Hankookjip Centerfield YeoksamJeonju bibimbap since 1952, now in Gangnam

The seasoned greens and the gochujang

The seasoned greens and the house gochujang sauce work well together. No need to brace yourself for the gochujang — it's really not that spicy. Order one of the bibimbap set meals and you get a small side of bulgogi too, and the combination works surprisingly well.

This visit was honestly an ordering mistake — I ended up with the bibimbap set and the bulgogi home-style set, and looking back, I wish I'd tried the octopus bibimbap. Still, nothing was over-seasoned, and it had been a while since I'd had good Jeonju-style bibimbap.

What it looks like on the tray

In the black stone pot, white shredded radish, yellow egg strips, stir-fried beef, spinach, pieces of seaweed and a red kimchi topping sit around the edge, and in the center a single ginkgo nut and a dab of gochujang rest on the beef. The sides come in brass bowls: pickled green chilies, black beans, kimchi and a clear soup with bean sprouts, with bulgogi served separately.

Menu words

• Bibimbap is rice topped with seasoned vegetables, meat and gochujang, mixed together. A dolsot is a heated stone pot that keeps the rice hot and lightly crisps the bottom
• Gochujang is a fermented chili paste. The one here is on the mild side
• Bulgogi is thin-sliced beef marinated in a sweet soy seasoning
• Jeongsik means a set meal where the main dish comes with side dishes and soup

The essentials

• Location — 231 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, B2 Centerfield EAST.
• Station — About a 10-minute walk from Yeoksam Station (Line 2); a similar distance from Seolleung Station.
• Hours — 11 AM-8 PM both weekdays and weekends (weekend break 3-5 PM).
• Menu — Dolsot bibimbap is the base order; octopus and yukhoe bibimbap sets are also available.

Worth knowing

• Hankookjip has been around since 1952 and is considered one of the places that helped popularize Jeonju bibimbap. It also has a branch inside the Lotte Department Store main store.
• The gochujang runs mild, so it's fine even if you're not great with spice.
• It's in the basement dining area of Centerfield in Gangnam, so weekday lunches get busy with office workers.

This lunch works if

• ✅ You want an easy taste of Jeonju-style bibimbap in Gangnam
• ✅ You're looking for a gochujang that isn't very spicy
• ✅ You need a lunch spot near Centerfield
• ✅ You're craving a hot, spicy stew for dinner in Gangnam later — Daewoo Budae-jjigae, also on Teheran-ro, is close by
• ⚠️ You want a really spicy bibimbap — this one runs mild
• ⚠️ You're going right at noon on a weekday — it can get crowded