Gilpost · Gangnam-gu, Sinsa-dong
Korean
GiwaKang
기와강 Giwagang Gi (氣) is the unseen energy in all things and gang (江) a river; the house says the name pictures that energy flowing like a river into each guest, and the chef behind it is Kang Min-chul.
Compiled from 7 blog posts read in fullSources →
GiwaKang is chef Kang Min-chul's Korean tasting-menu restaurant on the 4th floor of the Nara Cellar wine building at Nonhyeon-ro 152-gil 9 in Gangnam, awarded one Michelin star in 2026. There are only two menus, lunch and dinner, at 220,000 and 360,000 won as of August 2026. Courses run from seasoned caviar with dongchimi through truffled soy-crab rice and pressed chicken to hanwoo with wraps. We read 29 posts dated 23 December 2024 to 19 October 2026: 3 were about other restaurants, 19 were award lists or write-ups, and 7 describe an actual meal.
Data as of · Published ·
Location & hours
- Address서울특별시 강남구 논현로152길 9, 4층 (신사동)9 Nonhyeon-ro 152-gil, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
- Phone02-405-4357
- Typical spend₩75,000 – ₩360,000
- Floor areaFloor area 201 m² · Status In business
When it opens
Of 5 posts: 5 wrote 12:00–22:00.
| No day given | 12:00–22:00 | 5 of 5 posts |
|---|---|---|
| Break | 14:30–18:00 | 5 of 5 posts |
| Last order | 19:30 | 2 of 3 posts |
| Closed | 일요일·월요일 | 3 of 5 posts |
Counted from what bloggers wrote in their posts; we did not confirm it with the restaurant. Where the values differ, it may be a change over time rather than a disagreement, so we show when each one was written.
What sets it apart
- You reach your table by walking past the kitchen. Four of the seven diners mentioned the open kitchen, describing the corridor from the entrance to the dining room as running right alongside it. One noted that the kitchen stayed quiet enough not to distract.
- The main room is on the 4th floor and private rooms on the 5th. Two diners described the 5th-floor rooms and a third mentioned them less certainly. At the December 2024 opening, one found the six-seat room a little cramped and the eight-seat room fine. In August 2026, another diner was seated upstairs in a room without having booked one.
- Five of the seven diners praised the service. Birthdays got a chocolate plaque or a red candle, and one diner celebrating a friend found her own name added to the message. Two said sommelier Lee Jeong-in, who won the 2026 Michelin Sommelier Award, poured them an extra glass that was not on the menu. At the opening, one noticed a server speaking Japanese with guests at the next table.
- Saltiness comes up only to say it is restrained. Three diners wrote that the soy crab, the caviar, or the whole course was not salty, and no one called anything too salty.
1 more
- Portions add up. Two diners said they left full: one counted twelve courses over about three hours at dinner, and a lunch guest who expected to go hungry was full by the end.
What 7 bloggers said
ganjang gejang, beullaek teureopeul
Friendly staff
We read all 7 in full. The most common claims are “Friendly staff” (5) and “Not salty” (3).
What they liked
What they struggled with
Things you can check on site
- Open kitchen 4 of 7 posts
- Wine served 4 of 7 posts
- Takes reservations 2 of 7 posts
- In a basement saying it is not 2 of 7 posts
- Lift to the floor 2 of 7 posts
- Private room 2 of 7 posts
- Foreign customers in the room 1 of 7 posts
- Valet parking 1 of 7 posts
These are raw counts, not percentages. Someone who did not mention something is not someone who disagreed.
Parking
1 posts say you can park. None say you cannot.
| Posts saying you can park | 1 of 7 posts |
|---|
Who came, and with whom
- Date 1 of 7 posts
- Came by car 1 of 7 posts
- With a friend 1 of 7 posts
Where it is
We could not find this shop’s own listing on Naver Map, so the link searches for its Korean name around this spot instead.
Getting inside
| In a basement | yes 0 · no 2 (of 7 posts read) |
|---|---|
| Lift to the floor | 2 of 7 posts |
Two diners took the lift from the ground floor to the 4th, but no one wrote about steps at the entrance or wheelchair and stroller access. That means we don't know, not that it isn't possible.
No one wrote about the toilets: where they are, or whether they are separate for men and women.
No one mentioned: Second floor · Ramp at the door · Step at the entrance · Step-free access · Toilet inside · Accessible toilet · Separate restrooms. That is not the same as there being none — it means we could not confirm it. Worth calling ahead, and do tell us: we will put it here.
How to read these posts
- Posts saying they paid themselves2 of 7 posts
- Posts saying nothing either way5 of 7 posts
Posts that followed a TV spot
Of the 26 posts we gathered, 19 went up on a single day right after a TV spot and show no sign of a visit. They retell the broadcast, so we left them out of the counts.
| 2026-10-07 | 2 posts in one day |
|---|---|
| 2026-03-07 | 2 posts in one day |
We do not discard them. That a TV spot produced a burst of posts is itself something worth knowing about a place, and a star rating will not show it.
When the posts appeared
Month by month
| Month | Posts |
|---|---|
| 2024-12 | 1 |
| 2026-03 | 2 |
| 2026-05 | 2 |
| 2026-08 | 2 |
What we do not know
- Prices have risen twice. The December 2024 opening post lists 180,000 won for lunch and 320,000 for dinner; posts from March–May 2026 list 200,000 and 340,000; posts from August 2026 list 220,000 and 360,000. One May 2026 post alone still gave 320,000 for dinner. Wine pairing (200,000 for five glasses, 290,000 for eight) and the 75,000-won alcohol-free pairing cost extra.
- Opening hours have changed. The December 2024 post says closed Mondays only with last order at 21:00. Four 2026 visits agree on 12:00–14:30 and 18:00–22:00, closed Sundays and Mondays, and two give the dinner last order as 19:30. One post notes a temporary closure from 18 August to 31 October 2026, so check before going.
- Bookings go through CatchTable. Posts agree the next month opens on the 1st, but two say at midnight and one says at noon. Four posts give the phone number as 0507-1338-2511; one gives 02-517-2511. A diner in March 2026 found a date more easily than expected.
- No diner wrote about arriving by subway or bus. One gave the walk as ten minutes from Apgujeong Station exit 3 but came by taxi herself; another drove.
- No one described queuing; many posts repeat that the restaurant is reservation-only. One December 2024 diner arrived on time and still waited a while for the first plate.
- Only one diner used valet parking, at dinner in March 2026, and found it convenient. Another listed the ground-floor valet at 5,000 won without using it. No one mentioned whether the building has a car park of its own.
- The company is mixed: one diner came for a boyfriend's birthday, one for a friend's celebration, one drove, and the rest did not say. Many posts call it a date or anniversary spot, but mostly as a recommendation rather than an account.
- The rule that guests must be 13 or older appears only in a post copying the official website; no one wrote about going with children.
Sources (7)
Every number above was counted from the posts below.
- 기와강 런치코스 메뉴 상세 후기 서울 미슐랭 1스타 레스토랑 생일 .... 2026-08-26 · Better late than never
- 기와강 giwakang 서울압구정 2026-08-21 · 탐미주의자
- 서울 미슐랭 1스타 기와강 한식 파인다이닝 이정인 소믈리에 2026-05-18 · 우아한 하영씨의 맛있는 여행
- [미슐랭] 기와강 (한식/신사) 2026-05-08 · 내 다솜
- [서울/강남구] 기와강, GiwaKang 2026-03-29 · gourmet KZ
- 압구정 한식 파인다이닝 기와강 디너코스 후기 | 신사동 미슐랭 맛.... 2026-03-08 · SUGUCHOSIM JOURNAR
- 기와강 한식 컨템포러리 신상 다이닝 코리안 레스토랑 서울 강남 신사동 크리스마스 기념일 데이트 추천 2024-12-23 · 겪고 먹고 마신 것에 대한 정리 · via Daum
Of 332 candidate posts we opened 120 and kept 7 as evidence. We have not seen them all yet; another pass would add more.