Choryang Korean BBQ with 12,000-won raw galbi: Choryang Hyeongje Galbi

There's a cut I love even more than pork belly or pork neck — raw pork ribs, ㅠㅠ!!

Once I got to know how good raw ribs can be, I started making regular pilgrimages haha. There are tons of rib places, but this time I really wanted the real deal. I narrowed it down to two or three candidates, and my boyfriend said this one felt like the most authentic, so we went.

But wow, beyond the meat itself, every single side dish was so good. Nothing felt store-bought, and I came home extremely, extremely satisfied lol.

Where is Choryang Hyeongje Galbi and how do you get there from Choryang Station?

Choryang Hyeongje Galbi is at 15-4 Choryang-ro, 1st floor, Dong-gu, Busan — walkable from Choryang Station Exit 1. We took the bus from Nampo-dong and it dropped us almost right in front. Cross the street and head into the Okkudak alley and you'll spot it!

They also do lunch service — and wow, ₩13,000 for ribs, stew, and rice is such a solid deal…ㄷㄷ

Inside Choryang Hyeongje Galbi: the room and the menu prices

The inside of Choryang Hyeongje Galbi, a well-known pork rib spot in Choryang! I never expected it since it's tucked in an alley, but I was surprised how packed it was with customers. We told them our headcount and the owner kindly set us up a table.

The menu at Choryang Hyeongje Galbi! Since we were getting marinated ribs, being able to order just 2 servings was great... looks like you can also mix and match by the serving. Soju and beer at ₩4,000 each is a steal too, and raw ribs are ₩12,000 for 150g. Genuinely cheap for the quality.

The meat came out fast, and the staff put it on the grill themselves, ㄷㄷ

From kimchi to danggwi (Korean angelica) pickles: the side dishes

The basic side dishes started coming out too~ Usually you only get salt, but they said to ask if we wanted sesame oil, so I asked right away haha.

The second I saw the color of the kimchi, I thought 'this place is legit'... wow, every kind of kimchi was delicious. So much so that they sell the scallion kimchi separately lol.

Oh, and they also bring out sweet pumpkin, mushrooms, and even ginseng!

The sweet pumpkin and mushrooms go on the grill, and the ginseng gets poured into a soju glass — very romantic, cheers~~

Isn't that a full spread already?!? But that's not all.

They even give you free kimchijeon (kimchi pancake) and steamed egg...! Now I get why the place is packed. That kimchijeon tastes like something even a foreigner would love — grill it again on the pan with the meat drippings and it's 15 times better.

Two servings of raw pork ribs, grilled by the staff

The staff grilled everything from the meat to the vegetables so deliciously that I just got to sit back and wait, haha.

Look at how well-cooked the meat is... it's 2 servings but the portion is huge — if we'd ordered for 3 people, we might not have had room for the marinated ribs.

I wanted to grill garlic too and kept sneaking pieces onto the grill, so the staff ended up grilling the garlic for me too, ㅠ

The meat quality itself is so good that it's delicious even plain, ㅠㅠ this raw rib has a savoriness all its own..★

Wrapping it in kimchi has to be amazing too, right...?

The pickles aren't just regular pickles either — they're danggwi (angelica root) pickles, amazing...

Every vegetable was fresh and you could really feel the care in the side dishes, ㅠㅠ! My boyfriend ate three bowls of the scallion salad, ㄷㄷ

Ah, thinking about it now, I gnawed on that bone way too openly in front of a boyfriend of less than six months. Delicious though, so who cares.

How were the two servings of marinated ribs?

Two servings of marinated ribs!

They put it on the grill for us again, and the portion is really generous... the extra marinade sauce came right out too, haha.

Marinated ribs are genuinely hard to grill well, ㅠㅠ but having an expert grill it for us meant we got to enjoy it at its absolute best — one of the best pork rib spots near Choryang Station, haha.

The marinade looked really intense, so I braced for it to be super salty, but no — it was just subtly, perfectly delicious, haha.

It goes really well with the dipping sauce too... ugh, the savoriness of the fat is insane. Also wanted to show you it wrapped in baek-kimchi (white kimchi) lol.

The bone soaked in the rib marinade was even more delicious...

Finishing with the 3,000-won doenjang jjigae

I was curious about the cold kimchi noodle soup and kimchi kalguksu too, but after some deliberation I went with the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) that every table seemed to be ordering. It's only ₩3,000 but the pot is genuinely huge... talk about generous service.

Loved that it was packed with tofu and mushrooms, and it's as thick and rich as it looks lol.

As we were finishing the meat, the staff proactively asked if they should take the grill away and put the stew on — ㄷㄷ

Eating it while it bubbles away like this basically demands one more bottle of soju, you know? Ah, this place really has its act together.

Restrooms and the final verdict on Choryang Hyeongje Galbi

Oh! The restroom door is right next to the restaurant — from outside I thought it might be cramped and awkward, but the second I opened it, I was surprised how clean it was, ㄷㄷ

I went in with pretty low expectations, but everything came out so generous, and the meat quality was great! It's genuinely good value, so I get why it's packed with locals even tucked away in an alley — Choryang Hyeongje Galbi, one of the go-to pork rib spots near Choryang Station.

I'll definitely be back just for that kimchi lol. Next time I'm making sure to try the kimchi kalguksu or kimchi noodles, ㅠ