Cycle 17 – Item 94

Post 5,938

9 (Thu) April 2026

Yangnyeom Woodae Galbi

1.5

at Pyo Gilsun Samdae Galbi

-Changgok, Sujeong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi, Republic of Korea-

with IZ

Pyo Gilsun Samdae Galbi is a Korean restaurant.  Specializes in beef and pork, grilled over live coals.  Part of a franchise chain (because of course it is).

To illustrate how quickly franchise chains proliferate these days, Pyo Gilsun Samdae Galbi launched its first restaurant on 29 January 2026 – since then, according to their website, 12 more locations have opened (as of today), with 12 additional restaurants slated through mid-May, including 2 restaurants on April 10 (tomorrow) + 1 restaurant on April 11 (day after tomorrow): that’s a rate of 1 opening every 4.7 days.  Wirye (#11) opened on April 2 (one week ago) – so new that it hasn’t yet been listed on Naver.  This is how a chain, if popular, can grow to hundreds of stores within a few years – back in 2022, I’d noted that Yeokjeon Halmeoni Maekju, founded 2016, had over 700 outlets (see generally 12.196 ‘Tis Rare Fine Beer); they opened their 1,000th by 2025, probably 1,100 by now.

After dropping off Louis Le Pieux to get a haircut, IZ wanted to eat galbi for dinner.

Gilsun’s pricing doesn’t make sense.   For example, galbisal is offered in marinated form (yangnyeom) (1) and unmarinated (2), but they’re priced the same (8,166 per 100 g), even though the former includes the weight of the marinade.  Also, the bone-in woodae galbi (3, 4) and LA galbi (5, 6) are more expensive (10,000, 10,400 per 100 g) than the boneless galbisal, even though they include the weight of the bones.  Thus, the yangneyom LA galbi (5) represents the worst value at 26,000 for 250 grams, much of which comprises bone and marinade, while the boneless unmarinated galbisal (2) offers the best value at 24,500 for 300 grams, all meat.

Woodae Galbi is a cut of beef.  It’s the short rib, cut lengthwise down the middle of the bone, with meat attached on one side – which, in English, is supposedly called the “English cut,” because that’s how they do it in England.  A relatively new thing in Korea, perhaps less than 10 years.  The term “woodae” can be a pun, meaning both “great cow” and “preferential treatment.”

In fact, I encountered woodae galbi a few years back, not realizing it as such, described as: “‘preferential treatment,’ meaning top quality” (see 14.139 LA Flower Preferential Treatment Rib).

The Yangneyom Woodae Galbi was not good.  First, the meat was inconsistently cut, some pieces big, some just slivers.  Second, the meat was not so much marbled as it was outright fatty.  Third, the marinade, as well the big chunks of raw garlic, scorched over the high heat.  A waste of time and effort and money.

A big selling point of the restaurant is soju and beer sold at 1,500 a bottle, “the price of 30 years ago.”  Which might justify a return visit – pork next time.

 (See RESTAURANTS IN KOREA)

(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)

(See HANSIK)

(See BOOZE)