinguishing feature is that it comes in a rice bowl with the meat and kimchi served together.

The stir-fried pork has a sauce that pairs well with rice, so it's tasty even on its own, and eating it together with the kimchi made a whole bowl of rice disappear in no time. It's a low-pressure price to order as a side while eating meat, and it's also good for a simple meal on its own — personally, it was a memorable item.

The gamjatang that comes free with any meat order

At Gongdan Gamjatang Samgyeopsal Siheung Main Branch, gamjatang comes free with any meat order. And this is something you can't skip talking about here — the gamjatang. It's not just a broth served as an afterthought — it comes with big chunks of gamjatang meat inside, so it was quite a generous portion.

Tasting it, I understood exactly why this place is known as somewhere that gives you gamjatang free with a meat order. The broth had a deep, rich, savory flavor like it had been simmered for a long time. Grilling meat and then taking a spoonful of the warm broth felt like it cleansed the palate, and going back and forth between meat and soup made the meal feel even more filling.

Look at those big chunks of gamjatang meat.. 😭😭👏👏 The meat inside the gamjatang was pretty substantial too. There was plenty of meat clinging to the bones, so it was fun picking it off with chopsticks, and the meat itself pulled apart easily, making it easy to eat. It wasn't a gamjatang that's only good for the broth — the meat itself was properly satisfying too, and tasting it, I could somewhat understand why people say this place 'built its building on gamjatang.'

If you're looking for a hearty meal in Jang-gok-dong, Siheung, Gongdan Gamjatang Samgyeopsal Siheung Main Branch seems worth remembering.