Seok-dong pork BBQ restaurant in Changwon: kkodeulsal at Smile Hoegwan

Today I'm sharing my trip to Smile Hoegwan, a well-known spot in Seok-dong, Jinhae.

An 8090s supermarket look: the mood inside Smile Hoegwan

Smile Hoegwan in Seok-dong, Jinhae is a Korean BBQ restaurant styled like an old-school supermarket. These days so many BBQ places have such sleek interiors that you can barely tell if you're walking into a café or a grill house, but this place was the total opposite. Even from a distance it had this weirdly familiar vibe that made me want to peek inside.

The exterior of this Seok-dong favorite has that 8090s feel, styled like an old-time supermarket — the kind of retro spot you might have seen somewhere in your neighborhood as a kid.

Walking inside, the vibe continues seamlessly. The interior has that homey, nostalgic feel.

Soju bottle caps dangle from the wall. It brought back memories of younger days when you couldn't go home until the bottle was empty, haha — nostalgia everywhere.

Smile Hoegwan's menu and what we ordered

Smile Hoegwan's main menu item is frozen pork belly, and they just launched kkodeulsal as a new menu item — making it a Seok-dong, Jinhae BBQ spot where you can also enjoy an interesting-textured specialty cut.

At Smile Hoegwan in Jinhae, we ordered 3 servings of frozen pork belly and 2 servings of kkodeulsal. The stew and fried rice sides were tempting too, but the frozen pork belly was so good that we skipped a final course and ordered more kkodeulsal instead. Basically, we went all in on the meat.

Retro banchan served on a school lunch tray

The banchan (side dishes) come out retro-style too — a whole spread served together on a metal tray. Green onion salad, garlic scapes, rolled egg, kimchi pancake, pickles, lettuce wraps, kimchi.

Every single banchan was addictive. The kimchi pancake and rolled egg were especially delicious. I came for the meat but nearly filled up on side dishes.

What does the flash-frozen pork belly taste like?

And then the meat arrives. Smile Hoegwan's frozen pork belly is thinly sliced pork belly.

You know it's best when you lay the pork belly on the foil pan and sprinkle a bit of pepper on it, right? Since the meat is thin, flipping it a couple of times gets it cooked in no time.

Delicious. It has a different character from thick, fresh pork belly. Because it's thin it cooks fast, the browned edges get crispier and crispier while the center stays soft and juicy. Wrapped in green onion salad, one bite gives you this savory, tangy flavor across your tongue.

It's also great wrapped in lettuce with garlic and a chili pepper on top, but for me, grilled kimchi with the meat was the ultimate combo.

Do the staff grill the meat for you?

Smile Hoegwan isn't originally a place where staff grill for you, but they said they'll do it as much as possible depending on the situation. That day, the owner's mother grilled the meat at our table, which made the meal a lot easier to enjoy. All the staff at this Seok-dong, Jinhae favorite were so friendly that it made the food taste even better.

The egg yolk dipping sauce is the highlight here

The kick of this restaurant is the special sauce.

You whisk the egg yolk and dip the meat in it — it's smooth and savory, and I especially loved this sauce. As we kept switching up the combinations, we ended up going through quite a lot of meat.

The drinks kept flowing. We debated finishing with doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), but decided to go all-in on meat that night instead. "Boss, two more servings of kkodeulsal please!!"

New kkodeulsal vs. flash-frozen pork belly: which to order

This newly launched kkodeulsal will be a welcome addition for anyone who loves specialty cuts. It gets chewier the more you chew it — a real treat. We grilled the kimchi and kimchi pancake on the lower part of the pan, letting the pork belly fat seep in slightly, which upgraded the flavor even more.

I liked the kkodeulsal more, while my wife said the frozen pork belly suited her taste better. If frozen pork belly's highlight is its savory, fatty flavor, kkodeulsal has this slightly springy bite unlike the pork belly. It's not tough at all — just chewy enough with a satisfying bite that made it fun to eat. It's the same pork, but the textures were so different that I was glad we ordered both together. If you want that nostalgic old-time feel while enjoying both frozen pork belly and kkodeulsal, this Seok-dong, Jinhae BBQ spot, Smile Hoegwan, is worth a visit.