Guro jokbal restaurant, two bottles of soju after work: The Jokbal

I was craving jokbal so badly after work, and when I heard about this Guro Station spot run by an owner with 30 years' experience as a Chosun Hotel chef, I went straight there. Even at 6pm on a weekday it was nearly full, buzzing with takeout customers and delivery riders.

The Jokbal Sindorim Main Branch: location, hours and parking

The Jokbal Sindorim Main Branch 1F, Sindorim 3-cha Prugio Apartment complex retail block, 619-3 Gyeongin-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, South Korea Mon–Fri 11:00–22:30 (break time 15:00–16:00) Saturday 11:00–22:30 Sunday 11:00–21:30 Free parking available (~2.5 hours) Dine-in, takeout, and delivery available

The Jokbal has kept the same taste and tradition going since 2012, a Guro Station favorite serving jokbal and bossam made from an in-house recipe, alongside a wide range of set menus and lunch options too! The lunch specials looked really varied, so if you're hunting for a good Sindorim lunch spot, The Jokbal is one I'd recommend. Since we came for jokbal, we ordered the front leg jokbal and a small jjaengban mak-guksu.

Side dishes: Jeju winter radish kimchi and dried radish green soup

At this Guro Station favorite, the side dishes to eat alongside the jokbal — radish kimchi, chive salad, lettuce wraps, plus the complimentary bite-size cold jokbal and dried radish green soup — were seriously generous. The radish kimchi in particular is made only with fresh winter radish grown in Jeju, hand-prepared and cold-aged for 48 hours — a signature basic side unique to The Jokbal!! No wonder the texture was so crisp and the seasoning so delicious. Refills were an absolute must.

The complimentary bite-size cold jokbal

First we tried the bite-size cold jokbal meant to whet the appetite, and the refreshing, tender jokbal paired so well with the chewy cheonsachae-like noodles!!! As an appetizer to nibble on while waiting for the main dish, it was truly excellent. It made me look forward to the other seasoned jokbal dishes too 😋

Front leg jokbal, boiled and sold the same day

At this Guro Station favorite, they follow a strict three-same-day rule: the raw jokbal, made from domestic first-grade pork, is delivered, boiled, and sold all on the same day — jokbal you can trust, and a menu I'd highly recommend for a Sindorim group dinner. The front leg jokbal looked so tender and soft I gasped just looking at it!! I wanted to dig in right away!!

Jokbal absolutely needs a shot of soju to go with it, so this is a very, very strong recommendation for a Sindorim group dinner or a gathering spot near Guro Station 👍👍 Just imagine how good this combo is~

The front leg jokbal at this Guro Station favorite is boiled using only 15 premium fresh ingredients, and you can really taste it — the meat is so tender, with no gamey smell, and there's a deep, savory flavor that lingers in your mouth. I was genuinely moved by this jokbal.......... I love you, jokbal 🫶🫶

Plenty of skin on the front leg jokbal, too

The jokbal skin, which people call "edible collagen," just kept coming — the portion was really generous no matter how much I ate. Today especially, I felt like all that jokbal skin was pumping my skin full of collagen with every bite!!!! Its texture contrasted beautifully with the Jeju radish kimchi — truly the best pairing.

Small jjaengban mak-guksu with two bottles of soju

The Jokbal's jjaengban mak-guksu was a real highlight too — not spicy, but richly seasoned in a way that cuts through the richness of the jokbal without overpowering it, like a perfect sidekick. Wrapped together with the jokbal, it's even more delicious~

I'd meant to just nourish myself with jokbal at this Guro Station favorite, but soju can't be left out, so we ended up drinking two whole bottles hahahaha. Turns out you really can't have jokbal and mak-guksu without a drink 😋

Why The Jokbal became a Sindorim favorite

The Jokbal is famous enough as a Guro Station favorite that the dining room was nearly full, on top of a steady stream of takeout customers and delivery riders picking up jokbal — a real Sindorim hotspot!!! Thanks to the owner's unwavering skill, tradition, and philosophy toward jokbal, built over his years as a Chosun Hotel chef, this was the meal I'd been craving. Ate really, really well.