Chamchinara, Guui-dong: A Hidden Tuna Omakase That Grills Gopchang Too

Earlier that day I'd been at COEX for the closing day of Frieze Seoul. Dinner was in Guui-dong, Gwangjin-gu, near Gangbyeon Station on the east side of Seoul.

The sign reads 참치나라 (Chamchinara, "Tuna Land") in blue brush lettering, with おまかせ 오마카세 (omakase) underneath. Inside, a wooden counter with the feel of a nopo, one of Korea's long-running, no-frills neighbourhood joints.

Bottom line first: a hidden omakase gem, and seriously good. If I lived anywhere near Guui, I'd honestly go every day.

It starts with udon and Chungha

We sat down around 9 p.m., and udon was the first thing on the wooden counter: clear broth, thick noodles, fried tofu and green onion in a round wood-grain bowl.

Next to it: a green bottle of Chungha (a Korean clear rice wine), a shot glass and a paper cup. A black dish holds pickled garlic and thin white pickled slices, with a few packets of seasoned laver (gim) stacked behind.

A seaweed-lined bamboo mat, the first round of tuna

Then the house format appears. A bamboo mat sits on a wooden tray, piled with fine, dark green seaweed like a nest, and the sashimi goes on top.

Round one has two kinds: pink tuna slices on the left and white slices flecked with red on the right, with radish sprouts in the middle and wasabi in the corner. A glass soy-sauce dispenser stands alongside.

Whelks and grilled fish

Next, a three-section white dish: two pieces of skin-on grilled orange-fleshed fish, a pile of boiled whelks with a small fork, and two browned chunks of grilled fish, each on a perilla leaf.

Thick-cut red tuna

The mat gets refilled. This time it's deep red tuna cut thick, almost into cubes, plus two red-flecked white slices. The pieces are bigger and thicker than round one.

The portions of tuna are generous.

Gopchang on the side, then abalone

It's a tuna place, and yet they grill gopchang (beef small intestine) for you on the side. I haven't seen that anywhere else.

A black stone plate holds browned pieces of gopchang, grilled alongside whole garlic cloves with char marks, blistered shishito-like peppers and halved green-onion whites.

One side of the mat gets thin slices of abalone, the dark frilled edge still attached, with a few radish sprouts and a pink slice of sashimi in front.

The mat keeps filling until you're full

The refills keep coming. Several long slices of pink tuna with white streaks running through, a red chunk, a white slice.

Then red tuna and abalone, then big pink and white slices again. The seaweed stays put; only what sits on top changes. It goes on until you're stuffed.

Rice balls wrapped in green laver

Between rounds, a different plate: four rice balls on a blue floral dish. Rice mixed with black sesame is wrapped in loose green laver (parae-gim) and topped with orange roe and a brown piece.

Pajeon and seafood ramyeon to finish

A white square dish of dark brown pieces that look braised comes out once, and then the pancake.

Pajeon (Korean green-onion pancake) on a blue-rimmed plate, cut into four triangles and browned in patches, with green onion showing through.

Last, seafood ramyeon: curly noodles in red broth in a white bowl, topped with clams, shrimp, white pieces of seafood and dried vegetable flakes.

By this point you are completely full.

Near midnight, the sign on the way out

It was close to midnight when we left. 참치 (tuna) in blue brush lettering on white, 나라 (land) small beneath it, then おまかせ 오마카세, and 02-447-0119 in red at the bottom. A second copy of the sign hangs inside the window, under a row of bare bulbs.

The door has a notice made of menu pictures, with 참치 (tuna) and 해물모듬숙회 (assorted blanched seafood) at the top and, in big letters at the bottom, 일요일은 쉽니다: "Closed on Sundays."

Practical info

📍 Chamchinara (참치나라) · around Gangbyeon-yeok-ro, Guui 3-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul (near Gangbyeon Station, Line 2)

• 📅 Visited: Saturday, September 5, 2026, dinner
• ☎️ Phone: 02-447-0119
• 🗓️ Closed: Sundays
• 🗺️ Map: View on Google Maps

Jayden's verdict

A hidden omakase gem. If I lived near Guui, I'd honestly go every day.

• Order this: the tuna that keeps coming on the bamboo mat, and the gopchang they grill on the side.
• Price and portions: fair prices, generous tuna, and they keep feeding you until you're stuffed.
• Going back?: 100%.
• Tip: closed on Sundays, so for a weekend visit, go on Saturday. My afternoon that day is in the Frieze Seoul post.