Ppulnan Hwangso Gopchang, Hongdae: One Pan of Mixed Gopchang, One Word: Best

Friday night in Hongdae. There's no shortage of gopchang places. There are too many. That's the problem.

After some deliberation, I walked into Ppulnan Hwangso Gopchang. Ppulnan hwangso means, roughly, "angry bull." The name is furious. The gopchang was not. If anything, it was downright gentle. Not a trace of gamey smell.

A 30-second glossary

• Gopchang — beef small intestine, grilled. The prize is the gop: the rich, milky fat inside.
• Daechang — beef large intestine. Fattier and richer than gopchang.
• Moeum — "assorted." Moeum gopchang puts several cuts on one pan.
• Bokkeumbap — fried rice, made at the end of the meal in the same pan, with everything the gopchang left behind.
• Gim-garu — crumbled roasted seaweed, showered over the fried rice.

Everything on one pan: mixed gopchang

Gopchang and daechang arrive in a ring on a round iron pan. Around the edge: sweet potato, rice cakes, garlic chives and kimchi. Order just the mixed platter and you get a side-by-side tasting of every cut at once, which makes it the right answer for gopchang rookies and veterans alike.

Pick up a piece of golden gopchang and it's packed with gop. The nuttiness spreads the more you chew, and the thing you worry about most at any gopchang place, the gamey smell, just isn't there. Let the daechang go a little longer until it's crispy, and its rich, fatty sweetness explodes. The grilled sweet potato and rice cakes are the supporting cast, giving your mouth a break between bites of gopchang.

My honest review comes down to one word. Best.

The law of the gopchang house: finish with fried rice

Finishing the gopchang doesn't mean you're finished. Rice gets fried in the gopchang fat and sauce left on the pan, then topped with a mountain of seaweed flakes and sesame seeds. The key move: scrape up the bits that get slightly crispy on the bottom.

Still not satisfied? Ramyeon. Get your soup fix with a red ramyeon loaded with clams and scallops, and you've completed the full Hongdae gopchang course: gopchang → fried rice → ramyeon.

What other diners say

Here are the numbers from Naver Place (Korea's go-to map and review app) as of September 2026, with the keyword labels translated, roughly. In a neighborhood overflowing with gopchang places, they stand out.

• ⭐ Visitor rating 4.84 · 5,012 reviews
• 🥇 "The food is delicious" 4,675 people
• 🥩 "Great quality meat" 2,906
• 🙂 "Friendly staff" 1,624, "Spacious" 1,248
• 👃 "Hardly any gamey smell" 797
• 📝 Most-mentioned topics in reviews: taste (3,852) > satisfaction (2,064) > service (823)

Nearly 800 people picking "hardly any gamey smell" is the highest honor a gopchang house can earn. It matches my first impression exactly.

Menu and prices

Menu	Price
Moeum gopchang — mixed gopchang (signature)	₩23,000
Hanwoo gopchang — Korean native beef small intestine (signature)	₩23,000
So makchang — beef abomasum	₩22,000
So daechang — beef large intestine	₩22,000
Teukyang — premium beef tripe	₩24,000

How to order (even with zero Korean)

• Point at 모듬곱창 on the menu, or say "Moeum gopchang juseyo" — mixed gopchang, please. If they ask how many servings, i-inbun is two and sam-inbun is three.
• When the gopchang is almost gone, ask for the fried rice: "Bap bokka juseyo" — please fry us some rice.
• Still hungry after that? "Ramyeon juseyo" — ramyeon, please.
• It opens at 16:00, last order is one hour before closing, and it's closed on Mondays.

Visit info

📍 Ppulnan Hwangso Gopchang Hongdae (뿔난황소곱창 홍대점) · 16 Wausan-ro 29ba-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul

• 🚇 Getting there: Hongik Univ. Station (Line 2 / Airport Railroad), Exit 7, about a 4-minute walk (roughly 220 m)
• 🕐 Hours: Tue–Thu 16:00–23:00, Fri–Sat 16:00–24:00, Sun 16:00–22:00 (last order one hour before closing), closed Mondays
• 💰 Price: gopchang, makchang and daechang ₩22,000–24,000
• ✅ Good to know: reservations, group seating, Wi-Fi
• 🗺️ Maps: Google Maps · Naver Map — Google Maps finds the spot and handles subway routes in Korea, but for walking directions Naver Map is more reliable.

Want your gopchang in soup form, too? There's my Wang Gopchang naejangtang review from Nakseongdae, where every spoonful comes up with gop.

Jayden's verdict

The name says angry bull. The guy walking out was all smiles.

• Mixed gopchang: ★★★★★
• Zero gamey smell: ★★★★★
• Coming back? Yes. When I'm craving gopchang in Hongdae, there's no other option.