Gongpyeongdong KkomjangeoGrilled Hagfish, Salt First, and the Texture Is the Point

What kkomjangeo is

Hagfish. Eel-shaped but a different animal, and in Korea it is grilled at the table as drinking food. It is a Busan speciality that spread nationwide.

It is worth trying once. And to get the two worries out of the way:

• There is no off smell. Nothing fishy or muddy. This is the thing people expect and it is not there
• The texture is what is unfamiliar. It is springy and firm, with real chew. If you expect soft fish you will be surprised — it is closer to squid or tripe. Whether you enjoy that is the whole question

What it looks like

On the wire grill, seasoned grill ingredients, thick-cut meat, mushrooms and big pieces of rice cake are all piled together. The meat tossed in red seasoning gathers to the right and top, and chunks of white tteok sit in the middle. Mushrooms with grill marks are also visible, and next to the grill you can make out a sauce dish, a rice dish and something yellow that looks like a side.

Menu words

• Kkomjangeo refers to hagfish, usually seasoned and grilled
• Sogeum-gui means grilled with only salt, without a marinade
• Tteok is rice cake, grilled and dipped in sauce

Order the salt version first

I prefer the salt-grilled one — no marinade, just salt, grilled with oyster mushrooms and rice cake.

Without a marinade you taste the fish itself and feel the texture directly. For a first time, this is the right choice.

The spicy marinated version is well liked too. That is the red one in the photo, with garlic scapes, grilled almost like a stir-fry. People I go with order this one happily. Getting both and splitting them works.

Rice cake and mushrooms go on the grill too. On the spicy side the rice cake soaks up the marinade and becomes its own thing.

• The salt version is not spicy. If you cannot handle chilli, order that one
• You grill it yourself. It arrives on the hot plate and you turn it as it cooks. Ask the staff if it is your first time

Open until midnight

The practical strength of this place.

• Midnight on weekdays. It works as a second or third stop of the evening
• Open Sundays too (2:00 to 10:00 PM). Old-school Seoul drinking spots that open on Sunday are not common
• Saturday starts at 2:00 PM. Do not go in the morning
• 2 to 5 minutes on foot from Jonggak station exit 4. It fits a Gwanghwamun or Insadong day
• Want a solid dinner first? Sigoljip, for LA galbi in Euljiro's rib alley, is in the same Jongno area and works well as a first stop before this one

If you are planning an early daytime drink, call first to confirm the opening time.

This fits your night if

• ✅ You want something to eat alongside soju
• ✅ You like food with chew (if you enjoy squid or tripe, this is for you)
• ✅ You want to try an ingredient you will not meet at home
• ✅ You need somewhere open late, or on a Sunday
• ✅ You cannot handle spicy food (order the salt version)
• ⚠️ The springy texture may be a shock. Do not expect soft fish
• ⚠️ This is a drinking place more than a meal place
• ⚠️ Saturday opens at 2 PM, Sunday ends at 10 PM