Cheonan Korean BBQ with kimchi fried rice: Cham Dwaejitgan

I was craving some good meat in Dujeong-dong, Cheonan, so I went to Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch.

It was a slightly special barbecue restaurant where you eat Boseong Nokdon pork belly and flower-cut pork neck smoked with real charcoal and rice husks. The staff grill the meat for you, so it was especially nice that we could eat comfortably. :)

Where is Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch?

Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch is about a seven-minute drive from Dujeong Station. Its hours are from 4 p.m. until 4 a.m. the next day! Since it stays open late, it seemed like a great spot not only for dinner but also for those late-night meat cravings.

When we went inside, the restaurant was spacious and clean. Every table had a large exhaust hood, and the tables were generously spaced, so we could dine comfortably. It looked like a good choice for family meals, gatherings, or company dinners in Dujeong-dong.

A special grill using rice husks and real charcoal

The unusual grill caught my eye as soon as I sat down!

There is a space for charcoal in the center, with rice husks around it.

At Cham Dwaejitgan, they say they smoke the meat using premium real charcoal and Korean rice husks. That means a subtle smoky aroma is added while the meat cooks! The grill itself was a little different from the usual pork belly place, which was interesting, haha. They also say the custom-made grill minimizes oil splatter.

Ordering Boseong Nokdon pork belly and flower-cut pork neck

What we ordered was:

• Boseong Nokdon pork belly, 2 servings: ₩32,000
• Flower-cut pork neck, 1 serving: ₩16,000
• Steamed rice, 1 bowl: ₩1,000
• Fried rice, 1 serving: ₩3,000
• Total: ₩52,000

The meat was ₩16,000 per serving! We ordered both the signature Boseong Nokdon pork belly and the flower-cut pork neck.

When the meat arrived, you could tell how substantial it was just from the thickness, right? Haha. The pork belly had clear layers of fat and lean meat, while the pork neck looked delicious even before grilling thanks to its nice marbling. I actually liked ordering both, because we could alternate between pork belly and pork neck. If you are looking for good pork belly in Dujeong-dong, I think the signature pork belly is definitely worth trying.

Potatoes and peppers came along too, and we grilled them with the meat.

They grill it for you, so all we had to do was eat!

The most welcome service at a barbecue restaurant, haha—the staff grill the meat for you!

They grilled the thick pork belly and flower-cut pork neck until golden, then neatly cut them into easy-to-eat pieces, so all we had to do was wait and enjoy. Haha.

The golden pork belly was savory on the outside, with juicy moisture when I bit into it. The flower-cut pork neck was thick but not tough, and fairly tender, so alternating it with the pork belly let us enjoy the charms of both cuts.

If you are looking for a Dujeong-dong meat restaurant that grills for you, this is a pretty major advantage too.

The minari, bean sprout, and kimchi combination is the best!

And here is the combination I really loved! Rather than grilling only the meat, you can put fragrant Korean minari (water parsley), bean sprouts, and kimchi on one side of the grill and cook them together. As the minari and kimchi cooked in the savory fat from the pork belly... well, haha, it would be harder for this to taste bad. 🤣 Having a piece of well-cooked pork belly with grilled minari was such a great combination—the fragrant minari cut through the rich flavor of the pork belly perfectly.

The potatoes were also an unexpectedly tasty treat when grilled until golden with the meat.

There were various sauces and accompaniments, including ssamjang (savory soybean dipping paste), spicy sauce, salt, and wasabi, so it was fun to mix and match them however we liked.

Keep in mind that the vegetable side dishes, except for minari, come with unlimited refills. :)

You just cannot skip the final fried rice, haha

We ordered a bowl of rice while eating the meat. But that does not mean we could skip fried rice, right? 🤣 So in the end, we added one serving of fried rice for ₩3,000!

They fried it up with the ingredients left on the grill, including minari and kimchi, and it was savory with a spicy kick—the perfect finishing dish after the meat.

We had definitely said we were full, but as soon as the fried rice arrived, there we were picking up our spoons again, haha. We ate properly right through to the end.

At Cham Dwaejitgan Cheonan Dujeong Branch, we could enjoy Boseong Nokdon pork belly and flower-cut pork neck prepared with real charcoal and rice-husk smoking, and the staff grilled everything for us, making for a comfortable meal.

I especially loved grilling the minari, bean sprouts, and kimchi with the meat, and we finished deliciously with fried rice. :) The restaurant is spacious and stays open late, so it seemed like a good spot for family meals, gatherings, or company dinners as well.