Yangyang pork belly restaurant in the mountains: Yeoyejeong

A can't-fail restaurant recommendation for a Yangyang trip! Still just hunting for raw fish here? Honestly, a lot of the seafood places near the beach charge a lot and skimp on what you actually get. And since we're traveling with kids, there's not much seafood they can eat anyway, haha ㅠㅠ

On our last Yangyang trip we stumbled onto a barbecue place completely by chance, and it was such a hit that we went right back this time too. Introducing Yeoyejeong, the place that made us say "this was the best thing we ate in Yangyang" 🤭

Where is Yeoyejeong in Yangyang, and what are the hours?

🥩 Yeoyejeong: 49 Ssangsolbaegi-gil, Seo-myeon, Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do, South Korea

• Hours: Wed–Mon 11:30–21:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Closed every Tuesday

Yeoyejeong's mountain lodge atmosphere

Yeoyejeong has such a nice, quiet mountain-lodge atmosphere. It's not that crowded downtown feeling with shops packed one after another — it's a relaxed spot tucked into the mountains where you can eat comfortably, and that made me like it even more.

Green mountains below a clear sky, perfect weather, and delicious meat to top it off — Yeoyejeong was just complete 😌 If you're serious about your meat, you won't regret this one 👍

Is parking easy at Yeoyejeong?

There's a really spacious parking lot right in front of the restaurant, so you don't need to worry about parking — that's another plus 🤭

Yeoyejeong's menu and the banchan set

Yeoyejeong's menu has pork, beef, noodles, stew, and even two kinds of rice. There's even a warm sotbap (hot stone-pot rice) cooked fresh to order 🤭

They set us up first with the side dishes plus ssamjang (dipping sauce), salt, and wasabi to go with the meat 😊

When to visit Yeoyejeong to avoid a wait

The place has a clean, tidy feel. We arrived right when break time ended, and by dinnertime the tables filled up fast 🤭 Definitely a neighborhood favorite — it got busy once dinner rolled around. If you don't want to wait, I'd recommend arriving a bit earlier than mealtime 😌

Is Yeoyejeong good with a small child?

Yeoyejeong is also a great place to bring kids — there were plenty of baby chairs ready, and the kid dishware was nice and clean.

They also had paper and markers for the kids to play with, so it was nice that our kids didn't get bored while waiting.

The thick pork belly worth a second trip

The meat came out first. The pork belly we had here last time was so good it stuck in my mind the whole time until we could come back, so I ordered pork belly again. The thick-cut meat arrived first 🥓

Even from the side, the cut is really thick. Maybe that's why it holds so much juice and tastes even better.

Kimchi stew (kimchi jjigae) on the side

We ordered kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew) too, and it was spicy and so good. Packed full of ingredients — it felt like they didn't skimp at all, and we ate it up happily.

Spicy kimchi and tofu. I knew this place was known for its meat, but the kimchi jjigae was seriously good too 👍

How the pork belly tasted off Yeoyejeong's grill

Honestly, the meat is the main event. Golden-brown grilled meat — the familiar flavor was even scarier in a good way, and I'd been waiting so long to eat it again 😌 Wondering if it would taste the way it did before, I kept drooling just watching it cook.

Meat grilling to a beautiful golden brown.

Since we were with the kids we grilled it well-done, and gosh, looking at the photo makes me want to eat it again :) The first time we came, I took one bite and my husband and I just looked at each other and nodded — so good — and it was exactly the same this time 👍

Full of juice inside with a satisfying chew and rich flavor 🤭👍 This is exactly it, I thought. Definitely worth coming back for 🥹

I especially loved the ssamjang, so I kept wrapping lettuce leaves with it. The lettuce and garlic that came with it were so fresh too.

Adding an extra order of meat for the family

Since you can only get Yeoyejeong's meat by coming to Yangyang, I couldn't resist ordering extra 🥹 The meat was so good the kids ate it up too, and my husband and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Having the whole family eat well made it even more satisfying.

Next time we're in Yangyang, our family will definitely come back here. If you want a properly delicious meal in Yangyang instead of the usual seafood, I genuinely recommend Yeoyejeong 🤭 A hearty, delicious meal you won't regret ❤️