Korean BBQ near Gayang Station in Seoul, 5 dishes for two: Gamgol

I need to go get my stomach oiled up at a Korean BBQ place every so often, haha! I happened to spot a place near Gayang Station that looked amazingly good — Gamgol Yeontanjip (감골연탄집), the Gayang Station branch — so I went and checked it out.

It's right in front of Gayang Station, so it's super accessible. Even though it was a bit early in the evening, it was already pretty packed.

Inside Gamgol Yeontanjip, right by Gayang Station

It was nearly full so I couldn't get great shots of the interior, but there's a self-serve bar and the tables are quite spacious. All the staff were super friendly too.

There were even a few menu items not listed here...!

What we ordered for two, and prices

• Kkodeulsal (chewy pork jowl) ₩17,900
• Juljuli teukmoksal (thick-cut pork neck) ₩15,900
• Gochujang charcoal bulgogi ₩14,900
• Cuttlefish mul-hoe (cold noodle soup) ₩11,900
• Grilled tulip chicken feet ₩13,900
• Total ₩74,500

Heotgae tea comes out as a default drink. It's nuttier and much tastier than plain water.

Dipping sauces with name tags, and side dishes

You get handmade ssamjang (soybean dipping paste), a one-of-a-kind basil ssamjang, mill-style sesame oil sauce, sweet potato salad, and pickled peppers. I liked that everything had its name written out like this.

The basil ssamjang was definitely fragrant and delicious, and the ssamjang and sesame oil sauce were, well, obviously good — could they ever be bad? The sweet potato salad was soft and sweet, perfect as a palate cleanser between bites. The pickled peppers were tangy and spicy too, great for cutting through the richness of the meat.

Crisp fresh lettuce, garlic, and sliced green onions also came out.

Kimchi came out too — grilled, it gets really nutty and has just the right amount of tang. Delicious.

The meat, served in a three-tier pot

Next the meat came out, served in this three-section pot(?), which was pretty striking.

Apparently it's best to grill and eat through the three tiers in order, but I didn't know that and just laid everything out to take photos... so we ended up eating it in no particular order.

Kkodeulsal (chewy pork jowl) ₩17,900

Kkodeulsal is chewy and fatty, so it's usually better to eat the pork neck first before this one! But I was curious, so I just dove in first anyway. It's definitely nutty and has that signature chewy texture. The texture was better and more appealing than regular pork belly.

Kimchi grilled in pork fat is also way tastier and pairs perfectly with the meat. With meat and kimchi together, you can keep eating forever without getting sick of it.

Juljuli teukmoksal (thick-cut pork neck) ₩15,900

The pork neck was sliced really thick, and it had a comparatively mild, tender texture that I really loved. My favorite cut of pork is always pork neck, it seems. It's tender, moderately fatty yet clean-tasting, and you can really taste the meaty flavor.

Gochujang charcoal bulgogi ₩14,900

You just mix it well and grill — it's bulgogi so it cooks fast.

Seasoned meat is basically always good, no exceptions. It was thinly sliced, tender, and the seasoning had soaked in nicely, giving it a perfect sweet-salty-spicy balance. Delicious on its own, delicious wrapped in lettuce! If you ate it with rice, you'd polish off a whole bowl in no time.

Cuttlefish mul-hoe ₩11,900, a summer-only menu item

I'd never had cuttlefish mul-hoe before, but it seemed to be a limited-time summer item, so I couldn't resist ordering it. I didn't expect much, but it came with a generous amount of noodles and the portion was pretty large. It was piled high with fresh cuttlefish on top...

It's cool and subtly sweet, so great to sip on while eating meat! The cuttlefish had this really chewy, luscious texture that was exactly my type. I had no idea cuttlefish could taste like this — it even had a bit of a sweet shrimp vibe, rich and sweet. Really enjoyed it. With the noodles included, it was pretty filling too.

My first-ever chicken feet: grilled tulip chicken feet ₩13,900

The main event... chicken feet. Honestly, neither my friend nor I had ever had chicken feet in our lives... but since it was on the menu, we figured anything grilled here would probably taste good, so we worked up the courage to try it.

Mayonnaise comes out alongside it.

Once it was well grilled and nicely browned, I tried a piece — chewy, with a bit of that pig's-trotter-skin kind of feel, and really appealing.

The sauce was pretty spicy, but it hit that perfect sweet-spicy balance that's addictive. Since it's chicken feet, it's more about the skin and collagen-y bits than actual meat, and I get why it's so popular now. My friend and I are always more into lean meat, so it felt a bit unfamiliar at first, but we kept reaching for more anyway. If you like chicken feet, highly recommend!

Even dessert slush at the end

For dessert, you can each take a cup of slush on your way out.

Between plum and omija (five-flavor berry), I had a cup of the omija flavor — tangy and sweet, and delicious. Perfect palate cleanser to finish.

To wrap up

Gamgol Yeontanjip, the Gayang Station branch! Chewy, nutty kkodeulsal, thick and tender pork neck, sweet-spicy rice-thief gochujang bulgogi, richly sweet cuttlefish mul-hoe, and chewy sweet-spicy grilled tulip chicken feet — every single dish was genuinely delicious. Somehow we ended up ordering five dishes for two people... but that's how good it all was. If you're looking for a Korean BBQ spot near Gayang Station, I highly recommend this place!