Songpa Korean restaurant for generous gamjatang: Boseung Hoegwan

Boseung Hoegwan, a great gukbap (rice soup) spot in Bangi-dong.

A 24-hour gamjatang restaurant near Seokchon Lake

I visited Boseung Hoegwan, one of my favorite places around Seokchon Lake and Bangi-dong. I really love gamjatang (pork bone soup), so I’ve tried it at plenty of restaurants, but it had been a long time since I found one as clean-tasting as this, with none of that unwanted meat smell. It’s a reliably delicious 24-hour haejangguk (hangover soup) spot near Seokchon Lake, even after several visits!

It’s right by the east side of Seokchon Lake, at the entrance to Bangi-dong Food Alley, so it’s very easy to reach. It’s also perfect for a meal before or after visiting Jamsil Station, Lotte World Tower, Seokchon Lake, or Lotte World. 👍

Because it is open 24 hours, you can eat here whenever you visit. If you’re in Jamsil craving Korean food and wondering where to go, this is an easy, no-pressure choice.

A clean interior with solo-dining seats

The interior has always been clean, with a range of seating including tables for two, tables for four, and solo-dining seats. Since it specializes in hangover food and stays open 24 hours, it’s also great for eating alone. Looking at the menu, there are so many choices—seriously, so many.

• Rice soups: sundae gukbap (blood sausage rice soup), suyuk gukbap (boiled pork rice soup), pork jowl suyuk gukbap, offal gukbap, ppyeo haejangguk (pork bone hangover soup), samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup)
• Hot pots: bone gamjatang, sundae-gopchang jeongol (blood sausage and intestines hot pot)
• Drinking dishes: assorted boiled pork, blood sausage and pork-head meat, blood sausage and pork jowl, sulguk (boozy soup), mung bean pancake, seafood scallion pancake
• Extras: pressed pork-head meat, fire-grilled meat, plate of sundae, seasoned pollock sashimi, seasoned boiled dumplings, DIY rice balls

Even the medium gamjatang is generous

I was once completely hooked on this place’s pork jowl boiled-pork set meal and ordered only that over and over, but lately I’ve been into gamjatang, so of course I ordered the medium gamjatang again this time. Gamjatang elsewhere is usually divided into small, medium, and large, but this place only has medium and large. Boseung Hoegwan’s medium costs about what a small does elsewhere, yet gives you much more food, so it’s a truly great-value spot.

They are also running a Naver receipt and Google review event. Scan the QR code at each table, write a review, and show it to a staff member to receive one canned drink, so don’t forget to claim the perk. The basic table setting is simple: kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), kimchi, and a soy-mustard sauce.

Just so you know, rice is not included with the gamjatang, so we ordered two extra bowls! It arrived partially cooked, and the hot-pot pan was wide from side to side and deep, too.

Honestly, this is a portion for 3 to 4 people, not just 2. It is packed with ugeoji (dried cabbage greens), potatoes, glass noodles, scallions, and tteokbokki rice cakes, so generously that there’s no need to add extra noodles or greens.

Once the hot pot is bubbling away, lower it to medium-low heat and dig in.

The generous use of ugeoji gives the broth a deep flavor, and the meat is seriously big and substantial!

I’ve had plenty of disappointing meals elsewhere—some places have tough meat, and some have meat that smells—but absolutely none of that here. It is simmered so thoroughly that it comes apart easily without any effort, and the balance of meat and fat makes it tender and savory. The meat is so substantial and the portion so generous that it would be great as a drinking snack, too.

You absolutely can’t leave out kkakdugi and kimchi at a gukbap restaurant! Add some kkakdugi to the spicy hangover soup and it keeps refreshing your palate, so you just keep eating, haha.

With chains that offer many different dishes, rather than a place that focuses on just one dish, you might wonder whether they lack depth... But Boseung Hoegwan has almost no branch-to-branch variation among the chains I’ve tried, and it is consistently delicious wherever you go. A great Jamsil spot for a hangover meal or simply a satisfying meal—I’ll be back again soon!