Buk-gu, Busan Korean BBQ with charcoal gochujang pork: Go Ok-hui

Let’s gooo to Go Ok-hui (고옥희), a great pork restaurant in Hwamyeong-dong where every kind of pork belly—even the tricky marinated gochujang pork belly—is pargrilled over charcoal, so you can eat right away with zero fuss ~~!!!

Go Ok-hui in Hwamyeong-dong: location and parking

Go Ok-hui is a Hwamyeong-dong pork restaurant that is super easy to visit by car, since there is parking right in the building basement!!

Go Ok-hui gives you sikhye (sweet rice punch) while you wait!!! I cannot even begin to tell you how generous it feels from the moment you walk in!!

Such a neat, tidy interior at Go Ok-hui!!!

Go Ok-hui also has so many kinds of alcohol—drink lovers will be very happy here!!!

How do you order the set menu?

Let’s take a look at the menu~!!

• Small SET platter (500g) ₩35,500
• Medium SET platter (700g) ₩50,500
• Large SET platter (900g) ₩65,500

Even people who struggle to choose can order without difficulty. First choose a size, then choose your cuts of meat!!

They set out curry powder, soybean powder, and pink salt on your small plate. They are always available at each table too, so you can pile them on without feeling self-conscious.

When you order soju, they even make sure you get milk thistle, a nice supplement for your liver—Go Ok-hui is seriously killing it with this sense!!! These little details make it impossible not to fall for the place.

Pargrilled pork and accompaniments

While waiting for the meat, lightly grill the potatoes, mushrooms, scallions, bracken fern stems, and rice cakes. They are such delicious little appetite awakeners.

Aged pork 200g Charcoal gochujang pork 200g Signature pork skin 100g

All the meat comes pargrilled, so you just put it on and eat—there is absolutely nothing to worry about, even for anyone who is not confident about grilling meat!! That ingenious induction cooktop attached to the table?! Even with the gochujang marinade, it never burns, and the meat stays warm right through to the very last piece. I totally love that 👍

Go Ok-hui’s scallion salad is made with finely chopped scallions mixed in seasoning, and it is such a special treat!! Most scallion salads use long strips tossed in seasoning, which can get around your mouth or be hard to eat in one bite. But Go Ok-hui’s own version slips right into one bite with no chance of getting around your mouth, so it is incredibly easy to eat.

This is plump pork belly, full of juices and glistening with richness.

This wasabi mushroom sauce is so delicious I wanted to steal it and take it home 😂😂😂😂😂 It is an absolutely perfect match for pork belly!! This mushroom sauce could easily help you eat ten servings of pork belly 🍄 🍄 🍄 🍄

Non-burning charcoal gochujang pork and chewy pork skin

Charcoal gochujang pork belly—what more is there to say!!! It is not easy to find a place that sells it, and if you grill it wrong, nearly all of it burns and becomes difficult to eat… But here, you can enjoy this tasty marinade with not a single burnt spot.

The pork skin is nicely thick, not greasy at all, and so, so, so, so chewy! It is even tastier than at restaurants that specialize in pork skin.

Doenjang jjigae without a strong cheonggukjang smell

I cannot really eat doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) if it has a funky smell or a strong cheonggukjang (fermented soybean) aroma, but Go Ok-hui’s version is delicious and easy for anyone to enjoy, without being polarizing.