Cheongju Osong grill house Risan: 750g four-cut black pork platter

I wanted to recommend a place to go on a day when you want to eat meat properly in Osong, Cheongju.

While looking for samgyeopsal (pork belly) spots in Osong, I heard about a new place serving native Korean purebred black pig, Berkshire K. I love pork belly, so I ordered the special platter to try several cuts at once.

Where Risan is in Osong, Cheongju, and where to park

Risan is a premium black pork restaurant located in Osong, Cheongju.

Parking is available in the lot behind Paragon 3 once you pass through the main gate, which made it easy to visit by car. If, like me, you care about parking when looking for restaurants in Osong, this is a nice plus.

It was especially convenient when moving as a group by car.

Why Risan's Berkshire K black pork stands out

Risan felt a bit different from the usual Osong restaurant.

Apparently they carefully select native Korean purebred black pig, Berkshire K, for use here.

Berkshire K is known for rich juiciness, deep umami, chewy texture and savory fat, so its charm really shows in cuts like pork belly where the balance of fat and lean meat matters.

What comes in the 750g Risan Special Platter

What we ordered that day was the Risan Special Platter, 750g.

There were so many banchan (side dishes) served before the meat even arrived. The shredded scallions here were really good, and the muk (jelly) was tasty too. The steamed egg was a freebie from a review event, haha.

The platter is made up of black belly 200g, black pork neck 200g, Risan black special cut 200g, and black gabri 150g, so rather than eating just one cut, we could compare several textures and flavors.

Starting from the black belly, where the savoriness of the fat really comes through, to the clean but flavorful black pork neck, and then the more distinctive textures of the black special cut and black gabri — grilling them one after another, the differences between cuts were quite noticeable even though it's all black pig. It's great for a meal with several people in Osong, Cheongju, and if it's your first visit, starting with the special platter to try the signature cuts all at once seems like a good idea.

Grilling the black pork belly and vegetables on the stone plate

At Risan, staff don't grill the meat for you.

Having to grill it yourself might seem like a slight downside at first, but it turned out to be easier than expected, so it wasn't inconvenient at all.

As the meat's fat slowly spread across the stone plate, the outside browned nicely while the inside kept its juices, bringing out the chewy texture unique to black pork even more.

What I especially liked was being able to grill minari, onion, potato, mushroom and kimchi together with the meat, not just the meat alone.

Kimchi grilled in pork belly fat... you can already imagine how good that tastes, right?

The potatoes too... totally delicious, haha.

Was Risan worth it? The mul naengmyeon finish and final verdict

After eating black pork, the doenjang is of course good, but my pick today was the mul naengmyeon (cold noodles)!! After all that oily black pork, having cool cold noodles alongside it left my mouth feeling refreshed and clean.

My friend said it's in her top 3 naengmyeon among all the meat restaurants she's ever tried. (I wouldn't go that far myself, haha.)

Overall, what makes Risan special among restaurants in Osong, Cheongju, is being able to enjoy Berkshire K black pork across several different cuts.

The special platter letting you try black belly, pork neck, special cut and gabri all at once was satisfying, and above all, grilling minari, kimchi, potato, mushroom and onion together with the pork belly on the stone plate suited my taste well. If you're looking for restaurants in Osong, Cheongju, or you like black pork samgyeopsal among Osong's restaurants, give Risan a try.