Gangnam BBQ with 200g pork belly and seasoned oysters: Kkondae Kim

Hey, it's Ugi. Already September, and I was surprised how cool the mornings have gotten. Then at lunchtime you think, this isn't bad? and it's still 30 degrees... maybe it just feels less hot in comparison, haha. No tropical nights anymore, so sleeping with the window open gets a little chilly toward dawn, but it's a nice cool sleep, haha.

Anyway, we're slowly heading into fall!! Take care of your health and let's finish out the rest of 2026 properly, haha.

Today's not a post with Minja — it's a review from hanging out with a friend. We both live near Gangnam Station, so we met up there, ate until we were stuffed and happy, and this is that place: Kkondae Kim Bujang Gogi-jip.

Kkondae Kim Bujang Gogi-jip Gangnam Station Branch: a measured 200g per portion

Kkondae Kim Bujang Gogi-jip Gangnam Station Branch serves 200g per portion. Since it's near Gangnam Station, it also works as a lunch spot for office workers.

They also have my favorite, zucchini stew (thick, loaded with pork and potato) — the look of it alone made me want to try it.

What's the whole identity of a BBQ restaurant? The meat!! And here it's 200g. Portion sizes vary a lot place to place these days, but true to its "old-school boss" (kkondae) name, Kim Bujang keeps a full 200g standard. Two thumbs up, all the way down to my big toe.

What is the entrance lighting and interior mood like?

The entrance of Kkondae Kim Bujang Gogi-jip Gangnam Station Branch is decorated really nicely. The lights weren't on when we went in so I didn't notice, but when we came out after eating, the lights had turned on and it looked soft and pretty.

It doubles as a date spot with good atmosphere — honestly a bit too nice for two guys just grabbing dinner, haha (sorry, buddy...). Would love to bring Minja here sometime too!!

I didn't take many interior photos — over 70% of tables were already occupied so I didn't want to be intrusive, and only shot a few empty spots. The space itself is very spacious, so it'd be easy to host a group dinner here. The table next to us was celebrating a work dinner and having a great time — their energy was so high I was almost jealous, haha.

The meat aging fridge inside Kkondae Kim Bujang

This is the aging fridge. All that meat ripening deliciously in there... I wanted to sneak in and grab just 10 portions to eat, haha.

These days aged meat is everywhere and more places confidently show off their freezers too, so customers seem to be getting pickier about this and deciding based on it. Kim Bujang keeps things properly clean and systematic here too, true to its old-school-boss style. Another point in its favor!!

Side dishes at Kkondae Kim Bujang: the seasoned oysters are the star

Here are the side dishes. Full of ingredients I love!! Old-style sausage, seasoned oyster salad, seasoned squid, lettuce wraps, acorn jelly, salted pollock roe, and more — plenty of sides you could make a whole meal out of.

Those seasoned oysters in particular were really, really good. Great on top of the meat, and also amazing wrapped in lettuce with pork skin.

Staff grill the pork belly at your table

Finally, the meat!! The color was vivid and the fat-to-meat ratio was exactly my kind of ratio. At Kkondae Kim Bujang Gogi-jip Gangnam Station Branch, staff grill everything for you directly, so we just chatted and watched. I'm decent at grilling meat myself, but there's no comparing to someone who does this job every single day...

The pork belly cross-section was cooking beautifully. Cut into perfect bite-size pieces, both sides cooked evenly — done!! That sizzling sound never gets old. It's one of the biggest reasons I love meat, haha. Always puts me in a good mood... When you're feeling down, head straight to the meat!!

Soju with grilled pork skin

Of course soju had to make an appearance once we got going. The meat was chewy as expected and the fat tasted rich and savory. For me, salt is still the best — I skip everything else, dip a piece straight in salt, knock back a shot of soju, then chew on the meat right after...!! Pure bliss, haha. Absolute heaven, haha... Really, really delicious.

And the pork skin isn't something to sleep on either. Eaten hot, right as the fat has just melted, it's tender; once it cools a bit it can feel chewier, but personally I prefer that slightly chewy texture even more. Truly... I'm so grateful to have been born into a world where you can eat pork skin to your heart's content, TT.

Between the drinking and the eating and catching up on everything we'd missed, closing time snuck up on us, haha. That's my review of Kkondae Kim Bujang Gogi-jip Gangnam Station Branch for today.

Is Kkondae Kim Bujang worth it? Overall verdict

• Great accessibility near Gangnam Station — the biggest advantage is that anyone can meet up here without complaint for a work dinner, group gathering, or date in Gangnam — also recommended as a group meetup spot for a Gangnam Station favorite.
• Very high meat quality → this was the best part. Just being able to eat delicious meat at a reasonable price makes it worth visiting.
• A wide range of home-style side dishes → having so many sides to eat with the meat made the whole meal more enjoyable. Personally, wrapping lettuce with pork skin and oysters and dipping it in salt was absolutely amazing...