Over 50 years ago, an old grandmother on a small street in Dongin-dong, Daegu, started serving galbijjim as anju for patrons drinking alcohol. The establishment was your average hole-in-the-wall, but there was something magical about the old woman’s recipe for the meaty stew. Word spread fast and people from all over the region began to make their way to her little place near Daegu’s city hall. An old rumor has it that the local butchers of that time used axes to cut up the galbi to be used for the stew and in one case, shards of the axe must have made it into someone’s meal, which led them to hastily scurry off to the hospital. Whether it’s true or not, the positive buzz certainly outweighed anything bad, as over time, other entrepreneurs decided to cash in on the craze and began opening up galbijjim restaurants on the same street. The food became less of an anju and started to become the feature entree.

It wasn’t until the early 70’s that the area started becoming renowned as 동인동 찜갈비골목 (Dongin-dong Galbijim Alley) and despite the grandmother’s original location eventually closing, the famous street has now grown to 14 restaurants serving the popular dish, which still regularly attracts young Koreans, chattering ajummas, and local government officials from nearby city hall. With so many establishments jockeying for position on the small stretch of road, you’d expect a heightened atmosphere of competitiveness, with the resident ajummas standing at the door, calling out to passerbys and ensuring everyone knows that their place is the most delicious/the original/the spiciest, etc…But in fact, the proprietors are anything but. In fact, they collectively support each other and their interest to promote their street, so much as they often swap recipe secrets and tips on which local butcher is currently offering the best deals, etc…

Best way to get here is to walk to the northeast corner of Gukchaebosang Park (the corner where the skateboarders tend to congregate) and cross north to the KT Building. Then once across, cross east to the other side of the street. Then go left and walk for a few minutes and look for the small sign on a pole (it’ll be written in English) pointing you the way to the alley.

A ‘must visit’ for any Daegu-ite. Just tell them to go easy with the axe.