Cheongju Korean BBQ with staff-grilled pork belly: Sanjang Samgyeop

I was searching for good restaurants in Bongmyeong-dong, Cheongju, and the visuals of minari samgyeopsal (water celery pork belly) looked so tempting that I ended up visiting Sanjang Samgyeop Main Branch! It's located near Bongmyeong-dong Ipark, and unlike a typical Korean BBQ spot, they grill the meat for you and serve it alongside a full plate of minari, bracken fern, kimchi, and king oyster mushroom.

Today I'll walk you through: 🥩 Location and info for Sanjang Samgyeop Main Branch, a Bongmyeong-dong restaurant in Cheongju 🌲 The unique mountain-lodge vibe in the middle of the city 🔥 Pork belly grilled for you, so eating is effortless 🌿 A review of the 3-person minari samgyeopsal set at ₩49,000 🍲 The pairing of Korean beef daechang jjaglagi and pork belly 🍚 Self-made fried rice loaded with meat and minari 🎟️ The cute 10% return-visit discount coupon 👥 Why it works well as a group dinner spot in Cheongju

Where is Sanjang Samgyeop Main Branch? Near Bongmyeong-dong Ipark in Cheongju

Sanjang Samgyeop Main Branch is a minari samgyeopsal restaurant at 193 Baekbong-ro, 1st floor, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, near Bongmyeong-dong Ipark. It's not hard to find when you're looking for somewhere to eat dinner in Bongmyeong-dong, Cheongju.

A dining room that really does feel like a mountain lodge

The Sanjang Samgyeop storefront delivers on the name from the outside — it really does feel like a 'mountain lodge pork belly' place!

With walls textured like tree bark, warm lighting, and even a wooden sign, it felt like stumbling on a BBQ spot deep in the mountains rather than an ordinary Cheongju meat restaurant.

So it seemed like it would work well not just for family dinners but also for friend gatherings or anyone looking for a group dinner spot in Cheongju!

Sanjang Samgyeop menu and minari pork belly set prices

The signature minari samgyeopsal set is priced as: 🥩 2-person set: ₩35,000 🥩 3-person set: ₩49,000 🥩 4-person set: ₩63,000

Looking at the menu, pork belly and pork neck are each ₩14,000 for 150g, and there are extra items like handmade tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties) and handmade pork skin, so it's easy to add more based on your taste!

How much food is in the 49,000 won set for three?

What we ordered this time was the 🥩 3-person minari samgyeopsal set: ₩49,000! It comes with 450g of domestic raw pork belly + minari, Korean beef daechang jjaglagi, and grilled whole king oyster mushroom all served together.

Rather than just ordering pork belly on its own, the set comes with vegetables that go well with the meat plus a stew all at once, so choosing what to order was much simpler than ordering everything separately. If you're looking for samgyeopsal in Cheongju and want a hearty side spread along with the meat, the set is a great option!

Staff grill the pork belly for you at the table

One of the biggest features of Sanjang Samgyeop is that they bring the meat already grilled! Instead of grilling raw meat continuously at the table yourself, they grill the pork belly to the right doneness and set it on the grill for you.

A grill loaded with minari, bracken fern and kimchi

The signature sides at Sanjang Samgyeop are 🌿 minari 🌱 bracken fern 🥬 kimchi 🌶️ seasoned bean sprouts 🍄 king oyster mushroom!

Eating pork belly on its own can get a bit greasy after a while, but pairing it with fragrant minari really cleaned my palate.

In particular, the minari's aroma paired so well with the rich fat flavor of the pork belly that I understood why so many people in Cheongju seek out the minari samgyeopsal combo.

How juicy is the Korean raw pork belly?

The outside was grilled to a golden brown while the inside wasn't overcooked, so the juiciness and nutty flavor really came through with every bite.

In particular, the fat and lean meat were balanced well so it wasn't dry at all but nice and tender. They also noted that they use domestic pork belly and trim the cartilage so it's easy to eat!

Wrapping it all up: ssam at Sanjang Samgyeop

I put a bit of rice on a perilla leaf and stacked pork belly + bracken fern + minari + kimchi on top.

Taking a bite, the nuttiness of the pork belly, the aroma of minari, the spiciness of the kimchi, and the texture of the bracken fern all came together at once, and it was genuinely delicious.

Add a cola or a beer on top of that and — ahhh~~

Korean beef daechang jjaglagi, the perfect partner to pork belly

The minari samgyeopsal set also comes with Korean beef daechang jjaglagi (beef intestine stew)!

After a few bites of pork belly, sipping the hot jjaglagi broth in between cuts through the greasiness of the meat really well, and they pair nicely together. Ordered separately, the beef daechang jjaglagi is ₩11,000, so having it included in the set felt like great value!

The must-order 2,500 won self-serve fried rice

Once you've had your fill of meat, fried rice is the natural finale!

As the bottom layer lightly crisps up and releases a nutty aroma, the spiciness of the kimchi and the rendered pork belly fat soak into the rice — it's definitely addictive!

If you're visiting for samgyeopsal in Cheongju, the meal only feels truly complete once you've finished off with the fried rice!

Free corkage makes Sanjang Samgyeop good for group dinners

Sanjang Samgyeop's free corkage policy is also worth noting!

Since you can bring your favorite drink to enjoy alongside the pork belly, it seemed like a good option for friend gatherings or office workers looking for a group dinner spot in Cheongju too.

A 10% coupon for your next visit

After paying, we got an unexpected cute perk too!

It was a 🐻 return-visit event coupon with a bear illustration, good for 10% off! (No wonder it's called 'mountain lodge'... haha) The coupon design was cute, and knowing I'd get 10% off on my next visit made me think 'I should really come back sometime' haha

They even gave us a cold, delicious yakult for free!! With these little touches of service, it seemed like the kind of place locals in Cheongju would keep coming back to.

Is Sanjang Samgyeop Main Branch in Cheongju worth it?

This visit to Sanjang Samgyeop Main Branch, a Bongmyeong-dong restaurant in Cheongju, was above all a comfortable meal thanks to the pork belly arriving already grilled. Unlike a typical Cheongju meat restaurant, it also has a unique mountain-lodge atmosphere, so it seems like a solid choice for family dinners, group dinners in Cheongju, friend gatherings, or just finding somewhere to eat in Bongmyeong-dong.

If you're looking for a good restaurant in Bongmyeong-dong, Cheongju, why not enjoy a satisfying and comfortable meal at Sanjang Samgyeop Main Branch, where you can dig into staff-grilled domestic raw pork belly, fragrant minari, Korean beef daechang jjaglagi, and king oyster mushroom, finished off with the nutty self-made fried rice?