Family charcoal BBQ dinner with mushrooms and doenjang jjigae in

Pork belly for a Gwangju gathering: Sangnok Hoegwan Yeontan-gui Taejeon Branch

I went with my family for some pork belly and cold beer at Sangnok Hoegwan Yeontan-gui Taejeon Branch.

350-6 Hoean-daero, 1F, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do — Sangnok Hoegwan Yeontan-gui Taejeon Branch. Open 13:30–24:00.

Parking and the atmosphere inside

You can park right in front of Sangnok Hoegwan. The lot is spacious, so parking was easy.

The restaurant is spacious with round tables, which looks perfect for group gatherings or a work dinner in Gwangju.

The menu at Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch

Pork by the geun (traditional 600g unit), pork belly, pork neck, dwitgogi (pork scraps), pork jowl, hanger meat, pork skin, odolgalbi (cartilage rib), beef by the geun, beef chuck flap, and more. Seafood options include cheese scallops, sea squirt, fan mussel, grilled abalone, and horong nakji (grilled octopus skewers). There's a solid range of grilled meats, fresh seafood, filling meals and drinks to suit every taste.

Basic side dishes at the self-serve bar!!

The self-serve bar had crisp fresh lettuce salad, mouth-watering myeongi namul (wild garlic chives), kimchi, pickled onions, ssamjang (dipping sauce), garlic, lettuce, perilla leaves, all neatly set out — we helped ourselves to as much as we wanted to go with the meat.

What we ordered — pork belly, pork jowl, extra mushrooms, doenjang jjigae, rice, bibimnaengmyeon

Pork belly, ₩5,500 per 100g. We started with pork belly first. On your first order, you get one free plate of mushrooms.

Extra mushrooms, ₩2,000. We love mushrooms so we added more, and honestly we were surprised how much you get for the price.

We put the meat on the grill and started off with a cold beer.

Pork belly grilled over charcoal heat

Grilled over charcoal, the heat was really intense. And the meat tastes better if you cut it once it's almost fully cooked — that way you lock in the juices!

We tried it first with musaengchae (spicy radish salad) — sweet, tangy, and spicy with a bit of icy slush on top, it was so good paired with the meat!!

Piling thick slices of meat, rice, bean sprouts and onion onto fresh lettuce and eating it with the crisp lettuce salad and golden-brown meat was clean and packed with flavor — we never got tired of it, all the way through.

Doenjang jjigae, ₩2,000

You can't have pork belly without doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew)! It came out bubbling in a hot stone bowl and stayed hot to the last spoonful, rich and savory. The spicy, deep umami cut through the fattiness of the meat perfectly — a great partner that made a whole bowl of rice disappear.

Pork jowl, ₩6,900 per 100g

After the pork belly, we also tried pork jowl, and the texture was totally different — that distinctive slightly crunchy yet chewy bite, savory and juicy the more you chew.

Bibimnaengmyeon, ₩4,500

We ordered bibimnaengmyeon (spicy cold noodles) partway through the meal. The noodles were chewy and the sauce nice and tangy — great wrapped up with the charcoal-grilled meat.

A free slushie to finish

The slushie is complimentary. After eating our fill of meat, it was a really clean, refreshing way to end the meal. My kid loved it haha. With great meat, plenty of side dishes and sides, good value, and easy parking, this place seems like a great spot for a family gathering or work dinner in Taejeon-dong.