3-person 750g black pork dry-aging set and pork belly in Jungmun

Hi, this is Jurong. On my recent trip to Jeju, I went along with a local acquaintance to a place she insisted I absolutely had to visit. No matter how famous a restaurant claims to be, if locals don't actually go there, I just don't trust it!

My friend, who lives in Seogwipo, strongly recommended this place — its Blue Ribbon stickers are so worn out from being handed out over and over. Oreumak Garden sits in an alley right next to Jungmun Tourist Complex. Let me introduce this long-running, well-known restaurant to anyone hunting for good black pork in Seogwipo. 💯👍🏻

Location and parking at Oreumak Garden Jungmun Main Branch

Located in Jungmun, right across from the health center, Oreumak Garden is less than 5 minutes by car from the tourist complex — a really convenient Korean BBQ spot in Seogwipo for planning your route.

Pretty lights hang over the terrace out front, and behind it there's a large parking lot, so you can walk in without worrying about parking — a real plus for this black pork restaurant in Jungmun!

By the door I noticed Blue Ribbon stickers worn with age, a Jeju Model Restaurant certification, and a Red Ribbon sticker all displayed together. It's rare to find a Jeju black pork restaurant in Seogwipo with this many credentials.

Why so many honors, and why do locals keep coming back? Turns out this is the very first place in Jeju to start dry-aging pork, with a 40-year history as a black pork specialty restaurant! No wonder it's called a local favorite in Seogwipo!

The black pork dry-aging menu

There's no question the signature menu at Oreumak Garden is the black pork dry-aging set! Ordering the set lets you try all three cuts — dry-aged black pork ribeye, neck, and jowl — at once, which seemed like the smart, economical way to go.

Most of the locals eating there were ordering the set, so we went with the 750g portion sized for three!

They age it over 240 hours at low temperature, apparently — just from the aging period alone, you could tell this was on a different level from regular raw pork.

Trying the dry-aged trio 🍖

Right off the bat, this Seogwipo black pork restaurant served side dishes that pair well with meat, Jeju-style. Everything came neatly filled in individual dishes — you could tell they put thought into the side dish lineup!

If you need more, just ask the kitchen and they'll bring it out — good to know!

The free melchet and steamed egg stood out

Among the side dishes, the ones that really impressed me were the Jeju melchet (anchovy sauce) and the steamed egg! And these generous portions are free — imagine that. ♥️ This isn't the usual salted shrimp style — it's closer to a thick soybean paste in texture, so even people who usually don't like this kind of sauce could enjoy it happily. Eating it with rice, I kept going back for more and ended up finishing the whole thing myself!

Grilling the three dry-aged black pork cuts myself, I could really tell this was the place that pioneered dry-aging in Jeju.

The juices and flavor were intense, and the more you chewed, the more the savory notes came through — I finally understood why locals in Jungmun swear by this black pork restaurant.

We also added pork belly

After eating the dry-aged black pork, I really wanted to try Oreumak Garden's other menu item — pork belly — so we ordered it!

The pork belly wasn't overwhelmingly delicious, but it was clean and mild with no gamey taste at all! The signature dry-aged black pork was so overwhelmingly good that I couldn't forget the juices filling my mouth... 🫡

Finishing with a meal course

The meal menu includes naengmyeon (cold noodles) — a must at any Korean BBQ place — along with wang galbi-tang, Naju gomtang, kimchi jjigae, and doenjang jjigae, so you can fill up satisfyingly right to the end!

Even the meal-course dishes were delicious, and I completely understood why locals keep coming to Oreumak Garden. Since it's dry-aged black pork, prices run a bit higher than a regular Korean BBQ place, but if I'm looking for black pork in Seogwipo again, I'd want to come back to Oreumak Garden in Jungmun, Jeju.

Who should visit

To sum up, Oreumak Garden Jungmun Main Branch is a Korean BBQ restaurant in Seogwipo that lives up to its 40-year history and its title as Jeju's first dry-aging pork restaurant.

With a kids' area and an indoor restroom, it's easy for families with children to visit, and the staff were all friendly, making for a comfortable meal — a great restaurant near Jungmun Tourist Complex.

• When you want to try dry-aged black pork during a Jeju trip
• If you're looking for a Jeju BBQ restaurant that properly ages its meat
• A Jeju restaurant that locals near Jungmun Tourist Complex actually go to
• If you're looking for a good spot for family meals with kids

If any of these describe you, be sure to remember Oreumak Garden Jungmun Main Branch — and book a reservation before you go.