Weeknight gopchang stew with rice bowl mix, Gwangju: Kim Taeju Seonsan

My friend was craving something spicy today, so we went to Kim Taeju Seonsan Gopchang, Yongbong Branch, a place I'd wanted to try for a while! When the weather gets chilly like this, don't you just crave a hot, spicy hot pot dish!?

Where is Kim Taeju Seonsan Gopchang, Yongbong Branch? Parking and closing day

Kim Taeju Seonsan Gopchang, Yongbong Branch is at 73 Jeobul-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, right in front of Hyundai 3-cha Apartment. You can park in front of the restaurant or inside the building, and street parking is also available. It's closed every Wednesday, and open 11:00–23:00.

We visited on a weekday at 7pm and the place was packed! It's close to Chonnam National University and the prices are affordable, so there were a lot of students too.

Gopchang stew price and what two people should order

The gopchang jeongol (beef tripe hot pot) at Kim Taeju Seonsan Gopchang, Yongbong Branch is really cheap at ₩11,000 per serving! There were two of us, so we ordered two servings plus daejeop-bap (rice bowl for mixing). Even adding all the sarl (noodle/rice add-ons), the price stayed low, so we could eat without worrying about the bill.

The side dishes came out fast, then the gopchang jeongol, and once it started boiling the staff cut up the vegetables and gopchang for us! There was something like cartilage in the gopchang, which felt different from the gopchang I was used to — kind of fascinating!

Which side dishes come with the gopchang stew?

Bean sprout soup, water dumplings, ham jeon (pan-fried ham), stir-fried anchovies, pickled chili peppers, and kimchi all came out as basic side dishes. It was unusual to see water dumplings as a basic side — since I love them, that made me happy. They kept refilling the broth and kimchi like crazy, so if you're running low, just ask. The stir-fried anchovies were tasty, the water dumplings were tasty, the ham jeon was tasty — honestly, just really solid side dishes for eating with rice.

How to eat gopchang jeongol at Kim Taeju Seonsan Gopchang

There's a how-to-eat guide on the wall, so check it out before your food arrives haha. It needs to simmer longer than you'd expect, so patience is required!

They cut up the vegetables and gopchang, then dropped in the kimchi. The kimchi looked so good that I tried eating it like fresh kimchi with the daejeop-bap, and it was delicious.

Boil it hard, and once the broth reduces a bit, just ask for more broth! Add a little more broth and boil it hard again. Apparently the longer it simmers, the more tender the meat gets!

And once it starts boiling again while cooking, turn it down to medium heat and dig in!! I read through other people's reviews carefully and apparently you're supposed to order the daejeop-bap and mix it in.

What the stew tastes like mixed into the daejeop-bap rice bowl

Personally, mixing it all up in the rice bowl is the best combo! It's not kimchi stew, but it somehow tastes like gopchang jeongol too haha!! So interesting! It has that spicy-yet-clean gopchang jeongol flavor. Other people were drinking a lot of soju with it, but I wasn't feeling great that day so I passed!

Order the ramen add-on early and ask for cheongyang chili

You need to order the ramen noodle add-on ahead of time, while you're still eating the daejeop-bap. They said it takes a bit since the noodles are pre-cooked before being brought out! We ordered early, and the owner checked on it before adding it in!!!! My friend and I are spicy-food people, so we asked for cheongyang chili peppers and sliced them in thin.

And to finish it off, fried rice!!! Korean people can't skip out on this K-dessert haha! We finished it completely full, patting our bellies!

When we paid and were heading out, the owner even gave us a lottery ticket! I checked it today and it was a loser, but it still put me in a good mood for the week! When you're craving gopchang jeongol in this chilly weather, I recommend visiting Kim Taeju Seonsan Gopchang, a well-known spot in Yongbong-dong, Gwangju!