Sangsu Station pork rib BBQ: chiletan set with free sides, Champpoppo

Here's a great-value pork rib restaurant recommendation near Sangsu Station: Champpoppo Jjokgalbi. It's a newly opened place known for meaty, well-seasoned pork ribs, with affordable prices and generous free sides to boot.

With jjokgalbi (pork ribs), a lot of places claim to be generous but give you mostly bone with barely any meat. Not the case at Champpoppo Jjokgalbi between Hapjeong and Sangsu — no tricks here, every rack comes packed with real meat!

Where is Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch, and where do you park?

Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch sits between Hapjeong Station and Sangsu Station, right in the middle of the restaurant strip connecting the two — easy to find.

Being between two stations with a bus stop right out front, access is great, and parking looked technically possible like this. But since spots are limited, using a nearby public parking lot seemed like the more comfortable option.

Inside Champpoppo: the vibe and who eats here

The inside of Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch runs deeper than it looks from outside, so it can seat quite a large number of people at once.

Looking around, there were groups of friends out together, plus couples having a casual drink on a food-focused date.

The menu: soy sauce ribs or sauce ribs

The Champpoppo menu comes down to two choices: soy sauce pork ribs (300g) and sauce pork ribs (300g). The sauce version comes in mild spicy or super spicy.

There were quite a few sides and meal options too — ordering a set like the pasta set (2 soy + 1 sauce + cream pasta) or the combo (3 soy + 2 sauce + chiletan + cream pasta) works out cheaper, which is a nice perk.

Ordering and any extras could be done comfortably from the table via a tabletop ordering system. There were also review events set up for different party sizes, which was a nice touch!

Free sides at Champpoppo: potatoes, pork skin, corn cheese and chicken porridge

Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch is extremely generous with its free side dishes.

Pickled onion, cabbage salad, radish pickle, and baek-kimchi (white kimchi) —

— plus potatoes and pork skin you can grill while you wait, all included as standard. All 4 side dishes free with any order! Since it takes a bit of time from ordering until the pre-grilled ribs come out, these seem to be served to keep you happy while you wait.

The pork skin comes well-seasoned, honeycomb-style, great for sipping a drink while you wait. But that's not all —

— they also bring out corn cheese like this, and chicken porridge too. Having such a generous spread served before the main pork ribs even arrive was so satisfying. And everything tasted great too.

Ordering the chiletan set: 2 soy + 1 sauce ribs with steamed egg

I ordered the chiletan set (2 soy + 1 sauce + chiletan rice ball + steamed egg). The rice ball comes out first, and as the name suggests, it's seasoned with a bit of spicy sauce, so

it's great mixed up and eaten. I was too lazy to shape it into balls so I just mixed it and dug in with a spoon (?).

This is the steamed egg included in the set. It's the bomb-style steamed egg that puffs up above the rim of the earthenware bowl, which I loved — since a lot of the menu is spicy, it's great to scoop up between bites.

Here's the main event. Two soy sauce ribs and one sauce rib, included in the set. Since I wanted to try a range of flavors, we —

— also added a super spicy sauce rib. It says the pre-grilling takes about 15 minutes after ordering, but with so many free sides being served, it genuinely felt like it came out right away.

How the pork ribs are grilled and how the meat looks

When they bring it out, the manager gives you a quick explanation — just listen and grill accordingly.

Overall, both the soy sauce and spicy sauce marinades themselves are excellent, so as you grill, the savory flavor keeps building and really gets your appetite going.

The pork ribs come with thick meat on the bone, and they were scored nicely so the meat separates easily from the bone — I liked that.

That makes it easy to pull off just the meat and dip it in the sauce that comes on the side! It was also great wrapped up with the corn cheese from earlier.

Soy vs sauce vs very spicy: comparing the three rib flavors

The soy sauce pork ribs (300g) had an overall sweetish sauce base and were delicious. The meat itself is thick, so you really get that rib-gnawing satisfaction, and the finish has a savory soy sauce aroma plus that char from direct charcoal grilling — great flavor.

This one's the sauce version. Think sweet Korean fried chicken sauce. Since the meat itself is thick enough to really chew, you get a clean, nutty flavor, and the slightly spicy sauce paired well with it. Good for feeding kids and equally good as a drinking snack for adults.

This one's the super spicy version. A spicy sauce. Personally, the sharp chili kick came through really well, and this was my favorite. Take one bite of this and follow with a gulp of beer — the kind of flavor that could get anyone pouring drinks. It's spicy but not overwhelmingly so, definitely worth trying!

Is Champpoppo Jjokgalbi Hapjeong Branch worth it? Final verdict

Personally, I loved how much meat was packed onto each rib, and the wide variety of free sides made it even more satisfying. During my visit, I saw everyone from families with parents in tow to couples — a diverse crowd. Overall, I'd recommend this as a delicious, great-value Korean BBQ restaurant near Hapjeong and Sangsu stations.