More than ten years ago there was a time when Yeoksam/Seolleung was the hottest area in Seoul. After the venture bubble burst and alternatives like Gasan Digital Complex, Guro Digital Complex and Pangyo came along it fell out of fashion, but lately it feels like it is trying to become the startup hub again. That is because rents dropped once the big N-companies moved en masse to Pangyo. And if a startup hits it big here, this area could become the center of the startup bubble all over again. What goes around comes around.

Anyway, since I work in IT, I do end up going to Seolleung now and then. I was meeting some industry people and wondering where to go, so we went to Kimdoni, a place that is supposedly doing well around here.

The place is fairly close to Seolleung Station. A while back I saw a review on Twitter saying the tastiest thing on the menu was the somaek (soju and beer), but it is not that bad; the meat itself is decent. The Jeju black pork trend went out of season ages ago and there are specialist places all over town (one per neighborhood?), but not all of them serve it properly, so at this price this is pretty good. A bit further along there is Heukdonga at Samseong Station, and I do not think there is much difference between the two. The only problem, as with every barbecue place, is that the smell soaks heavily into your clothes, which might bother women or the fashionistas.

The sign

It was a cold day, but the line was still pretty long.

Jeju black pork

The quality of the meat is good. When this first came out I thought, wow, Korea has pork like this too, but these days it has to be at least this good to be worth eating.

Kimchi jjigae

You can fry rice in it. Nothing special taste-wise.

If you need to grill some meat near Seolleung Station, it would not be a bad choice. But honestly, when it comes to good places nearby there is also Malta Chamchi, the tuna place – even though I am not a fan of frozen tuna – so I am not sure I will have a reason to come back here. In other words, next time someone needs gourmet-related IT consulting, take me somewhere pricier..

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