Extra serving of pork belly at a Hongdae Station BBQ: Chopilsal

Did you know there's a branch in Hongdae of a pork restaurant famous in Busan!? Haha. It's Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch! I heard it came up from Busan and got curious, so I went and had a solid meal of ogyeopsal (pork belly) and pork skin hahaha!!

Where is Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch, and what are its hours?

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch is at 172 Donggyo-ro, 1st and 2nd floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul, close to Hongdae Station Exit 1. Hours are Monday–Thursday 12:00–24:00 and Friday–Sunday 12:00–02:00, with no parking available.

• 📍Location: 172 Donggyo-ro, 1st & 2nd floor, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• ⏰Hours: Mon–Thu 12:00–24:00 / Fri, Sat, Sun 12:00–02:00
• 🚗Parking: Not available

The storefront at Hongdae Station Exit 1

A flashy neon sign that catches your eye from far away lol. It's close to Hongdae Station Exit 1! Super bright and easy to spot.

I visited on a weekday evening and there was a wait, haha. Yep, a good restaurant is a good restaurant..!!

There's a menu board outside so you can pick in advance and order right away when you get in...!! Definitely not a huge number of meat options, which actually made me more excited — felt like a sign of confidence in the meat haha.

This place is especially famous for its honeycomb pork skin, and apparently it's the original! That's definitely one of the must-try items — I already had it picked out haha.

What is the dining room like inside Chopilsal Pork Grill?

Inside Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch has a brick concept with floor-to-ceiling windows, giving it almost an outdoor-tent feel. It was so crowded I couldn't take many interior photos.

Isn't the interior so cute? Brick concept lol. There were so many people I couldn't take many interior shots (!?) but this is the vibe..! Something fresh about it.

With the floor-to-ceiling windows it felt refreshingly open, almost like an outdoor tent — loved it!

They had customer reviews framed up on the wall! Everyone praises the meat quality without exception.

Aprons are self-serve so grab one, and then — salted ogyeopsal..! I was so curious about this too!!

What we ordered: salted ogyeopsal, honeycomb pork skin, zucchini doenjang jjigae

We ordered salted ogyeopsal for 3 people (started with 2 servings then added 1 more, haha), 1 serving of honeycomb pork skin, and zucchini doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew).

Shredded green onion, pickled radish, and assorted pickles!!

Mentaiko (salted pollock roe) and side dishes! Every single one clean and perfectly paired with meat.

This little plate doubles as a sauce dish haha, so many sauces to eat with the meat right? Already feeling happy.

Salted ogyeopsal: how thick is it, and how much fat?

The salted ogyeopsal at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch comes cut thick, and the meat-to-fat ratio was just right. Wow, isn't the pork belly quality amazing?! Great color on the meat too — the kind of visual that promised it'd taste great grilled.

Straight onto the grill lol. Pork belly's excitement starts the moment it hits the grill, doesn't it.

Because the cuts were so thick, the sizzling visual on the grill was next level!! It browned up nicely with a little fat rendering out — I wish I could share the smell too, ugh lol.

They browned the outside first and cut it into bite-size pieces as they grilled, taking good care of it!

Pork belly alone is delicious, but wrapping it with the side dishes gives it a whole different flavor haha. It balances out the rich, fatty taste so you just keep eating...

I ate it wrapped with pickled radish, shredded green onion, and mentaiko, and no matter what you combine it with, the meat's quality shines right through lol. The ogyeopsal itself is so good that whatever you top it with, you still fully taste the meat!

Yep... so we ordered more, haha. No wonder it made its way up from Busan... Busan people have been eating good stuff without us this whole time... so jealous...

Is the honeycomb pork skin chewy?

Chopilsal's honeycomb pork skin was crisp outside, chewy-tender inside, and not tough at all. It's scored densely like a honeycomb, and a staff member grills it until golden then cuts it up for you.

Meanwhile the honeycomb pork skin arrived..!! Nicely browned!! A visual all its own lol — true to its name, it's scored densely like a honeycomb!!

Staff cut it up and served it just like this!! Haha.

The honeycomb pork skin... totally crisp outside, chewy-tender inside lol. It had that signature savory pork-skin flavor, and it wasn't tough at all like I expected, so I kept reaching for it.

While eating the honeycomb pork skin, the ogyeopsal I'd almost forgotten showed back up — an endless blessing of meat.

Grilled it up nicely and started round two lol.

The best bite: pork belly with wild garlic leaves and mentaiko

Among the side dishes at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch, the best pairing with the ogyeopsal was wild garlic leaves (myeong-i namul), and I kept wrapping the meat with mentaiko on top of that.

All the side dishes were tasty, but the wild garlic leaf and ogyeopsal combo was my favorite by far!

And when you add mentaiko on top... ugh. The salty mentaiko pairs so well with the meat that I just kept wrapping bite after bite lol.

Zucchini doenjang jjigae to finish the meal

The zucchini doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch has a ton of zucchini in it!! With so much zucchini, the broth turns out savory and clean.

The salty doenjang stew combined with the sweet flavor of zucchini is perfect with a bowl of rice!!!

Final verdict on Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch

I got curious because I'd heard it was famous in Busan, and I went and had a properly delicious meal, from the ogyeopsal to the honeycomb pork skin, haha. No wonder Chopilsal made its way up from Busan! If you're looking for a good pork restaurant near Hongdae Station, I recommend it!! (I'm definitely going back next time... for real..!)