Pork belly and jowl skirt charcoal BBQ after a movie in Gwangju

My husband and I went to the movies together for the first time in ages! We caught a late showing of Odyssey — the one everyone else had already seen — and didn't want to just head straight home afterward, so we decided to grab dinner first.

My husband loves meat, so while searching for a pork restaurant in Gwangju, Gyeonggi, I remembered Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch, where we'd had such a great meal before, and we went straight over >.< Here's my review of Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch, a charcoal-grill specialist that a lot of people already know as a Taejeon-dong favorite.

Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch

Not just meat — seafood too

Sangnok Hoegwan greets you with all kinds of fresh seafood! Since Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch serves seafood alongside its meat, it's also a Taejeon-dong favorite for people who want to have a drink.

So what's different about charcoal grilling?

I think what sets Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch apart from other pork restaurants is this charcoal grilling. You don't see charcoal grills much these days, but here you can actually cook your meat over one. They thoughtfully had the air conditioning cranked up and the charcoal already set on the table, so we could order without any waiting. I visited on a weekday, but apparently it gets really packed on weekends.

Banchan with ice-cold radish salad

These are Sangnok Hoegwan's side dishes. There aren't a huge number of them, but for eating meat, I found this amount to be just right. That radish salad isn't just plain mu-saengchae — it's served ice-cold, which made it even more savory. The seasoned lettuce was also nutty and well-dressed, so I kept picking at it even before the meat arrived.

Piled high with onions at the self-bar

There's a self-bar set up, so you can help yourself to any banchan that runs low or grab other extra side dishes freely.

I love onions, so I piled a whole bowl of them from the self-bar. Dipping meat in sauce and wrapping it with these is so good >.< Getting to eat as much as I wanted of a dish I actually love, self-serve, made me happy before I'd even started eating.

We ordered pork belly 100g x3, jowl skirt 100g x3

And then our main order arrived. We ordered pork belly 100g x3 and jowl skirt 100g x3! Among Sangnok Hoegwan's menu, this pork belly and jowl skirt combo is genuinely my best pick. I highly recommend the belly-and-jowl combination.

They grilled the pork belly first. Over the charcoal fire it cooked to a nice golden brown without ever burning. Even on a weekday, I could feel more and more customers coming in — I guess it really is a local favorite in Gwangju. They also have anju like pork intestine and seafood, so a lot of people were drinking — if I hadn't been driving, I probably would've had a drink too!

Can you see how evenly it grilled with no burnt spots at all? I think it's because the charcoal fire stays gently warm, so everything cooks evenly without scorching. Once the savory smell of the pork belly started up, I dug in right away.

Perilla leaf and pepper pickles with onion

Wrapping it in the pickles with perilla leaf and pepper, the sharp bite of the pepper cut right through the richness of the pork belly — perfect! The pepper wasn't spicy and the pickles weren't too salty, so the combination with the pork belly was fantastic.

And of course I loaded it up with my favorite onions and sauce >.< I love these onions with seasoned short rib as well as pork belly, but they're not that common at pork restaurants, so it made me like Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch even more.

Jowl skirt, my number-one pick

Next up, they put on the jowl skirt (hangjeongsal)! If you asked me to pick Sangnok Hoegwan's number-one menu item, I'd personally go with this jowl skirt. It was fresh and springy enough to call this place a hangjeongsal specialist.

With the charcoal fire quietly flickering up, the jowl skirt cooked even more deliciously. Even though I'm not exactly great at grilling meat, it cooked through without burning, which made things easy — haha.

Last, the mushrooms served alongside grilled up nice and golden, oozing juice like a mushroom scallop. Pine mushrooms really are best grilled!!!

Even dessert slush is self-serve

Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch's nice touch ✨ — they have slush prepared for dessert! I can't even remember the last time I had slush outside of childhood, but here you can help yourself to as much as you want. I scooped up a bit of grape-flavored slush, and it was refreshingly cold, like it washed the meal right down.

Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch, also famous as a Taejeon-dong favorite! With plenty of parking and a varied menu of meat and seafood, it's a great fit for any kind of gathering, whether you're there for a meal or a drink 🙌