Cheongpyeong butcher shop: 2cm pork belly and jowl, Ari Chuksan

Packed up meat for a Gapyeong Cheongpyeong pension trip. Good meat is so important for a great pension party. Go to a butcher shop with good prices and good quality meat.

Where is Ari Chuksan, and what are its hours and parking?

Ari Chuksan is at 23 Gangbyeon-ro, Cheongpyeong-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do (1st floor), open daily 09:00–20:50. Parking is available in front of or near the shop, use your best judgment, not difficult.

It's a 1-minute walk from Nonghyup Hanaro Mart Cheongpyeong branch. Perfect setup: buy meat, wrap vegetables, and shredded scallion at Ari Chuksan, then head to Hanaro Mart for drinks and other snacks.

A butcher shop that does its own butchering and selects sow carcasses. Thursdays are beef-cutting day.

They also have holiday gift set specials.

Even on a weekday afternoon, customers kept coming in. The shop is clean and pleasant too. Seems like a lot of people heading to Gapyeong or Cheongpyeong pensions or camping stop by.

What meat does Ari Chuksan sell?

Let's take a look at what kinds of meat they have. *Items and prices may change (some items may not have been photographed).

Lamb shoulder rack, galbisal, LA-style flower short rib, Wagyu flower ribeye, and more.

Young lamb shoulder rack, Wagyu marbled skirt steak, LA-style flower short rib, Wagyu flower ribeye, and more.

• Korean beef bone soup (hanwoo gomguk)
• Korean pork soy-braised bulgogi, beef bulgogi
• Smoked duck, smoked pork belly, samgyetang (ginseng chicken soup), native chicken
• Baby squid jeotgal, sea squirt jeotgal, skate intestine jeotgal, salted pollock roe, squid jeotgal, salted shrimp
• LA-style short rib in homemade marinade, Korean pork gochujang jeyuk, smoked pork neck
• Chicken gizzard, bone-in chicken feet, boneless chicken feet, chicken wings, chicken legs, chicken breast, boneless chicken thigh
• Korean beef intestine soup ingredients, Korean beef gopchang (intestine), spicy sundae soup (blood sausage soup)
• LA-style short rib for braising, LA-style short rib for grilling
• Pig head (half), assorted intestines, pig head (whole)
• Blood sausage, sundae with meat and vegetables, sausage, pork makchang, traditional sundae soup
• Beef daechang, beef makchang, Korean pork skirt-like neck cut
• Baby octopus, dak-galbi, jjimdak (braised chicken), Korean beef head meat
• Pork skin
• Korean beef brisket point (chadolbagi), imported flat iron steak
• Cheongpyeong old-style cold pork belly, beef brisket slices, domestic thin-sliced pork belly, imported thin-sliced pork belly

• Sliced boiled pork, mini pig trotters, wild garlic leaf, pickled radish
• Korean pork shank, Korean pork stew meat, front leg meat, whole pork belly
• Korean beef omasum, Korean beef clear broth
• Korean pork seasoned whole belly, Korean pork seasoned scored neck
• Pork back rib, extraordinary raw pork neck, Korean pork marbled flower neck
• King of pork belly baekpo galbi, artisan straw-smoked pork belly
• Thick pork belly over 2cm, medium pork belly over 1cm, thin 5mm pork belly
• Pork jowl, Korean pork nape meat, Korean pork tomahawk
• Korean beef tendon, Korean beef flower ribeye, Korean beef sirloin, Korean beef omasum, Korean beef liver
• Korean beef brisket flower cut, Korean beef skirt steak, Korean beef tenderloin, Korean beef rib meat, Korean beef flat iron

Cheongyang chili, crunchy peppers, peeled garlic, shredded scallion, lettuce, oyster mushroom, bok choy, enoki mushroom, king oyster mushroom.

Fresh wasabi, dipping sauce, ssamjang (dipping paste), herb salt, boiled pork dipping sauce, galbi marinade, onion, seaweed, dried laver. There's even eggs. There might be things I missed, and some items may not have been in stock that day~ There's really such a wide variety. I'll definitely stop by here again when going to a Gapyeong or Cheongpyeong pension.

Grilling at the pension: pork belly, pork jowl and Korean beef tendon

Brought it all to the pension. Bought thick pork belly over 2cm, pork jowl, raw garlic, and shredded scallion from Ari Chuksan. Got enoki mushrooms and Korean beef tendon as a free service.

Loved the generous amount of raw garlic. The shredded scallion came with sauce too. Not sure about lettuce or perilla leaves, but for raw garlic and shredded scallion, buying here seems better than Hanaro Mart. At Hanaro Mart you have to buy a lot at once, which is a hassle.

Free Korean beef tendon in soybean paste soup

First, boiled the Korean beef tendon into soybean paste soup (doenjang guk). One piece of beef tendon and it became a restaurant-quality soup. The broth got a beefy flavor and turned deeply savory.

The meat has a fun chewy, springy texture. Definitely try adding this to stew or ramyeon. Just adding enoki mushrooms and beef tendon to a cheap soybean paste soup meal kit raised the satisfaction level a lot.

Pork belly cut thicker than 2cm

Next up, the main character — thick pork belly over 2cm. The meat looks so substantial. You can tell at a glance it's good pork belly, wow.

Wanted to grill two rows at once but decided to relax. The great thing about this cut is that whole pork belly is nice but a bit much, and thin pork belly isn't as fun — this thickness is just right. Being thick doesn't make it difficult. When you're out having fun, thick is more enjoyable.

When eating good pork belly, keep the sides minimal — just a little enoki mushroom.

Looking good, right? Once the outside is cooked enough, cut it with scissors and keep flipping it deliciously~ Meat tastes better when it's kept busy on the grill. Enjoyed it pure, without sprinkling on salt or anything.

The pork belly's flavor is rich and the meat has that springy strength to it. The textural cushioning is excellent. You can really feel the living juiciness, and the chewy, springy skin adds fun too. Since the meat is delicious, wrapping it in lettuce is that much more enjoyable.

How was the pork jowl?

Finally, pork jowl (dohangjeongsal). Pork jowl is one of those cuts that's fun once you get into it. Laid it out prettily like sashimi, and added sausage too since the jowl needs its fat rendered out.

This one is easy to grill. Just keep flipping it busily and that's it. It cooks fast too. Eating pork jowl when you're starting to fill up is fun. Chewy and savory pork jowl is just so delicious. Excellent as a drinking snack.

Is Ari Chuksan worth a stop before a Gapyeong barbecue?

Gapyeong and Cheongpyeong pension trips do have a genuinely good butcher shop.

For a Gapyeong or Cheongpyeong pension barbecue, Ari Chuksan is the place to buy your meat — the thick 2cm+ pork belly, pork jowl, and Korean beef tendon were all so delicious.