Seoul Korean BBQ near Hapjeong Station, à la carte pork jowl: Ijjok

Where is Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal near Hapjeong Station?

Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal is a BBQ restaurant at 20 Dokmak-ro 3-gil, B1, Mapo-gu, Seoul, right on the main dining street near Hapjeong Station. It's an easy short walk from the station. A well-known spot among well-known spots, haha!! Here, the owner grills the meat for you, and does it deliciously!!

How long is the wait at 6pm on a weekday?

There are chairs set up at the entrance for waiting. We went at 6pm on a weekday and waited just a little before getting seated. Once you taste the food, the wait feels completely worth it — it's the kind of place worth waiting for!!

What's on the menu at Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal?

There's a menu sign like this, and the set menus seem to be very well put together. I liked that the menu wasn't overloaded — just the right number of options.

I read through the menu carefully while waiting. There are 2–3 person sets and 3–4 person sets that looked great, but we really wanted fried rice, so we just ordered à la carte.

Half-floor seating and the mood inside Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal

After about a 10-minute wait, we got in. The restaurant is split into sections on the side — should I call it a half-floor? We were seated off to the side, down on the lower half-floor. It was really clean and well put together!

Once you're seated, there's a note explaining how to enjoy the meat, and fresh wasabi and roasted salt are neatly set out for you to help yourself to as much as you like!

The side dishes and bean sprouts that come with the meat

First, the basic side dishes come out like this — the shredded scallion salad is reliably tasty, and there was bean sprouts tossed in soy sauce, which was the real kicker for me!

I love spicy chili peppers, so I asked for some separately and they kindly brought them over.

Fresh pork belly and whole pork jowl, grilled by the owner

We ordered fresh pork belly and whole pork jowl first, then added doenjang sool-bap and fried rice later. The whole pork jowl was genuinely delicious! The color of the meat was insane..

The owner grills the meat for you like this, so even people who aren't great at grilling can enjoy a perfect meal. It was so nice not having to worry about the meat while eating, and since you don't have to watch the grilling timing, it's great for chatting over dinner too. Eating the kimchi together with the meat especially kept it from feeling greasy — my chopsticks kept going back for more.

The pork belly was delicious too, but the whole pork jowl exceeded expectations, and since the kimchi itself is so good, the grilled kimchi was even better.

Finishing with doenjang sool-bap and fried rice

As a self-declared sool-bap lover who always orders it when a BBQ place has it, Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal's doenjang sool-bap was rich and truly delicious!

And of course, no K-dessert fried rice can be skipped. The rice had that fluffy texture, and even full, my spoon didn't stop until the last bite.

It's a bit messy, but please look past that — as you can see, I wanted to show that we cleaned the plate and really enjoyed it..^^

Is Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal good for a Hapjeong work dinner or meeting friends?

There are plenty of BBQ restaurants near Hapjeong Station, but if you're looking for a Korean BBQ restaurant near Hapjeong Station, I really, really recommend Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal! The quality of the meat is great, and best of all, the owner grills the meat for you from start to finish, so you can eat well right until the very end — that was a huge plus. The tables also aren't packed too close together, so it stays quiet enough inside to enjoy fully.

It's a great spot for a meal with friends, and it'd work well for anyone looking for a work dinner spot too. If you've been searching for a Korean BBQ restaurant near Hapjeong Station, give Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal a try :)