Weekend Korean BBQ with minari add-on in Cheonho, Seoul: Gim Sukseong

This place is right by my house, and it's ALWAYS packed in the real Cheonho food alley! Every time I went out to eat with family, I'd say "let's try that place sometime!" — and I finally made it happen, haha! Today's Cheonho-dong must-visit is Gim Sukseong (김숙성)!

Where is Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch, and what are its hours?

• Address: 35 Cheonhoyet14-gil, Gangdong-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• Location: 384m from Exit 6 of Cheonho Station
• Hours: 11:00–24:00
• Parking: Available (max 2 cars, call ahead)
• Nearby parking: Cheonho Station public parking lot

How busy is Gim Sukseong on an early weekend evening in Cheonho?

I visited Gim Sukseong Seongnae Branch on a weekend early evening, and the place was already half full of customers. There's clearly a reason they're pulling in diners even this early!! Happy hour comes with drink discounts too. Day drinking welcome.

The interior was full of retro, old-school charm. It looks like it's just slapped together with blue tape, but somehow that turns into a hip look? Retro vibe, but the service quality is high-end! Gim Sukseong serves premium Korean pork that's dry-aged for 4 days and wet-aged for 16 days, 480 hours of cross-aging total. On top of that, staff grill the meat for you at the table!

The meat lineup is flashy, but the side dishes are seriously killer haha. The seasoned crab rice and minari (water dropwort) bibim noodles caught my eye, and there's even a set menu for anyone with decision paralysis.

Gim Sukseong Special 2 with extra minari: how does 20-day aged pork taste?

We ordered the Gim Sukseong Special 2 (pork neck + pork belly + gabrisal), added minari, and finished with minari bibim noodles. It's a crazy combo of 20-day aged meat and minari! Honestly, in this era of high prices, I've mostly been buying meat from the butcher and grilling it at home. But at this quality, why wouldn't you eat out? Because you just can't get this quality at home, haha. Side dishes, kimchi jjigae, and fresh meat arrived, and the veteran grilling service began! You could tell the texture was different right away thanks to the 20-day aging.

It chews softly while savory juices spread through your mouth, plus that deep umami unique to aged meat! Top it with minari for one bite! It felt like eating meat after waiting 20 days, haha. Seriously so good!!

The fresh, grassy scent of minari mingles with the meat's rich flavor and cleans up your palate. Soft meat, crunchy minari! The texture is a work of art. I dug into the fresh lettuce wraps, mushrooms, and potatoes too — it was almost sad watching the meat disappear, the kind of taste you don't want to say goodbye to. Can you feel it? My feelings about Gim Sukseong's 20-day aged meat, haha.

Minari bibim noodles to finish: how many people does the Special 2 feed?

Finished it off with minari bibim noodles, perfect! Personally, I felt the Gim Sukseong Special 2 was about 2.5 servings' worth. Around the time I was getting full, I thought about the seasoned crab rice, but today I was fully minari-obsessed! In the end I went with the minari bibim noodles.

Mixed it up nicely, put a piece of aged meat on top, and merged it with the noodles! This'll get you, haha. The fragrant minari, the sweet-and-tangy sauce, and the meat's savory flavor come together so well that you keep going without getting sick of it right to the end.

By the time I was fully satisfied with the noodles, the place had filled up completely! There's a reason the Cheonho food alley is always busy here.

I couldn't drink that day because I had a cold, but I'll be back soon for an encore — soju with aged meat at the semi-outdoor tables!

Is Gim Sukseong a good pick for family meals and group dinners in Cheonho-dong?

I'd recommend this for a Cheonho date, a Cheonho group dinner, a Seongnae-dong BBQ night, or just a family meal out. Cheonho-dong must-visit Gim Sukseong — 100% would go back!