Hapjeong Korean BBQ with individual per-person trays: Jeongyukdo

Meeting up with my temple members again after a long time, we planned a BBQ meetup to taste the flavor of the secular world once more haha! The weather's been so nice lately that we've been hanging out in Hapjeong a lot, and I heard there was a place with a really nicely done outdoor patio too — so we headed to Jeongyukdo (정육도)~

Jeongyukdo location, hours and parking near Hapjeong Station

• 📍Location: 14 Yangwha-ro 6-gil, 2F, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰Hours: Mon-Sat 11:30-23:00 / Fri 11:30-22:00
• 🚗Parking: Not available, use nearby public parking lots

Arriving at 4pm: the Jeongyukdo patio will have to wait

At 4pm, the sun was too hot to sit on Jeongyukdo's patio. We showed up around 4pm, and I guess it was too early because the sun was blazing, so we couldn't sit outside ㅠㅠ (I really wanted to try the patio, so that was the most disappointing part..!)

But the patio was seriously so pretty! It's not a crowded vibe either, so I think coming around 7-8pm would be perfect haha!!

Honestly, during the daytime, the air-conditioned indoor space really is best haha. The interior was super comfortable!

Is Jeongyukdo a good spot for a Hapjeong group dinner?

Inside Jeongyukdo there's a proper private bathroom, and there are also spaces divided by partial walls like small rooms, so it looked like a really good spot for a Hapjeong meetup or a company dinner!

And what I loved was that everyone gets their own individual tray, which felt neat and so nice!! Side dishes are separate for each person too — the thoughtfulness of giving one tray per person is totally my type...

There's salt, wasabi, and whole grain mustard on the table too, so you can scoop some onto your own dish, and pickled onion and scallion shreds come out as well haha.

The charcoal looked really good too haha, honestly isn't charcoal the most important thing at a BBQ place!

What we ordered at Jeongyukdo: Handon pork set + pork jowl

• Hanwoo pork set (fresh ribs + flower-cut pork neck + pork belly, beef doenjang stew): choice of anchovy dip stone pot or beef doenjang stew
• Pork jowl, 1 serving

The Hanwoo pork set finally arrived! It's a combo of pork belly, pork neck, and fresh ribs — the vivid red color of the meat looked super fresh just by looking at it.

Time to put it all on the grill!!!!! Look at the thickness of that pork neck and pork belly ㅠㅠ

Honestly, out of all the pork cuts, the classic pork belly and pork neck were the ones I was most excited for!! Even just visually, the meat quality looked amazing!!

The strong charcoal aroma was really soaking into the meat as it turned golden brown...!

Which cut of the Handon pork set tasted best?

At Jeongyukdo the grill plate is nice and wide, so you can put the whole Hanwoo pork set on at once!! You know you have to keep eating meat non-stop without a break, right(!?)

I tried the very first bite plain, without dipping it in anything — the juices burst out... it was so tender! Fresh ribs, pork belly, pork neck — every single one was delicious without exception, to the point I couldn't pick which cut was best.. If it's your first time, I'd definitely recommend starting with the set!

Grilling the mushrooms until golden and wrapping them with scallion shreds was my personal favorite combo!!

There are plenty of sauces and side dishes that go great with the meat, and pairing it with the clean radish salad gives it an insane depth of flavor.

The extra pork jowl was the winner

After we wiped out the set, we added an extra order of pork jowl! Honestly, Jeongyukdo is a spot known for its specialty cuts haha, the texture and grain quality here are on another level!!!

The pork jowl's meat quality was seriously impressive..!

You could feel the springy, bouncy texture even as it cooked...!!

I ate one piece of pork jowl first, and it was completely savory and so bouncy that I could sense right away this pork jowl was no joke..!

After that we wrapped and ate it up like crazy hahaha — we tried the pork ribs, pork neck, pork belly, and pork jowl among all the pork cuts, but pork jowl was the winner...! I still can't forget that chewy texture.

The hanwoo beef doenjang stew included with the set

And then the beef doenjang stew that came with the set had a ton of ingredients in it, and it was a perfect match to eat alongside the meat.

It had way too many ingredients to just be called a side dish, so I ate it very satisfied — this doenjang stew was great haha.

Final verdict on Jeongyukdo

Next time I definitely want to come at sunset to fully enjoy the patio vibe while grilling meat at Jeongyukdo

With individual trays per person, the whole place felt tidy and comfortable overall, plus the meat quality was excellent! Please try the crazy-textured pork jowl paired with the savory beef doenjang stew together. If you're looking for a nice-vibe, clean Korean BBQ spot in Hapjeong, I recommend Jeongyukdo's Hapjeong branch!!