Haeundae pork galbi, chwinamul pot rice and sungnyung: Seokok Galbi

What's good about Seokok Galbi in Haeundae Jungdong?

Let me sum up the good points of Seokok Galbi's Haeundae Jungdong branch first.

• Close to Jungdong Station Exit 7, so easy to reach
• Jangin galbi with 2125 knife scores that keeps a tender texture
• You can enjoy both the clean-tasting jangin galbi and the richly marinated heukjangdon galbi
• The Seokok eight-side set (석옥팔첩) makes it fun to mix and match accompaniments
• A self-bar stocked with lettuce, perilla leaves, scallion kimchi, pastes and more
• A wide variety of sauces, including sesame ssamjang, seed jeotgal (salted seafood) and mala sauce
• Chwinamul four-seasons pot rice and nurungji (scorched-rice tea) make it a hearty meal
• Individual ventilation hoods at each table for comfortable grilling
• A stylish, tidy interior with a hanok (traditional Korean house) feel
• A spacious, comfortable room that suits family meals, gatherings and dates

Seokok Galbi address and menu

The address of Seokok Galbi's Haeundae Jungdong branch is 499-9 Jwadongsunhwan-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, 1st floor (lot-number address: 1256-7 Jungdong, Haeundae-gu). I'm leaving the menu photos here too.

First impressions of Seokok Galbi, a Jungdong pork galbi restaurant

With its black and ivory colors plus tiled-roof and hanok touches, the exterior of Seokok Galbi's Haeundae Jungdong branch felt different from an ordinary meat restaurant. I went after looking for a place in Haeundae, Busan, where I could really enjoy pork galbi.

It kept a traditional feel while looking very stylish overall. The big lettering on the wall, "Handmade Pork Galbi Master House, Seokok Galbi," and the phrase SINCE 1999 caught my eye too. Hearing that they run on long experience with pork, I was already looking forward to the meal.

How to get to Seokok Galbi: parking and opening hours

Seokok Galbi's Haeundae Jungdong branch is about 172 m from Exit 7 of Jungdong Station on Line 2, so it's easy to reach on foot. After leaving through Exit 7, go straight and cross two crosswalks, and you'll find it fairly easily.

If you come by car, the restaurant has no parking lot of its own, so you'll need to use the public lot next to Jungdong E-mart or the E-mart Jungdong lot. I was told there's no parking fee support, so keep that in mind.

Hours were 4 p.m. to 11 p.m. Monday to Friday and 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with last order at 10 p.m. On weekends there's a break time from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., so I'd check the time before you go.

Is it worth booking Seokok Galbi ahead?

I booked ahead, and the table had a "reserved" card with the booker's name on it. It may be a tiny detail, but that kind of care made me feel properly welcomed.

A tablet is set up at the table, which made browsing the menu and ordering more food convenient. They also brought us vitamins before the meal. It was an unexpected little service, so it stuck with me.

Inside Seokok Galbi: atmosphere and seating

Like the exterior, the inside has a calm mood centered on black, with hanok-style touches on the ceiling and walls that blend the traditional and the modern nicely.

The place was bigger than I expected, and the space between tables was fairly roomy. Each table has its own ventilation hood, so they'd clearly thought about cutting the smoke and smell typical of grill restaurants.

There are baby chairs, and wheelchair-accessible seats and an entrance are signposted, so it looked like a good choice for a family meal too.

What comes in the Seokok eight-side set?

The Seokok eight-side set arrives neatly arranged on one tray as soon as you sit down. It's a set of accompaniments for the galbi, letting you try small bites of various pastes, pickles, seasoned vegetables and more.

Instead of just dipping the meat in salt or ssamjang, you can swap accompaniments one by one, so the same meat tasted different every time. The scallion kimchi they make in-house was an especially good match for the meat.

Kirin draft beer with pork galbi

That day I also ordered a Kirin draft beer with the meat. It came in a chilled glass topped with a generous soft head of foam, and with something rich like galbi it cleaned up my mouth refreshingly.

If you don't drink, a fizzy soft drink would go well too.

Seokok 2125 Jangin Galbi: taste and price

Seokok 2125 Jangin Galbi is the signature dish at ₩13,000 per serving, and it was the first thing I tried on this visit. I ordered generously with my companions.

The "2125" in the name apparently refers to Seokok Galbi's own way of scoring the meat very closely with knife cuts. From the moment it arrived, it clearly looked different from ordinary pork galbi. The surface was scored very densely, and it came with sides like eggplant, potato and rice cake.

When I laid the meat on the grill, the cuts opened up and it browned golden. Where there was a decent amount of fat, the surface turned crisp and the nutty flavor came through, and the inside was tender rather than dry.

Maybe thanks to the scoring, it was easy to eat in bite-size pieces and the texture was really soft. I also liked that cooked meat can rest on a small wire rack beside the grill, so already-done pieces don't keep burning.

Seokok Galbi four-seasons pot rice: chwinamul in autumn

The meal item I ordered with the meat was Seokok's signature four-seasons pot rice (사계솥밥), and on my visit it was the autumn pot rice topped with chwinamul (aster greens). When I lifted the lid, the rice was piled with chwinamul, and a bite of fragrant chwinamul rice in between bites of meat was a great combination.

Seokok Galbi also had a guide for enjoying the pot rice even more. First, taste the natural sweetness of the rice and the aroma of the seasonal ingredients; second, add the prepared accompaniments; third, wrap it in seaweed; and finally pour in hot water and finish with nurungji (scorched-rice tea).

I was impressed that even the pot rice is set up as a course of its own, not just a side dish. On one side of the restaurant I could also see the actual bags of baekjinju rice (백진주쌀) they use.

Best ways to pair the sides at Seokok Galbi

The pork galbi is tasty on its own, but it was fun to combine it with accompaniments like pickles, kelp and seed jeotgal. I'd put a tangy or salty pickle on top of a piece, or put meat and marinade onto what looked like kelp.

The clean taste of the vegetables and the rich flavor of the meat came together so my mouth never felt heavy. Beyond ssamjang, trying a little seed jeotgal or other pastes lets you enjoy one plate of meat in many different flavors.

How is Seokok Heukjangdon Galbi different from Jangin Galbi?

Seokok Heukjangdon Galbi is ₩13,000 per serving, and unlike the clean-tasting jangin galbi it leans toward a sweet, deep soy-sauce marinade. After the jangin galbi, I tried the heukjangdon galbi, which is more strongly marinated.

The marinade had soaked in between the dense knife cuts, and as it reduced on the grill a glossy shine came up on the surface. The golden edges even picked up a slight smoky char, and it was the kind of taste that makes you naturally think of rice.

The two dishes have such distinct personalities that if you come with several people, ordering one of each to compare would be a good idea.

What's on the Seokok Galbi self-serve bar?

At Seokok Galbi you can use the self-bar once you've finished the basic side dishes, and it had lettuce and perilla leaves along with scallion kimchi, garlic, chili peppers and other things that go well with meat.

The pastes were pretty fun too. There were several kinds, including sesame ssamjang, seed jeotgal and an "MZ mala sauce," so you could take a little of whatever suits your taste. A pork galbi place that even has mala sauce isn't common, so that was fun. It was a treat to pair a traditional galbi with an unusual sauce.

Finishing with warm sungnyung (scorched-rice tea)

With Seokok Galbi's pot rice, after you scoop out a fair amount of rice, you pour hot water from the kettle into the pot and it becomes nurungji. I waited a bit and opened the lid, and the rice grains had loosened softly into a nutty nurungji.

After a hearty meat meal, ending with a spoonful of warm nurungji settled my stomach and felt like a proper close to the meal.

Where to eat proper pork galbi in Haeundae

Seokok Galbi isn't just a place to eat a plate of meat and leave; I could enjoy everything from the meat to the accompaniments to the pot rice as one flow. What stayed with me most were the tender texture of the densely scored 2125 Jangin Galbi, the heukjangdon galbi for people who like rich marinades, and the eight-side set and self-bar that let you mix many flavors.

The interior, a modern take on a traditional mood, was tidy too, and with the individual ventilation and roomy seating it looked fine for a family meal or a group gathering.

It's close to Jungdong Station, so if you're after a hearty meal during a Haeundae trip, or looking for a good pork galbi place in Jungdong, Haeundae, it's worth a visit. If you want pork galbi in Haeundae, Busan, or a meat restaurant near Jungdong Station, try Seokok Galbi for tender handmade galbi and warm pot rice.