Hongdae Korean BBQ with Turkish and Taiwanese friends: Dojeok

I was hunting for a pork belly place around Hongdae and found Dojeok Hapjeong (도적 합정점), and honestly, it was amazing 😭 🥩 I went as a group with foreign friends, including a Turkish friend and Taiwanese friends, and everyone ate so well and left totally full haha.

I really wanted to give them a proper Korean pork belly experience, and Dojeok Hapjeong pulled it off perfectly 🎉 I have a Taiwanese couple visiting, and the guy apparently goes absolutely wild for Korean barbecue. So I was like, where's a good place near Hapjeong~? and found Dojeok... and it was the best choice ^_^

Dojeok Hapjeong location, group seating and parking

Dojeok Hapjeong is a pork belly restaurant in Hapjeong, near Sangsu Station. It has two floors, 1F and 2F, and there's parking too 🅿️ I heard that for weekday groups of 20 or more, you can book a whole floor for private use.

If you're talking Korean BBQ around Hongdae, you can't leave this place out~ The split floors meant no trouble at all for our group, and it's easy to get to. It's perfect for big gatherings or company dinners 💛

What does the pork belly at Dojeok Hapjeong taste like?

The pork belly comes pre-grilled, so it's crispy outside and juicy inside. We ordered the pork belly first and it was seriously incredible, hahaha 😂 The texture is on a whole other level from other places!

And don't stop there! Eat it with crunchy pa-jeolim (seasoned scallion salad) and myeongi namul (pickled wild greens) and the flavor doubles, even triples 🌿 My foreign friends' eyes went wide trying this combo for the first time haha.

Besides pork belly, Dojeok Hapjeong has other cuts like hangjeongsal (pork jowl) and gabrisal (a cut from the pork neck side), so everyone can pick to their taste haha. Ordering several cuts together made the meal feel even richer 🍖

Side dishes: kimchi kalguksu, bibim guksu and doenjang rice

The sides at Dojeok Hapjeong, like kimchi kalguksu (kimchi knife-cut noodle soup), bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles) and doenjang rice (soybean paste rice), have a total home-cooked feel 🏠 It's not only the meat that's good.

Stuffing yourself with meat and then finishing with kimchi kalguksu.. I felt so proud to give my foreign friends the full Korean dining experience haha.

You can tell the banchan (side dishes) were each prepared with care~ The crunchy, neat sides went so well with the meat 🥢

How my foreign friends reacted to their first Korean pork belly

My friends who were trying Korean pork belly for the first time at Dojeok Hapjeong all went speechless the moment they took a bite of the pre-grilled meat wrapped with pa-jeolim and myeongi namul, hahaha 😂 I wanted to show off, like, this is what real Korean pork belly tastes like, and it totally worked!!

Everyone left stuffed to bursting and still said they wanted to come back 💛 Among Hongdae-area pork belly places, this is a perfect one to bring foreign friends haha.

Was the service okay for a group?

The staff at Dojeok Hapjeong were really kind, so even first-timers can enjoy it without any hassle. Even as a group, everyone was comfortable 😊

The 1F and 2F are separate, and I liked that they seated us to fit our numbers. Overall the place was kept neat and clean ✨

Who I'd recommend Dojeok Hapjeong to

• Anyone looking for a proper pork belly place around Hongdae
• Anyone who wants to give foreign friends a Korean pork belly experience
• Anyone stuck choosing a venue for a group meetup or company dinner
• Anyone who wants meat plus home-style side dishes
• Anyone searching for good BBQ near Sangsu Station or Hapjeong

I'm definitely going back to Dojeok Hapjeong 🥩💛 If you're still deciding on Hongdae pork belly, I highly recommend this place!