Weekend-night Korean BBQ in Cheongna, Incheon: Gimgol Yeontan-jip

Charcoal-grilled pork restaurants are really having a moment lately. Charcoal briquettes — something I only ever saw as a kid… even back when my house actually used them, we never once grilled food over charcoal fire. They were just fuel for the boiler, and my only memory is my grandmother or dad changing the briquettes before bed when I was very young.

Turns out those briquettes are still being made, and apparently charcoal grilling has its own unique flavor, so I visited a Cheongna Korean BBQ restaurant, "Gimgol Yeontan-jip Cheongna Branch."

Location, parking, and hours of Gimgol Yeontan-jip Cheongna Branch

🏡 Address: 15 Cheongnaruby-ro 42beon-gil, Seohae-gu, Incheon It's on the first floor of a commercial-residential building, so there's parking in front of the store as well as space beside the building. However, it gets incredibly busy on weekend evenings and the parking fills up completely — you may end up double-parking and moving your car for others — so if you're close by or plan to drink, I highly recommend walking.

⏰ Hours Mon–Fri 15:00 – 24:00 Sat, Sun 13:00 – 24:00 Last order 23:30

Waiting-list service at this Cheongna Korean BBQ spot

Right after double-parking and getting seated at Gimgol Yeontan-jip Cheongna Branch, I had to go move my car. It was past 9pm on a weekend, the parking lot was completely full, and the restaurant inside was packed too — you could really feel that this is a popular Cheongna Korean BBQ spot. The car situation gave me a bit of trouble at first.

The owner apologized for the inconvenience, but honestly, having lots of customers and lots of cars isn't the owner's fault. They give drinks and food as a service to people waiting, so it seems like plenty of people keep coming back for that.

Charcoal salt pork belly & seolhwa kkodeulsal

The charcoal fire was already lit, and the sauces and personal side dishes came out just like in the picture. It's not a big deal, but it was a fun little detail haha.

The meat with salt sprinkled on it is the charcoal salt pork belly, and the rest is the daily-limited seolhwa kkodeulsal ("snow crispy meat"). Honestly I ordered it without knowing what kkodeulsal even was — but seeing how much fat was on it, I could tell right away why it's called that.

As the pork grilled, they also grilled the kimchi alongside it, and popping both into your mouth at once gave the kimchi a lovely savory depth. The raw meat grilled up beautifully, and eating it with the "world's first" basil ssamjang (dipping sauce) gave a whole new flavor. Eating the pork belly with sesame oil pressed at a three-generation mill added extra nuttiness, and the julienned pickled peppers made your mouth feel refreshingly clean.

Gochujang charcoal bulgogi served in earthenware jars

While the meat was grilling, the staff kept swapping out the grill plate regularly, and they were so kind about it — even late at night, their warmth and attentiveness kept my mood up too.

The gochujang charcoal bulgogi comes in a small earthenware jar — one jar is one serving. Since it's a gochujang-based marinade, the grill plate burns quickly, and they said they'd swap it any time we asked, but honestly, even without swapping, once it cooked through it was fine without a fresh plate.

It was a bit strongly seasoned so I ate it with rice — compared to the delicious, nutty pork belly, the gochujang bulgogi tasted different from what I expected, and I think I would've enjoyed it more if I hadn't had any expectations going in.

One serving is 150 grams, so we ordered four jars total, 600 grams — and the two of us finished it all along with rice, and still had room for dessert haha. Is the portion small, or am I just a big eater?

You can grab as many extra side dishes as you want from the self-serve counter, and the pickled peppers and potato salad were especially good, so I kept going back for more haha.

Dessert at this Cheongna Korean BBQ restaurant

Slushies — haven't seen those in a while haha. There are two flavors, omija and plum, so it's fun to pick. The omija slush had a nice tangy flavor, and the plum slush was pleasantly sweet.

Overall thoughts

For how good it tasted, the portions not being all that generous was the one downside, if there was one. The charcoal salt pork belly was delicious, and since other tables were digging into fried rice, next time I've already decided in advance: salt pork belly plus fried rice haha.