Yongbong-dong soju bar, Gwangju: ₩42,000 charcoal jokbal Kkankkanhan

Today I'm sharing a visit to a well-known franchise jokbal spot — Kkankkanhan Jokbal Yongbong Branch, a favorite in the Yongbong-dong area of Gwangju :)

Where is Kkankkanhan Jokbal Yongbong Branch, and what are the hours?

Kkankkanhan Jokbal Yongbong Branch is at 82 Yongbongtaekji-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, and it's open daily from 4pm to 11:30pm. No parking available, just so you know.

• Address: 82 Yongbongtaekji-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 16:00–23:30
• 🅿️ No parking 🚫

Inside at 7pm: a full house and what we ordered

I got there around 7ish, and people just kept streaming in until the place was packed. Loud and lively, that classic 'first drink in a while' feeling — I think we ended up going through about 2 bottles haha.

The menu is set up like this, and there were so many options I had a hard time deciding, but in the end I circled back to the classic choice...

Order / Charcoal-grilled jokbal (medium) x1 ₩42,000 / Soju x2 ₩10,000

This is what we ended up ordering!

If you join the review event, you get a rice ball, or charcoal/spicy tail, or a 3-kind mini jokbal — definitely worth joining!!

Free with every order: eomuk-tang and pudding-style steamed egg

Once you sit down at Kkankkanhan Jokbal Yongbong Branch, this default spread comes out.

The cold, spicy-savory eomuk (fish cake) soup is a perfect match with soju. Plus the pudding-style steamed egg-!

How was the charcoal-grilled jokbal (medium), 42,000 won?

The charcoal-grilled jokbal (medium) at ₩42,000 comes out after about a 10-minute wait ✨ Gorgeous, right..?

First I tried the main dish, the charcoal-grilled jokbal, plain with nothing dipped, and the skin part had this chewy-yet-springy texture that was so good. The meat and fat were balanced well, so it wasn't greasy, but the meat also wasn't dry — just right haha. The meat especially had a clean, light flavor, and alternating between the chewy skin and the clean meat made for such a great combo of texture and taste! Jokbal really does taste best when you eat the skin and meat together.

Next I tried it dipped in the sauce, but jokbal really does need salted shrimp (saeujeot)!! That umami hit... looking at these photos makes me want to eat it again.

How to eat it: jokbal on pickled radish wraps

Still, jokbal needs a wrap!! Put a beauty-queen-worthy piece of jokbal on the pickled radish (ssammu), raw garlic is a must, shredded radish (musaengchae) optional. That's my jokbal routine 🤫

The review-event spicy pig tail: was the portion generous?

The freebie from the Kkankkanhan Jokbal Yongbong Branch review event was spicy tail. Wow... this was seriously so chewy and springy I couldn't stop eating it lol. You really get that distinctive chewy texture of tail meat, with a subtle smoky char that hit my appetite hard the moment I tasted it. The spicy-salty sauce made it great on its own, but paired with soju it was an even better match 🤤 And the portion was bigger than I expected — I was surprised! It was generous enough that three people could easily share it haha. We got it through the review event, and both the portion and the flavor were satisfying. Definitely order this if you're doing the review event!!

Slurp down some soft steamed egg in between bites and...

...the soju just disappears in no time!! haha