Jokbal restaurant in Suwan, Gwangju: dip-style garlic sauce, Kkankkan

I was craving that spicy-sweet seasoned garlic jokbal, so I went looking for where to eat it — and it turns out my trusty favorite, Kkankkan Jjokbal, had just released a new garlic jokbal menu! So off I went to try it.

Where is Kkankkan Jjokbal Suwan Branch, and where to park

• Address: 44 Suwan-ro, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 12:00–23:30
• Parking: Two spots available beside the shop, plus the food alley parking lot, or street parking

Kkankkan Jjokbal, a go-to dinner spot in the Suwan district's food alley! There are two dedicated parking spots right beside the shop, and you can also park in the food alley lot just in front, where cars are lined up.

Inside Kkankkan Jjokbal: spacious tables and a big screen

A spacious, pleasant Suwan district favorite! Even though Kkankkan Jjokbal Suwan Branch is a chain location, it's always busy and popular — probably because the store is so well kept, just like it looks here :) The interior has generous spacing between tables, and the tables themselves are big, making for a really comfortable meal. There's even a large screen, great for watching sports while you eat!

Kkankkan Jjokbal Suwan Branch menu and prices

The menu board at this Suwan district favorite! From the solid core lineup — charcoal-grilled jokbal from 42,000 won, direct-fire spicy jokbal at 42,000 won, half-and-half jokbal at 48,000 won — to various sets you can pick based on group size and occasion: Couple Set 46,000 won, Friend Set 57,000 won, Family Set 96,000 won, Jokbo Set 95,000 won.

What I ordered — the one I had my eye on from the start — was the Goheung raw garlic jokbal, medium, at 45,000 won. It's jokbal grilled once more over charcoal, topped with a special sauce made from raw Goheung garlic ;)

Complimentary side dishes that fill the table with one jokbal order

The basic table setting is so generous that even ordering just one jokbal turns into a full spread at this Suwan district favorite! First came my favorite sesame dressing salad, along with lettuce wraps, pickled radish, radish pickle, and garlic — all the good sides to pair with jokbal, laid out in a row.

And then this steamed egg..! So soft and not salty at all — the kind of fluffy, jiggly steamed egg even kids could eat :)

On top of that, this sundubu jjigae shows up too ,, So between the salad, the stew, the steamed egg, and the star protein jokbal, this really is a full table that covers every nutrient you'd need!

Cracking a raw egg into the sundubu jjigae

They even give you a raw egg to crack in and stir into the sundubu jjigae yourself ,, truly the best. Once the sundubu jjigae is bubbling, you just crack the raw egg in and let it cook — it had that spicy kick while still tasting like a proper, classic sundubu jjigae. Honestly it was way better than I expected, so I just kept eating it , , Whenever I needed something spicy while eating jokbal, I'd reheat the broth and slurp it right up!

Goheung raw garlic jokbal with the garlic sauce on the side for dipping

The Goheung raw garlic jokbal finally arrives! I could feel the charcoal aroma rising strongly, and the skin looked tender and soft.

The sauce doesn't come poured on from the start — it's served separately alongside the plain jokbal, so it's a dip-style setup that feels like you ordered a half-and-half jokbal, since you get to eat both the plain jokbal and the garlic version ..! So I ate it going back and forth — some garlic jokbal, then some plain charcoal jokbal. Very good ~.~

Kkankkan Jjokbal is always reliably delicious, but why is the Suwan branch this good ,,? You could tell the jokbal itself was well managed. Not cold, not tough, no gamey smell whatsoever — just that gentle charcoal aroma wafting up ..! I poured the garlic sauce on for some bites and dipped for others! But this garlic sauce — it's twice as tasty as it looks ,,

How sharp is the raw garlic sauce?

A sharp, pungent aroma hits you from the garlic sauce, with the minced garlic still fully intact — whereas at other places, garlic jokbal or garlic bossam often barely tastes like garlic and just ends up sweet. Here it was clearly different. The garlic's alluring sharpness stayed alive while it was just sweet enough to add depth without overpowering the jokbal's flavor, so I honestly couldn't stop reaching for more.

This skin part had such a bouncy, springy texture — not just chewy but really springy ,,, that stickiness plus the signature jokbal seasoning plus the charcoal aroma — absolutely nothing to complain about!

This garlic jokbal from Kkankkan Jjokbal, a Suwan district favorite, paired surprisingly well with lettuce wraps too!

Mini feet lovers: save the bone pieces for last

The boneless part was tender as expected, and once I finished that, the bone section — the mini feet part — still had skin packed all over it! As a mini-feet lover, this made me really happy , , On top of that, the mini feet also carried that proper charred charcoal aroma, so I put on gloves and picked up the bone to eat it properly ㅎ.ㅎ If you're a mini-feet lover, you have to visit Kkankkan Jjokbal in Suwan district ,, holding the bone and dunking it straight into the garlic sauce was incredibly tasty too.

When you want jokbal in the Suwan district, when you want a full table with jokbal plus a variety of other dishes, or when you want a hearty snack with a drink in the Suwan district, I recommend Kkankkan Jjokbal, a Suwan district favorite :)