Songpa gopchang restaurant, waiting number 23 on a Saturday: Jinseong

I hadn't seen my neighborhood friends in a while and really wanted to eat something insanely good together. While debating what to get, we ended up at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch! I'd heard it was a famous gopchang spot in Bangi-dong with a wait no matter weekday or weekend, and I was curious. After eating there myself, I got why it's so busy. Bottom line: it was good enough that I want to go back, haha.

Where is Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch, and what are its hours?

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch sits on the 1st floor at 19 Olympic-ro 32-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul, right in the Bangi food alley, so it wasn't hard to find. Hours are weekdays 16:00–23:00, weekends 13:00–24:00.

There were four of us — neighborhood girlfriends — and as expected of a famous place, it was packed. I'd heard there's a wait whether it's a weekday or weekend, so I was a little worried, and sure enough we got number 23, lol. There were 10 parties ahead of us, but we registered for the wait anyway!

How long was the Saturday evening wait at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang?

We arrived at 7pm thinking we might get in around 8, but we were seated around 7:30! Getting in within 30 minutes on a Saturday feels like a win. The weather's nice and cool these days too, so chatting outside while we waited went by fast.

While paying I noticed the tables go up to number 13. The food came out faster than expected and tables turned over quickly, so the wait was very manageable!

The side dishes that come with every table

House-made kimchi, a trio of brothers, lol. The stickers are so cute. It paired really well with the gopchang and tasted great.

What four friends ordered: 3 servings of gopchang, 2 of daechang, plus yangbap

• Hanwoo gopchang 220g ₩19,000 × 3 servings
• Hanwoo daechang 220g ₩19,000 × 2 servings
• Kkakdugi-yangbap ₩9,000 × 1 (about 1.5 servings)

Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch only lets you order up to 3 servings per grill plate, so we started with 3 servings of gopchang and added 2 servings of daechang. With four of us, gopchang alone felt like it might not be quite enough, so we added daechang too! But once we started eating, it was so good that we ended up finishing off fried rice too, haha.

The kkakdugi-yangbap is ₩9,000, and when we tried to order two, staff let us know one portion is already 1.5 servings' worth! So we just ordered one and focused on the gopchang and daechang.

Staff grill everything for you at the table

One thing I personally loved about Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang was that the staff grill the gopchang for you directly! Can you tell from those no-nonsense hand movements?

Whether you order gopchang or daechang, they grill and cut it for you, which made things so easy! Gopchang is delicious, but grilling it yourself means constantly flipping it so it doesn't burn and checking if it's done — a lot to manage. But here, the staff handle it all, so we just got to sit back, chat, and wait. Our conversation never got interrupted, which I especially loved. Watching the gopchang turn golden brown was genuinely hard to resist, haha — I just kept taking photos.

How the hanwoo gopchang tasted: crisp outside, chewy inside

I tried the well-grilled gopchang first, and the savory flavor was on point! Truly an excellent restaurant. Makchang (grilled beef abomasum) was good too, but gopchang was my top pick! There was a good amount of fat, and the inherent savory taste of the gopchang itself was so good that my friends and I kept saying how delicious it was as we ate. The outside was crisped up nicely with great texture, and the inside was savory and chewy. If you love beef gopchang, I really think this is a must-visit.

Since each plate only fits 3 servings max, the daechang we added came out on a fresh plate! It felt like starting over again, haha. The kimchi and chives-potato side also seemed to get refilled, which was nice. The daechang was grilled up chewy and delicious too — one big bite of pure, earthly bliss, ugh.

The complimentary steamed egg at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang

And the steamed egg (gyeranjjim) comes free of charge. They just pour it out generously. Some places serve it a bit too salty, but this one wasn't salty and was fluffy and delicious. A perfect dish to spoon up while waiting for the gopchang. It didn't feel like a throwaway freebie either, which was another satisfying detail, haha.

Why you shouldn't skip the kkakdugi-yangbap at the end

And you can't leave out kkakdugi-yangbap at a gopchang restaurant!! The value here is insane. We were pretty full already, but it felt like we'd regret leaving without trying it, so we ordered it. And sure enough, it wrapped things up perfectly! After the savory gopchang, finishing with the fried rice left us feeling properly, satisfyingly full. Four of us eating gopchang, daechang, and fried rice together — pure happiness.

Service at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch

Beyond the food, the owner and staff were all kind, which made the meal even more pleasant. Even during a busy, crowded time, the service was warm and memorable.

Verdict: is this Songpa gopchang restaurant worth the wait?

There are honestly so many gopchang restaurants in the Bangi food alley, including some well-known ones, but after eating at Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang myself, I understood why there's a wait regardless of weekday or weekend. The gopchang, grilled savory and crisp, was delicious, the makchang was nice and chewy, and everything from the complimentary steamed egg to the final fried rice was satisfying! Best of all, having the staff grill everything meant we could relax and just chat with friends throughout the meal :)

The four of us ordered 3 servings of gopchang → 2 servings of daechang → fried rice, and I highly recommend that combo. I'd definitely go back! Next time I want gopchang in Bangi-dong, I think I'll return here, haha. This Bangi-dong gopchang favorite doesn't have a wait for no reason :)

Since it's in the Bangi-dong food alley, after we were full of gopchang we even won a stuffed toy at a nearby claw machine! Best day ever, haha.