Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ: squid jeotgal dip, fried rice finish, Tapgol
In short
Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch is a frozen pork belly BBQ restaurant with outdoor tables set up right in front of the east gate of Tapgol Park in Jongno 3-ga, Seoul. Two friends ordered two servings of frozen pork belly plus one serving of pork collar and one of fried rice, and found that frozen pork belly dipped in salted squid jeotgal was the unexpected kick of the meal. A quiet dinner is not possible here, but on a cool evening the open-air grilling atmosphere at Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch was exactly right.
Good to know
- Address
- 111 Supyo-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 1st floor
- Hours
- Daily 17:00–01:00
- Parking
- Not available
- Location
- Right in front of the east gate of Tapgol Park
- What they ordered
- 2 servings frozen pork belly + 1 serving pork collar + 1 serving fried rice
- Self bar
- Lettuce is self-serve from the bar inside the restaurant
- Paying
- Give your table number at the register
as written by the visitor on Sep 17, 2026
Once the weather gets nice you just start craving that outdoor grilled-meat feeling, you know? A while ago I went to Jongno 3-ga with a friend and stopped by Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch, which sets up outdoor tables right in front of Tapgol Park. I'd been looking for a good Korean BBQ restaurant in Jongno 3-ga and the outdoor grilling setup looked great, so we went — and it really was packed, with a great atmosphere. Outdoor grilling in cool weather made me even happier.
Where is Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch, and what are the hours?
Address｜111 Supyo-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor Hours｜Daily 17:00–01:00 Parking｜Not available
It's right in front of Tapgol Park's east gate. The location is amazing.
Ordering two servings of frozen pork belly, plus pork collar and fried rice
We ordered two servings of naengsam (frozen pork belly), then added one serving of ggotmoksal (pork collar). At the end we even added a serving of fried rice, so we ate really, really full.
Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch｜2 frozen pork belly, 1 pork collar, 1 fried rice
The side dishes come out all together on a round tray, and there's a picnic bag next to the table with utensils, wet wipes, cups, and so on — just take out what you need.
You can grab lettuce yourself from the self-serve bar inside.
How the frozen pork belly arrives and how to grill it
The frozen pork belly comes out in a bowl like this.
Grilling the frozen pork belly outdoors added to the atmosphere and made it taste even better. They give you pepper along with the pork belly, so we sprinkled it on while grilling. Watch out for sneezing 🤧
You can grill bean sprouts, bracken fern, and kimchi together with the meat, and eating them grilled in the pork fat like this is just incredible. Cool breeze, delicious meat, so happy.
It's delicious sizzling away, and even better wrapped up in a big lettuce bite.
The unexpected kick: frozen pork belly with squid jeotgal
But the unexpected kick that day was the ojingeo jeotgal (salted squid). My friend said frozen pork belly and squid jeotgal go really well together, so I tried it, and I was surprised at how well it actually matched. The squid jeotgal is chewy and spicy, and combined with the savory flavor of the frozen pork belly, I kept reaching for more.
It was just around sunset, which made it taste even better. If it gets too dark, bugs start flying in, ugh — this timing was just right.
Adding pork collar and finishing with fried rice
Adding a serving of pork collar filled us up quite a bit more. Still, Koreans gotta have rice at the end...
We also added a serving of fried rice haha. It comes already fried, but I'd recommend frying it a bit more on the grill. It's the perfect way to finish a meal outdoors. The serving size for one person was bigger than I expected. The soft-yolk fried egg on top is amazing too.
What the outdoor tables at Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch feel like
It's not the kind of place for a quiet meal indoors — you eat while enjoying the bustling outdoor atmosphere. There are lots of tables set up right in front of Tapgol Park, and there are tons of pojangmacha (street tents) nearby too, but their prices are brutal, so I think it's better to eat well here and hang out. A lot of people go to Jongno 3-ga to enjoy the outdoor grilling vibe, but there are so many pedestrians, motorcycles, and cars around, so I'd recommend the seats next to Tapgol Park's stone wall.
Every table has a lantern with the table number written on it. When you pay, you just go to the register and tell them your table number.
By evening the place filled up really fast, but since there are a lot of tables, turnover seemed quick too. As evening set in, the atmosphere just got livelier and livelier.
Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch, a Korean BBQ restaurant in Jongno 3-ga, might not suit you if you want a quiet meal, but it was exactly the kind of outdoor grilling vibe you want to enjoy in this weather. I posted it on Instagram and all my friends asked where it was. It already seems pretty famous, but go before it gets even more famous — and before it gets cold~
Where it is
111 Supyo-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea, 1st floor서울특별시 종로구 수표로 111 1층
