Seongdong Korean BBQ with staff-grilled pork: Seongsu Teojeon

A Korean BBQ restaurant on the way from Ttukseom Station to Seoul Forest

Seongsu Teojeon Ttukseom Main Branch is about a five-minute walk from Exit 7 of Ttukseom Station. It sits right between Ttukseom Station and Seoul Forest, so it is the perfect spot to eat and then head to Seoul Forest for a walk! The evenings have been getting pleasantly cool lately, so I went around 6, had dinner, and then went to Seoul Forest. The sun was just setting and the air was nice and cool—it was so lovely.

I made a reservation in advance through Naver. When I checked while booking, there were several coupons, including one for a wedding-invitation gathering and another for spicy hangover ramen. Definitely reserve ahead and apply a coupon too!

The moment I entered the alley, a huge flag immediately caught my eye. You can see it as soon as you turn in, so there is no way to get lost!

Because I had a reservation, our table was already prepared. We arrived about 10 minutes early, and since it was still a little early for dinner there was only one other table besides ours. But once it was time, so many people came in! I really recommend making a reservation.

Banchan and sauce pairings

The banchan (Korean side dishes) and sauces were set out in advance. There were pickles, green-onion kimchi, white kimchi, and myeongi namul (pickled wild garlic leaves). The sauces were incredibly varied too: ssamjang, salt, and wasabi, plus salted hairtail innards sauce, garlic saeu-jeot (salted shrimp), and perilla-leaf sauce, which made every dip fun! There were even sauces you do not find at other places, so it was fun mixing and matching.

The staff-grilled Teojeon Popular Platter

I usually order pork belly plus pork neck, but this time I ordered the Teojeon Popular Platter, a mixed platter. Pork belly, pork neck, and vegetables all on one plate! And the reason I chose this place... they grill it for you!! You know how the flavor of meat really changes depending on who grills it. I am not very good at grilling, so I searched for somewhere with experienced staff doing it and Seongsu Teojeon came up, so I booked it.

There was an impressively wide selection of drinks too: Kirin draft beer, Hwayo, Ilpum Jinro, bokbunja raspberry wine, soju, beer, non-alcoholic beer, highballs, wine, Starlight Cheongha, and even Jeju tangerine liquor.

The meat arrived, and it was seriously so thick, right?! When I grill, I do not know the timing well, so thinner cuts are easier. But when someone grills it for you like this, thick meat packed with juices is just the best. They grilled and served vegetables alongside it too, including king oyster mushrooms, green onion, zucchini, bell pepper, and minari (water celery). It felt like I was taking care of my health while eating meat~

They flipped it over and over like pros, so I could focus on talking with my friend, which was wonderful. And the meat was cooking to taste about 10 times better than anything I grill myself.

Delicious ways to eat the pork belly and pork neck

Off to one side, there was a guide with Teojeon's tips for enjoying the meat. I followed tip number one and had the first piece simply dipped in salt, and wow, the meat practically melted in my mouth. The juices burst out too!!

I tried it with the garlic salted-shrimp sauce. It was my first time having this sauce, and it went so well with pork belly. The savory depth of the salted shrimp and a punch of spicy garlic aroma came through, pairing perfectly with the rich fatty part of the pork belly.

The pork belly finished first, and it was so delicious, with just the right thickness and a perfect ratio of fat to lean meat.

The pork neck was soon ready too. If you normally love pork neck, you absolutely have to try Seongsu Teojeon's special pork neck. It felt a little like eating steak, and it was so clean-tasting and delicious that I was genuinely surprised from the first bite.

My personal favorite pairing, fresh wasabi plus salt plus white kimchi, was seriously, seriously delicious. The myeongi namul plus ssamjang plus wasabi combination was delicious too! With four side dishes and six sauces, it was so much fun pairing every piece that I ate without noticing the time passing. There was so much meat that I was absolutely stuffed.. Sadly, I could not try any of the meal dishes. The kimchi stew and cheonggukjang (fermented soybean-paste stew) at the next table looked truly delicious, though,, so I am going back soon to try those too!! Such a delicious Seoul Forest restaurant! I totally recommend it!!