Yumibun Gimbap, Dangsan: A 23-Year Snack Shop With 10 Million Rolls Sold (and Amazing Dakgangjeong)

This visit was sponsored by Yumibun Gimbap. As always, all opinions are my own.

Every Korean neighborhood has a bunsik (snack food) shop. But one that has been running for 23 years is a different story. Yumibun Gimbap’s main branch near Dangsan Station has sold more than ten million rolls of gimbap — and its dakgangjeong (sweet crispy fried chicken) tastes like something from a fancy department store food hall.

Name	Yumibun Gimbap, Dangsan main branch (유미분김밥 당산 본점)
Address	1F, 4 Dangsan-ro 38-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul 서울 영등포구 당산로38길 4 1층
Getting there	Near Dangsan Station and Yeongdeungpo-gu Office Station
Price	Gimbap ₩5,000–8,000 · dakgangjeong ₩13,000 · tteokbokki ₩7,000
Good to know	Dine-in hall · takeout · customer parking · free seaweed soup refills
Order ahead	By phone (0507-1467-0376) or Naver Order for quick pickup
Disclosure	Sponsored visit

Finding it

Look for the bright orange sign marked “Since 2004.” There are benches out front and a few parking spaces reserved for customers — rare for a casual spot near Dangsan Station.

23 years, now run by the second generation

The shop’s history is posted on the wall. It opened in 2004 and is now run by the second generation of the family. A counter shows total gimbap sales — over ten million rolls and still climbing. All branches are now directly operated.

A real dining room, great for solo meals

After 23 years, they moved into a bigger space with a proper dining hall. Tables are well spaced, there are window seats, and the floral tiles and lighting make it feel nothing like a cramped old snack shop. It is easy to eat alone here, and lots of office workers come for lunch.

Ingredients on display

I loved this: the wall lists where every ingredient comes from — Sindongjin rice, vegetables from Garak Market, laver (seaweed) from Korea’s south coast and sesame oil from a grain market in Suwon.

Free seaweed soup refills

There is a self-service bar with unlimited miyeok-guk (seaweed soup), plus bowls, spoons and pickled radish. A warm bowl of soup with gimbap makes it a proper meal.

Menu highlights

The menu is much bigger than you would expect.

• Gimbap — Mom’s ₩5,000 · Owner’s ₩5,500 · double cheese ₩6,000 · tuna ₩6,500 · seasoned dried squid ₩6,500 · aged kimchi & tuna ₩8,000 · fresh salmon ₩12,000 (limited)
• Chicken — sweet dakgangjeong ₩13,000 · fried chicken ₩12,000
• Lunch box for one — any gimbap + ₩5,500 (adds a small dakgangjeong)
• Snacks — rice-cake tteokbokki ₩7,000 · rabokki ₩9,000 · egg ramyeon ₩5,000 · long gimmari (fried seaweed rolls, 2 pcs) ₩3,500
• Pasta tteokbokki (1.5 servings) — bacon cream, bacon rosé or shrimp toowoomba ₩15,000
• Rice dishes — Spam kimchi fried rice ₩10,500 · spicy pork rice bowl ₩11,000 · shrimp omurice ₩12,000 · giant pork cutlet ₩12,000
• Draft beer ₩2,500

Tuna gimbap (₩6,500)

Packed with tuna. They let the rice cool slightly before rolling, so the slices hold together. Mild and comforting, like gimbap your mom would pack.

Sweet dakgangjeong (₩13,000) — the star

Fried three times the traditional way, it is glossy, crispy outside and juicy inside, with good-quality chicken. It is quite sweet — I loved it. The portion was bigger than expected, and when I mentioned it they gave me a free container to take the rest home.

Rice-cake tteokbokki (₩7,000) and long gimmari (₩3,500)

The rice cakes are chewy, with big pieces of fish cake and green onion in a mild sauce that goes well with gimbap. The gimmari comes out freshly fried and very long — cut it and dip it in the tteokbokki sauce.

With gimbap, chicken, tteokbokki and gimmari, our table was a full bunsik course.

Zoapik’s verdict

– Sweet dakgangjeong (₩13,000) — glossy, triple-fried, crispy and juicy – Tuna gimbap (₩6,500) — generous filling, gentle flavor – Rice-cake tteokbokki (₩7,000) — chewy, mild sauce – Long gimmari (₩3,500) — freshly fried and crispy – Unlimited seaweed soup at the self-service bar – Ingredient origins posted on the wall – Dining hall for solo meals, plus customer parking – Heads-up: the dakgangjeong is quite sweet — choose the plain fried chicken if you don’t like sweet

I would go back for the dakgangjeong alone. Next time I am trying the shrimp toowoomba pasta tteokbokki.