Ulsan pork BBQ: pork neck for three and cheonggukjang at Biniljip Suam

It was raining pretty hard that day. Normally rain makes you want to just stay home instead of going out. But this time, it was a place that actually worked better because of the rain.

Where is Biniljip Suam Branch, and what are its hours?

Biniljip Suam Branch

• 📍 Address: 14 Suam-ro128beon-gil, 2-dong 1F Unit 1, Nam-gu, Ulsan, South Korea
• ⏰ Hours: Daily 15:00 – 23:00 (last order 22:00)
• 🗓 Regular holiday: None
• 🅿️ Parking: Suam Hoesu Fish Market parking lot
• 📎 Amenities: Group seating, high chairs, Wi-Fi
• ⭕ Self-serve bar: kimchi jeon, buchu jeon and ramyeon you make yourself

This is Biniljip Suam Branch, in Suam-dong, Ulsan. It's a pork BBQ restaurant with that outdoor tent-stall (yajang) feel — high ceilings, a big open space, and a half-outdoor atmosphere created by vinyl sheeting.

True to the name 'vinyl house': what rainy days feel like at Biniljip

The name Biniljip ('vinyl house') might make you picture a tiny plastic-sheet stall or a street cart, but the actual place is much bigger than that. The moment you walk in, you'll immediately understand why it's called that.

The restaurant is pretty spacious overall, with high ceilings, so it never feels cramped. One outer wall and the ceiling are made of vinyl sheeting. Sitting inside, it genuinely feels like eating meat inside a giant greenhouse.

You can hear rain hitting the vinyl while grilling meat in a cozy interior. It'd be great on a clear day too, but visiting on a rainy day was honestly the best.

What side dishes come with the meal?

A generous spread of banchan (side dishes) came out first.

• Scallion salad (pajeolim)
• Seasoned bean sprouts
• Fernbrake (gosari)
• Pickled peppers
• Napa cabbage kimchi
• Salted fermented squid

Frying your own kimchi jeon and buchu jeon at the self-serve bar

🍳 At Biniljip Suam Branch, you can fry your own kimchi jeon (kimchi pancake) and buchu jeon (chive pancake).

With all the ingredients laid out, you can't help but want to try it. In the end we fried one kimchi jeon and one buchu jeon. Nobody even told anyone to do it — people were just naturally frying pancakes off to the side.

While the pancakes were frying, the meat was sizzling on the griddle, meat smell rising from one side, pancake smell from the other. A genuinely happy moment 😆

With everyone frying pancakes right next to the grilling meat, the meal slowly turned into something like a little feast. Naturally one person grilled the meat, one person fried pancakes, and another kept bringing things over. That's the fun of eating at Biniljip.

Pork neck for three: how thick is it, and how does it grill?

Today's star was three servings of pork neck (moksal). We decided not to mix cuts and just properly eat moksal.

The thickly sliced moksal had vivid color and clear muscle grain, and just looking at it you could tell the meat quality was good. Nicely marbled with fat here and there, it looked like it would grill up moist rather than dry. And since it wasn't cut too thin, it seemed perfect for slow grilling on the griddle.

Once the moksal hit the griddle, it started sizzling, and a savory aroma rose off the thick cuts.

We threw the fernbrake, kimchi and bean sprouts onto the griddle too. As they sizzled, the juices and savory fat from the meat soaked naturally into the vegetables, and the kimchi got that deep umami as it browned.

Just sitting there watching the moksal cook on the griddle, time flies in a weird way.

How did the pork neck (moksal) taste?

Grilled to a nice golden brown, it was clean-tasting but still had a good chew — I liked that. Especially with the chewy fernbrake, grilled kimchi, and crunchy bean sprouts alongside, every piece of moksal was fun to eat in a different combination.

The first few pieces I dipped lightly in salt, then wrapped some in lettuce, then ate some with kimchi.

The moksal gets browned on the outside and cut into bite-sized pieces,

and taking a bite, it's less about greasy richness like samgyeopsal and more about a clean flavor where the meat taste comes through more the longer you chew.

We also grilled some rice cake (tteok) on one side of the griddle. Browned nicely, it was slightly crisp outside and chewy inside — great to pop in between bites of moksal.

A bite of meat, then a crispy piece of buchu jeon. Then a piece of kimchi jeon. The fun of eating here was really something.

Finishing with cheonggukjang

🍲 I usually go for doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) or naengmyeon (cold noodles) with meat, but this time we went with cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew). After eating our fill of meat, a spoonful of hot cheonggukjang really hit the spot. That deep, savory smell drifted up, and a spoonful of rice with a bit of the cheonggukjang broth on top was the perfect way to finish off a meat meal.

Cooking the free ramyeon on top of it all

🍜 At the Biniljip Suam Branch self-serve bar, you can also cook up ramyeon for free. This is genuinely dangerous.

Even when you're already full, once the ramyeon smell starts, there's no resisting it. We ended up cooking one after all.

As the water went on and the ramyeon started cooking, everyone chimed in with, "Should we just have a little?" But ramyeon always starts as 'just a little' and ends with you draining the last of the broth.

Once it's boiling and dished into bowls, one spoonful of the hot broth and the people who were just saying they were full pick their chopsticks back up.

It's not the kind of meal where you just sit and eat what's served — you pitch in along the way. That's why it's a great spot for friends, giving you something to talk about, or for family, where everyone can take on a role and have fun eating together!!

Our order started out really simple, but with the kimchi jeon, buchu jeon and free ramyeon added on, it turned into a full-on feast.

Is Biniljip Suam Branch worth a visit?

The smell of meat grilling, the sound of people laughing, the sizzle of meat on the griddle, the small joy of frying your own pancakes at the self-serve bar, and finally a pot of ramyeon topping it all off — this is a place that's even more charming in person than in photos.

We started with three servings of moksal and walked out stuffed after two pancakes and a pot of ramyeon. That's exactly why Biniljip Suam Branch in Suam-dong, Ulsan stuck in my memory 🥩🍜 Recommended!!