Korean BBQ at Mangwon Station with 200g pork neck: Dwaejibangatgan

It was a gorgeous early-summer day, so I decided to have a Mangwon date with my Pangpang friends for the first time in a while. We wandered Mangwon Market, hit a café, and of course the day had to end with good meat. This time we went to Dwaejibangatgan (돼지방앗간), a Korean BBQ restaurant near Mangwon Station.

The short version: a clean restaurant, easy parking and quality meat. It's hard to find a Korean BBQ place with parking around Mangwon Station, so if you love meat, it's worth a visit.

Where is Dwaejibangatgan, and what about parking?

Dwaejibangatgan is on the 2nd floor of the building right in front of Exit 2 of Mangwon Station, so it's really easy to reach. It's close to Mangwon Market, Mangridan-gil and Hangang Park, which makes it a nice stop on a date route.

Best of all, parking is possible. Driving to Mangwon often means stress over parking, but at Dwaejibangatgan that worry is much smaller.

Dwaejibangatgan stands out even from far away. It already has that Mangwon Station hotspot vibe.

A cute pig character greets you right at the entrance. Hello! Are you the one who'll end up in our bellies today?

Go up to the 2nd floor and the restaurant is right there. Pretty easy to find.

Atmosphere inside: is it good for groups?

Thanks to the window seats with folding doors, the restaurant feels open the moment you walk in, with nothing stuffy about it. It looks like it can hold about 50–60 people, so it works fine for company dinners or get-togethers, and we came for a Pangpang meetup ourselves. There were quite a few families and groups too.

It feels like it hasn't been open long, and the whole place is very clean and well kept. The staff were friendly too, so the first impression was great.

They even have high chairs and disposable aprons. You can tell they care about the small details.

Menu and how to order

You order through the kiosk on each table. I love this system these days, so convenient.

And the thing that surprised me most: one serving is a whopping 200g. Lots of BBQ places do 150g these days, so 200g is great value.

Here's what we ordered. A proper full course, from meat to meals.

• Raw pork neck, 3 servings
• Raw pork belly, 2 servings
• Perilla oil Jjapaghetti (Jjapaghetti is black bean instant noodles)
• Spicy cold noodles (bibim naengmyeon)
• Sesame oil bibimbap (방앗간참기름 비빔밥)

Side dishes and the opening-event soft tofu stew

The side dishes are neatly set out, and they even give you myeongi-namul (pickled wild garlic leaves) as standard. Personally, I love BBQ places that give myeongi-namul.

The soft tofu stew we got as an opening event came out boiling hot and was incredibly good. (The kind of flavor that makes you crave soju.)

Pre-grilled raw pork neck and belly: easy to cook?

Both the pork neck and the pork belly at Dwaejibangatgan come out pre-grilled once. They look gorgeous, and the cooking time at the table is short and easy.

Bean sprouts, kimchi and green onion come along to grill with the meat. Can't resist this combo.

Since it arrives pre-grilled, you only need to cook it lightly. I'd starved all day and was so hungry, so being able to eat quickly was great.

What does the perilla oil Jjapaghetti taste like?

The perilla oil Jjapaghetti arrived soon after, and they drizzle the perilla oil around it right in front of you. Wait... seriously... perilla oil goes this well with Jjapaghetti?

The nuttiness of the perilla oil matched it perfectly. From now on I'm adding perilla oil when I make Jjapaghetti at home.

Tender, juicy, delicious meat.

Ah haha, that clenched fist over there is my hand. I was so eager to eat that I was getting mad.

Once the kimchi and garlic are grilled golden, we're ready to eat.

Eating it with the special ssamjang, Jjapaghetti and myeongi-namul

Dipping the meat in the special ssamjang (seasoned dipping paste) was very rich and delicious. The meat quality is good too, so it was satisfying to chew.

Surprisingly, eating it together with the Jjapaghetti was also delicious. Carbs plus meat, a foolproof formula.

As expected, my ssam-loving friend shyly wraps a ssam (lettuce wrap) and holds it out to me. (She's so cute. She's now the president of Ttatable.)

The myeongi-namul combo was great too. Personally, myeongi-namul plus pork neck was the best.

We couldn't help ordering 1 more serving of pork neck. Three women ate a whopping 5 servings. (And we're supposedly small eaters.)

You can order side dish refills by kiosk too. No need to call a staff member, so it's convenient.

They refilled every single side dish and started all over again.

Spicy cold noodles and the ₩5,000 sesame oil bibimbap

Dwaejibangatgan drizzles oil on the spicy cold noodles and the bibimbap too. True to the oil-mill (bangatgan) concept, they make good use of sesame oil.

The spicy cold noodles are quite good, beyond typical BBQ restaurant naengmyeon.

The bibimbap doesn't taste like a ₩5,000 dish either.

We ordered the bibimbap instead of fried rice and it was insanely good. A perfect way to finish after eating meat.

I thought naengmyeon only paired with galbi, but pork neck goes really well with it too.

My ssam-loving friend never gives up on ssam until the very end.

On the way out after eating, we noticed some thoughtful little services. Details like these are probably why you end up going back.

Verdict: a clean Korean BBQ restaurant with parking in Mangwon

If you're looking for a clean BBQ place in Mangwon, I recommend Dwaejibangatgan. The meat quality is good, and since it comes pre-grilled, it was easy to eat. Above all, being able to park is a big plus among Mangwon Station restaurants. If you want a meal after a Mangwon Market date or a stroll around Mangridan-gil, I fully recommend it.

• 1-minute walk from Mangwon Station
• Parking available
• Pre-grilled pork belly and pork neck
• Clean restaurant
• Good for group gatherings