Nambu Terminal pork BBQ: six-layer vs five-layer belly, Yuk Tongryeong

My boyfriend had a training session near Nambu Bus Terminal Station, so we stopped by Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae for dinner!! I happened to be craving meat that day, and I'd heard it was a Blue Ribbon-rated spot, so we decided to check it out :)

Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store: location, hours and parking

Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store is on the 1st floor of Jion Building, 69 Banpo-daero 20-gil, Seocho-gu. It's open Monday through Sunday, 11:30–22:30, with last order at 22:00. Parking is available, with lots near the restaurant.

It took us under 10 minutes on foot from Nambu Bus Terminal Station on Line 3. It's roughly between Gyodae Station and Nambu Bus Terminal, so either works, but it's slightly closer to Gyodae Station!

This is the exterior of Yuk Tongryeong. Looks like it's been on various media outlets, like Sooyoomisik. A black pork ogyeopsal spot for sure!!!!

And six Blue Ribbon stickers on the entrance. Six years running as of this year, including this one — the good-restaurant vibes were strong, haha.

Inside Yuk Tongryeong: smoke-free air and room for group dinners

The inside of Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store has good ventilation and air conditioning, so despite being a grill place, the air stays fresh 👍🏻 Each table also has a partition, so it seems good for group dinners and gatherings. We visited after work on a weekday and there were tons of office workers nearby coming in for meat and a drink 😮 It kept getting busier as time went on.

On the way to our seats, we could see meat aging on one side. I liked being able to see it like that — quality is everything when it comes to meat.

Side dishes and the six sauces at Yuk Tongryeong

The table was set as soon as we sat down. There were so many banchan (side dishes) — salad, lettuce and green onion salad, plus a bunch of herby side dishes that go well with meat like perilla leaves and wild garlic.

There were also a whopping six different sauces.

Ordering the black pork premium yukgyeopsal (two servings)

True to its reputation as a Seoul samgyeopsal spot, there were so many meat options it was hard to choose,, The signature menu includes yukgyeopsal, ogyeopsal, samgyeopsal, and king axe bone. We decided to start with the black pork yukgyeopsal 🍽️ and ordered ogyeopsal after that, haha.

• Black pork premium yukgyeopsal (2 servings)
• Black pork original ogyeopsal (2 servings)
• Doenjang jjigae (comes with rice)

Yukgyeopsal marbling I hadn't seen anywhere else. The meat quality is insane... it's so thick, haha.

Do staff grill the meat for you at Yuk Tongryeong?

And what I liked best was that they grill the meat for you 👏🏻 My boyfriend especially loved this — he said having someone grill the meat is the best part, especially at group dinners, haha.

Grilling thick cuts is especially tricky, but since they handled it perfectly for us, we could just relax and focus on eating. Haha, the best.

Going out with Taeng... am I imagining it, or does the number of drinks with meat keep going up?

Meat grilled golden and delicious 🖤 Crispy outside, full of juice inside. It seems tastier than regular samgyeopsal, maybe because it's yukgyeopsal haha. It disappeared so fast we ordered more right away,,

Doenjang jjigae with big potato chunks

We also ordered doenjang jjigae to go with the meat, and it looked a bit different from your typical doenjang jjigae 😮 It had big potato chunks in it 😮 The flavor was mild and excellent, made with house-fermented doenjang. It's far from the salty, overly harsh doenjang jjigae you sometimes get at grill places!

There's an induction burner at the table, so you can keep enjoying it piping hot — that's a nice plus. I finished a full bowl of rice, no problem :D

Yukgyeopsal vs ogyeopsal: which black pork cut tasted better?

This here is the ogyeopsal we ordered as an extra. Not as thick as the yukgyeopsal, but still pretty substantial.

The ogyeopsal was also chewy and delicious!! Of course, if you asked me to pick between yukgyeopsal and ogyeopsal, I'd go with the former, haha. I think the yukgyeopsal felt a bit juicier 👍🏻 I want to eat it again already...

I'd recommend this as a samgyeopsal spot near Gyodae Station and Nambu Bus Terminal Station that's great for office workers. Thanks for the meal :):)