Hamdeok black pork restaurant, pollack roe kim wraps: Jeju Samchun

How to find Jeju Samchun near Hamdeok Beach

On the second evening of my Jeju trip, I was looking for a good black pork spot near Hamdeok Beach and came across this place. I'd wanted to try proper Jeju black pork before the trip even started, and after searching around I found reviews were unusually good, so I booked a reservation without expecting too much — and went.

The address is 537-1 1F Sinbuk-ro, Jocheon-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju, South Korea. It's about a 1-minute walk from the Hamdeok Olive Young intersection toward Hallasan, down the alley next to Kyochon Chicken or the one next to Paris Baguette — not hard to find at all. At night the alley can feel a little confusing since it's set back a bit, but the sign is lit up brightly so it's easy to spot from a distance.

For parking, skip the alley right in front of the restaurant and use the free parking lot with the green fence behind Hamdeok Olive Young instead. It's less than a 2-minute walk from the restaurant, but the alley out front is narrow and gets congested, especially with waiting customers' cars. We wandered around in front of the restaurant at first before moving to the free lot and walking over comfortably.

They're open daily from 12:00 to 23:00, with last order at 22:00. They may close early if ingredients run out, so if you're planning a late dinner, it's worth checking ahead. Groups of 8 or more can also make phone reservations.

What the weekend evening feels like at Jeju Samchun

On the weekend evening we went, tables were nearly full. There were quite a few foreign travelers too — this place seems to have gotten a real reputation through social media and travel communities. There were plenty of families with kids, and high chairs were on hand. Overall the atmosphere was lively but not chaotic, comfortable to sit in.

Each table has its own individual exhaust duct, so I didn't have to worry about the meat smell clinging to my clothes — a really nice touch. The silver piping running up to the ceiling almost felt like a design feature.

Pets are allowed too (a cage, stroller, or bag is required), and there's group seating for anywhere from 6 to 60 people, so it seemed like a comfortable fit for family trips or larger travel groups. There are separate men's and women's restrooms, and both the entrance and seating are wheelchair accessible — a thoughtful detail.

Ordering is done directly through a tablet installed at each table.

The Jocha Set of pork neck and belly, 500g, is ₩60,000 — a reasonable price for black pork, and plenty of food for two people to eat until full. If you add 200g of gabrisal (pork skirt meat) to the Jocha Set, or add cold jantguksu noodles and a bowl of rice, apparently it's enough for two adults and one child, so it's worth building out the menu based on your group size.

How was the Jocha Set black pork at Jeju Samchun?

This restaurant's signature is the Jocha Set. It comes with a mix of neck, belly, and specialty cuts, and even the way it was arranged on the wooden plate looked special. The grain of the meat was visible and the marbling looked great, so I was excited even before it hit the grill.

I later learned that Jeju Samchun's black pork undergoes 300 hours of low-temperature aging. Maybe that's why, even though the cuts were thick, they still had a tender texture and deep flavor.

On top of that, they add a subtle smoke from grapevine wood chips, so from the moment the meat hit the grill there wasn't a hint of gamey smell — just a savory, deep aroma spreading through the air. My mouth was watering before the meat was even cooked. Getting to watch the smoking performance right in front of us added to the fun as much as the taste did.

The chewiness and savory juiciness that's distinctive to Jeju black pork really came through, and I kept reaching for another piece as each one finished cooking. The texture was noticeably firmer than regular pork belly, with a distinct bite. The specialty cuts were chewy yet tender, which made them impossible to stop eating.

It was also great that the staff grilled the meat for us from start to finish. They handled the scissors skillfully and timed the grilling perfectly, so all we had to do was sit back and eat well-cooked meat.

The skin especially was grilled crispy, which gave it a really nice texture. The grill had a modern design with a cylindrical vent in the center, so smoke was drawn straight up, keeping the restaurant pleasant — that stood out to me too.

Pollack roe, seaweed and grilled aged kimchi pairings

Even the basic side dishes paired well with the meat. The lettuce wraps and garlic weren't overly seasoned, which actually let the natural flavor of the meat shine through, and the shredded scallion salad, white kimchi, and pickled radish all went well alongside it.

For sauces, they bring out Maldon salt, shiitake wasabi, and myeoljeot (fermented anchovy sauce) as standard, and the three flavors were distinct enough that it was fun switching between them depending on the cut. The umami-packed Maldon salt paired with the rich myeoljeot — a must with Jeju black pork — was a particular standout. I usually enjoy dipping meat in shiitake wasabi anyway, and this one was clean and sharp, cutting through the richness of the meat nicely.

But what impressed me most was a tip the staff shared with us directly.

For the fattier cuts, they suggested dipping lightly in breadcrumbs, or placing pollack roe (myeongnan-jeot) on top of the meat and wrapping it in seaweed. At first I thought, "Meat with seaweed and pollack roe?" but once I tried it, the savory flavor really came alive while the greasiness disappeared in a way that surprised me. I've been to plenty of Korean BBQ places, but it had been a long time since I found one that put this much thought into pairing suggestions.

Another tip they gave us was to wrap aged kimchi around the edge of the grill once the meat was mostly cooked, and grill it alongside. This grilled aged kimchi was a work of art — wrapping a piece of meat in it cut all the greasiness while the tanginess spread through your mouth, refreshing your appetite completely.

It tasted even better wrapped in lettuce with wild garlic leaves (myeongi-namul) and shredded scallion. Jeju black pork definitely has a strong meaty aroma, so it paired well with ssamjang (dipping sauce) or wild garlic leaf sauce. The shredded scallion salad was loaded with sesame oil and sesame seeds, so wrapping it with the meat doubled the aroma.

Cold janchi-guksu noodles and black pork kimchi jjigae

After eating a good amount of meat, we also ordered cold jantguksu (feast noodles). Warm jantguksu is nice too, but after eating meat, the cool broth worked so much better as a palate cleanser. The moment I took a sip, it felt like the grease was rinsed right away, refreshing and clean, and the noodles were chewy and springy, sliding down easily. It felt like a satisfying finish.

We also ordered the black pork kimchi jjigae (stew), a must when eating meat. The stone pot was generously loaded with big, tender pieces of black pork and well-fermented aged kimchi, giving the broth a whole different level of depth. It wasn't heavy but had a spicy, rich, refreshing kick that cleanly cut through the richness of the meat. Mixing a bowl of rice into the stew broth and topping it with a piece of meat kept us reaching for more even after we were already full.

Having a glass of Hallasan soju alongside it felt like it washed away all the fatigue from traveling.

Black pork after a walk along Hamdeok Beach

If you're looking for a black pork restaurant near Hamdeok Beach, be sure to stop by Jeju Samchun. The meat quality — 300 hours of low-temperature aging plus grapevine smoking for deep flavor without any gamey smell — was great, the sauce lineup with Maldon salt, shiitake wasabi, myeoljeot, pollack roe with seaweed, and grilled aged kimchi gave plenty of variety, and the friendly service of staff grilling everything from start to finish rounded it all out nicely. It's also a great spot if you're planning a trip around Jocheon. After swimming or walking at Hamdeok Beach, walking over for a plate of black pork to finish the day sounds like a great plan too.