Songpa Korean BBQ for three beef offal cuts: Jinseong

It is on the first floor at 19 Olympic-ro 32-gil, Songpa-gu, Seoul. Hours are Mon–Thu 16:00–23:00, Fri 16:00–24:00, Sat 13:00–24:00, and Sun 15:00–24:00; last orders are one hour before closing. There is no dedicated parking.

How long was the Saturday evening wait?

After a walk around Seokchon Lake, I was suddenly craving gopchang (beef small intestine), so I visited the Bangi-dong beef gopchang spot, Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch. When I arrived around 5:40 p.m. on Saturday, there were about two parties ahead of me, and I got in at 6.

When I came out around 7:30 p.m. after finishing my meal... there were more than 10 parties waiting. If you are visiting on the weekend, I recommend reserving or coming a little before the usual dinner rush!

Inside the restaurant and the waiting seats

There are chairs outside for waiting guests. I sat in those chairs too... and the smell of gopchang grilling while I waited made me so hungry. It was tough!

The menu and complimentary side dishes

There are three cuts on the menu: gopchang, daechang (beef large intestine), and makchang (beef abomasum), with gopchang as the signature. For sides, they have kkakdugi fried rice and anchovy noodles, and the menu says steamed rice is not sold separately.

As soon as you sit down, they bring over their “three homemade kimchi brothers” and cut them into easy-to-eat pieces. You get altari radish kimchi, green onion kimchi, and mustard-leaf kimchi—three deeply savory kimchis with a southern Korean feel!! They would be so good with a bite of plain white rice.

A little after ordering, they brought warm steamed egg. It settled my stomach nicely before the rich gopchang.

One platter with three portions of gopchang, daechang, and makchang

I wanted to try a variety, so I ordered one portion each of gopchang, daechang, and makchang. Along with the three cuts, the platter came with garlic chives, kimchi, rice cakes, cabbage, bean sprouts, and other vegetables. I love having vegetables alongside grilled meat, so I was very happy with this part!

Seeing the platter piled high, I thought, okay, this really is a Bangi-dong place that gives you plenty.

Once the food arrived, they set a five-minute timer. After five minutes, they flipped all the meat once, then three minutes later cut it into bite-size pieces.

The signature gopchang, full of filling

🥩 Gopchang ₩19,000 Oh... now I see why it is the signature menu. The gopchang was packed with filling. Once nicely browned, it was so, so nutty and wonderfully chewy.

One thing, though: because there is so much filling inside, if you eat it straight away while it is hot, it can burst out and burn your mouth. Please be careful!

Daechang with garlic sauce

🥩 Daechang ₩19,000 Even as it cooked up plump, the daechang looked incredibly appetizing.

Daechang is usually so fatty that it can become a bit much after a while, but with the garlic sauce full of Cheongyang chili peppers and pickled minari (water parsley), I could keep eating it without feeling overwhelmed by the richness.

Chewy makchang with bean sprouts and garlic chives

🥩 Makchang ₩20,000 The makchang was definitely much chewier than the gopchang and daechang. Its texture really came through as the outside browned, and it was much better with the vegetables served alongside it. Personally, I liked it best with the grilled bean sprouts and garlic chives.

Kkakdugi fried rice to finish

🍚 Kkakdugi fried rice ₩9,000 You cannot skip fried rice after eating gopchang. The fried rice came in a stone-pot-style bowl topped with kkakdugi, seaweed flakes, and egg, and it looked delicious from the start.

After mixing the fried rice, I topped it with the remaining makchang, daechang, gopchang, and grilled vegetables and took a bite—insane. You absolutely have to order the kkakdugi fried rice!!!! I was so full after all that gopchang, but I still swept up every single grain...

My overall take after trying all three cuts

I ordered one portion each of makchang, gopchang, and daechang, so I could try the different cuts evenly. I loved that each had a different texture, and personally, the gopchang was the best!

The portions were so large that I would call this a great-value Bangi-dong beef gopchang restaurant... I had planned to order one portion of each, taste them, then add another portion of my favorite. But even three portions were more than filling enough, so next time I am wondering if I should order just two.

If you want a generous serving of gopchang, makchang, and daechang in Bangi-dong, I totally recommend Jinseong Hanwoo Gopchang Bangi Direct Branch. And especially, do not forget to order the ⭐️kkakdugi fried rice at the end⭐️