Gangseo Seoul Korean restaurant for giant octopus nakgopsae

Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch, a walk from Balsan Station

I once visited a pretty famous nakgopsae spot in Suwon and got served some truly awful, bottom-of-the-barrel nakgopsae. I was so annoyed that I stayed away from nakgopsae for three years. But a close friend strongly recommended this as one of her repeat-visit places, so I finally worked up the nerve to go.

Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch is a five-minute walk from Exit 6 of Balsan Station. It is on the main road in Naebalsan-dong, so walk a little from the Balsan Station intersection toward Ujangsan Station and you’ll find it.

A comfortable interior and a wide nakgopsae menu

The interior is extremely comfortable and clean. It would be perfectly good for a group get-together, too. What caught my eye most was the high-resolution screen in the middle of the restaurant. It would be just right to come here and watch football or baseball later on.

The signature dishes are Korean beef large intestine nakgopsae and beef tripe nakgopsae. Nakgopsae is a spicy stew with octopus, beef intestine, and shrimp. There are also nakwoosae, naksamsae, beef tripe hot pot, beef tripe gopdoritang, spicy chicken feet with broth, and so much more, so there’s a broad range to choose from.

Receipt review event

For a photo review, you can receive one add-on—udon, ramen, or glass noodles—50 g of sliced beef brisket, or one canned drink. For a video review, you can get fried rice with flying-fish roe, pineapple sherbet, or one highball.

The side dishes are seaweed soup, water kimchi, cubed radish kimchi, pickled radish wraps, perilla leaves, and mayonnaise sauce. I’m more of a perilla-leaf person than a lettuce person, and they had both perilla leaves and pickled radish wraps—just all my favorites together, haha.

Ordering the medium beef tripe nakgopsae

• Medium beef tripe nakgopsae ₩34,900
• Two steamed rice bowls ₩1,000 each

We ordered the medium beef tripe nakgopsae. It is a good amount for two to three people. My friend strongly recommended the Korean beef large intestine version, saying it was the real deal, but my stubborn self ended up choosing the nakgopsae anyway, haha. Rice is not included, so you need to order it separately!

This is nakgopsae: octopus, Korean beef large intestine, and shrimp. First of all, the octopus and shrimp were seriously on another level in size. There were also generous portions of rice-cake and glass-noodle add-ons.

Gently spicy broth and generously filled tripe

Waiting for it to cook was torture, but those who endure the wait get to eat first-rate food, haha. Can you see how packed the tripe is? The owner’s philosophy that good ingredients are a given is right there inside the tripe 😊

The standard spice level seems mildly spicy. It could be a bit hot for children. For my older-man palate, it was just right—enough to make me sweat a little.

Wrapping the octopus, tripe, shrimp, and rice in a perilla leaf was great, and it also went really well with pickled radish wraps. Can you see the size of that octopus? 🦑 You can roughly imagine it from the size of the pickled radish wrap. Size aside, it was not tough at all—just tender.

Lastly, we added the udon noodles we received through the review event. They cooked the udon separately before bringing it out. Personally, I think I prefer the glass noodles to the udon? Anyway, we cleaned every last bit of it up.

Next time, I’m coming back for nakdaesae

Gungmin Nakgopsae Gangseo Branch feels like it could become my regular spot. The ingredients were fresh and so big, which I absolutely loved. My boyfriend has been saying he wants a proper Korean meal lately, and he ate it so happily too, haha. I’m so proud. Owner, I’ll be back soon to try the nakdaesae. Another delicious meal today 👍