Nohyeong-dong black pork restaurant, 600g on day one in Jeju: Pork80

First day in Jeju, and day one always means black pork!!! Even if the flight itself is quick, once you land there's check-in at the airport, baggage claim, and picking up the rental car — it's a whole ordeal. Figured I needed to oil up my neck before charging into the rest of the Jeju itinerary, so off we went to a Jeju black pork restaurant to power up.

Where is Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch, and what are the hours?

Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch is at 37-1 Noyeon-ro, 1F, Jeju-si, Jeju, about 5 minutes by car from Jeju Airport in Nohyeong-dong. It's open daily 11:30–23:30, with last order at 22:30.

• Name: Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch
• Address: 37-1 Noyeon-ro, 1F, Jeju-si, Jeju, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:30 – 23:30
• Last order: 22:30
• Parking: 3 hours of parking fees covered for diners at the pay lot at 25 Wonnohyeong 3-gil
• Amenities: Group seating available / Wi-Fi / separate men's and women's restrooms / easy pay / reservations available

What is Nanchuk Matdon black pork?

5 minutes from Jeju Airport, in front of Pork80 there's a huge banner. Nanchuk Matdon — a name I'd never even heard before!!!

Nanchuk Matdon is a domestic black pork breed developed to bring out the good texture of Jeju's native black pig — it has richer marbling than regular pork, so it's soft and savory. It was even featured on Choiza Road, which used to be the show everyone got hyped about — nowadays it's been overtaken by mukbang YouTube, but back in the day, Choiza Road was the gold standard. I'm trusting you, Choiza Road!!!

Inside Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch

The exterior gives off a slightly worn-down old-school restaurant vibe, but once you step inside, the space opens up wide and I actually gasped. The tables are huge, and there's a lot of space between them too.

A slightly retro vibe but also kind of hip inside. The open kitchen caught my eye — noodles hung up in bundles, so it seemed like this place might slay at noodles too.

The restroom inside is super comfortable!!

Looks like they age the meat themselves — the meat fridge in the back was stacked full of whole pigs.

Cups, utensil holders, wet wipes, and tissues all set up on the table.

Since we'd booked through Naver Reservation, our table was already set up!!! We went after lunch rush so we got to eat in peace. There were a lot of foreign tourists too.

The side dishes that keep coming at Pork80

While you're still looking at the menu, side dishes just keep multiplying. They kept bringing out one delicious banchan after another.

The seasoned crab wasn't fishy at all. I wanted to save some to grill, but the seasoning was so good I couldn't help finishing it.

Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch's signature meljeot (fermented anchovy sauce) — seriously not fishy, not too salty, genuinely delicious. I came to Jeju and wouldn't even try meljeot before, but I cleaned the whole thing this time.

What we ordered, and the Naver review event

Gotta try the signature!!! We ordered 600g of Nanchuk Matdon black pork, horned turban shell seafood stew, and bomb egg custard.

If you leave a Naver receipt review, you can get ice cream or soju/beer as a service — keep that in mind when you order.

It was a sorbet-type ice cream, which seemed like it would be totally refreshing after the meal.

How does the first-round grilling service work?

Pork80 does a grilling service for the first plate, so no worries even if you bring kids.

Whoa... the color on this meat is no joke. Quality was solid, as you'd expect from a proper Jeju black pork spot.

The charcoal comes in!!! But wait, won't grilling samgyeopsal over charcoal cause flare-ups from the fat...? Don't worry, just swallow that worry along with the black pork!!!

They splash a bit of water to calm the flames while grilling!!! The staff member was young, but grilled calmly like a total pro, not fazed at all — a very steady-handed employee 👍

Once the meat starts releasing juices, they feed those juices to some king oyster mushrooms. I was already anticipating how good that would taste.

Since the meat was a bit thick, they grilled it not just front and back but standing it up too — the smell was so good I was drooling.

Ta-da❤️❤️❤️ That gorgeous black pork. I wanted to eat it right away.

Once the meat's done grilling, they set it up on top of the grill so it doesn't burn — the residual heat from the charcoal keeps it warm the whole time you're eating.

Matcha salt, wasabi or meljeot: which pairing is best?

For the best way to eat it, they told us: try it with matcha salt first, then with wasabi, then wrapped with scallion and dipped in meljeot.

When the expert tells you, you just have to try it right away. The matcha salt has that bitter matcha taste with a sudden hit of salt — worked well with the meat. The wasabi was too strong, and I couldn't really taste the meat underneath.

You can probably tell just from the photo, right?? This is it... wrapping it in scallion and dipping it fully in meljeot. Black pork with its high fat content can get greasy, but it wasn't like that at all — the sweetness of the scallion and the heavy saltiness of the meljeot balanced each other out perfectly. Nanchuk Matdon, was it? Compared to regular black pork it's less greasy, and the fatty parts are chewy, so you just keep eating.

Geotjeori kimchi and meljeot at Pork80

And another highlight at Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch!!! The kimchi... seriously so good. It's geotjeori (freshly seasoned kimchi), and it's got a sweet taste — even though it's summer cabbage, it was crunchy and sweet and just really good, so I ate kimchi with half a bowl of rice before even getting to the meat. Definitely try it.

Told you it was a meljeot spot... Not salty, not fishy meljeot. It's like a doenjang jjigae-style meljeot, but so good I mixed it into rice and topped it with kimchi.

Bomb egg custard and horned turban shell seafood stew

Bomb egg custard and horned turban shell seafood stew. The bomb egg custard has mozzarella cheese inside it too, so the soft texture just melts. The horned turban shell... super big, but the meat inside was... pretty small.

Told you the meljeot was good, right?? I dipped it fully in meljeot and ate it.

The seafood stew isn't just horned turban shell — it's loaded with crab, shrimp, squid, and mussels, so it's got a clean, refreshing flavor. I fished out all the seafood and then mixed rice right into it. Told you the kimchi was good, right?? I added kimchi on top again!!!

The meljeot... ah, this place is a real meljeot spot. It's not dried anchovy flavor, it tastes like fresh raw anchovy.

From the black pork to the meljeot, kimchi, and horned turban shell seafood stew — even without ordering extra sides, everything down to the basic banchan was delicious. My first meal after arriving in Jeju, and I walked out completely satisfied. A Jeju black pork spot, a Jeju meljeot spot, a Jeju kimchi spot — anyway, it's just a good restaurant.

Is Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch worth it? Final verdict

If you're looking for a good black pork restaurant near Jeju Airport, Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch is a great stop for either your first day or last day of a trip. It's located in Nohyeong-dong, close to Jeju Airport, and the fact that you can try Nanchuk Matdon black pork here stood out too. The thick-cut black pork gets grilled for you with the first-plate grilling service, so it's easy to eat comfortably, and the combo of scallion wrapped with meljeot dip was, in particular, the best of all. Personally, as much as the meat itself, what stuck with me was the meljeot that wasn't fishy or salty, and the crunchy kimchi, and adding the horned turban shell seafood stew on the side made for a fully complete meal.

If you want to eat black pork the moment you land in Jeju, or if you want to try black pork and Nanchuk Matdon near Jeju Airport, I'd recommend Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch. I've been to several famous black pork places with long waits, but this one really suited my taste. If you're looking for a Jeju black pork restaurant, a spot near Jeju Airport, and a meljeot spot all in one, this is somewhere I'd want to visit again 🤗