Hapjeong Korean BBQ booked on Naver: ₩51,000 set for two, Champpoppo

Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch

• Charcoal-grilled pork ribs with tons of retro charm
• Soy and spicy marinated ribs full of smoky flavor and juices
• Free side spread of potatoes, honeycomb pork skin, chicken porridge and corn cheese

🕐 Hours 🕖 Daily 17:00–1:00, last order 00:00

I met a friend in Hapjeong yesterday and we went for dinner at this Hapjeong pork rib spot everyone's talking about, "Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch." It only just opened, but the other branches already get waits, so it's clearly hot right now. It'd been forever since I had jjokgalbi (pork ribs), so I went in with high expectations!

Where Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch is, how to book, and what the room feels like

Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch sits between Hapjeong and Sangsu stations, so no matter which one you get off at, it's only a 5–7 minute walk! I booked ahead on Naver before visiting.

They can also set up seating for groups of 6, 8, or more, so it's a great spot for group gatherings or family dinners too.

The interior was packed with retro charm — a bit of that old-school pojangmacha (street tent bar) feeling, but since it just opened, everything was still clean and polished. Love that the chairs double as bag storage too.

The menu, the two spice levels, and a 15-minute charcoal pre-grill

The menu at Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch has soy ribs and marinated ribs, order whichever suits your taste — the marinated ribs come in two spice levels, jjomaep and geommaep. I'm guessing that's basically 'a little spicy' and 'seriously spicy,' haha.

There's also a set menu that mixes soy and marinated ribs evenly and throws in pasta, a rice ball, or steamed egg for good value! We ordered the set menu too.

At Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch, they pre-grill the ribs the moment you order for extra flavor. That process takes about 15 minutes! But the side dish spread here is so generous that eating through it, I didn't even feel like I was waiting long!

What comes free: chicken porridge, corn cheese, honeycomb pork skin and potatoes

We ordered the pasta set (2 servings soy ribs, 1 serving marinated ribs, cream pasta) plus a tuna mayo rice ball and draft beer. Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch really goes all out on the free sides — first you get three sauces including curry powder, white kimchi, pickles, cabbage salad, and pickled onion, and then corn cheese, chicken porridge, pork skin, and potatoes make four more free dishes!

While we waited for the pre-grilling, they put five pieces of pork skin and sliced potatoes on the grill, so we were already eating pork skin by the time the ribs came out.

A lot of places serve thin, flavorless pork skin, but this was thick and wonderfully chewy — dipped in curry powder, it was so good haha. If there had been three of us, I would've wanted to order extra pork skin too.

We added a tuna mayo rice ball, and my friend rolled the balls into nice round shapes ^.^ It went especially well with the marinated ribs.

We ordered draft beer too. It was hot out, so we had to cool off with something refreshing.

Is the ₩51,000 pasta set enough food for two?

The pasta set I ordered comes with 2 servings of soy ribs, 1 serving of marinated ribs, and cream pasta. That's ₩51,000, and it's enough to fill up two people comfortably!

The staff put the soy ribs on the grill first — since they're already pre-grilled, they said just flip once and wait about 20 seconds before eating.

I don't eat jjokgalbi that often, but these were bigger and meatier than what I remembered from before, and much easier to eat!

Pre-grilled over charcoal like that and eaten fresh off the fire, the smoky aroma just kept rising and the juices were packed in — a truly delicious rib.

Does cream pasta really work with charcoal-grilled pork ribs?

I'd never seen pork ribs paired with cream pasta before, so I was half-skeptical, but it went together surprisingly well, haha. The cream pasta itself had good flavor and the noodles were cooked just right — I think I'll order the pasta again if I come back.

We finished off all the soy ribs first.

How hot are the marinated spicy ribs if you can't take heat?

We put the marinated ribs on the grill and dug in — we didn't specifically request a spice level, but judging by how two spice wimps like us enjoyed it at a comfortably spicy level, it must've been the jjomaep (mild) tier. The marinade had that same smoky char rising off it, punchy and delicious! Both the marinated and soy versions were great, but personally the soy ribs were a bit more my style.

With such generous, tasty sides and thick, juicy, smoky pork ribs, give Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch a try!