First-night family black pork dinner in Nohyeong-dong, Jeju: Boncham

Jeju Boncham Sutbul Galbi

You've got to eat black pork when you visit Jeju, right? As soon as we picked up our rental car, we headed straight to our first stop — Jeju Boncham Sutbul Galbi, a black pork restaurant near Jeju Airport in Nohyeong-dong.

Jeju Boncham Sutbul Galbi near Jeju Airport: atmosphere and where to park

It's clearly a spot the locals go to — most of the customers looked like actual Jeju residents. There's a wide inner hall too, so it seemed like a great place for group gatherings. This is exactly the kind of Nohyeong-dong black pork restaurant locals love.

Since I don't know Jeju that well, I tend to look for restaurants with parking whenever possible. There's a lot nearby with 2 hours free, so parking and visiting was easy.

Menu and prices: raw galbi 20,000 won, pork belly 22,000 won

Raw galbi is ₩20,000 and pork belly (ogyeopsal) is ₩22,000. The staff recommended the marinated galbi and raw galbi, but when you're in Jeju, pork belly calls your name too. We ended up ordering raw galbi and pork belly — and true to a local favorite, most people around us were eating a lot of galbi. I wanted to try the marinated galbi too, but figured it'd be a shame to come all the way to Jeju and not have black pork, so for our first visit we went with raw galbi and pork belly.

Side dishes and the complimentary steamed egg

The side dishes filled the table — hallabong (Jeju citrus) salad and black sesame salad were my favorites... genuinely delicious, so I even asked for refills and enjoyed every bit.

You can't have meat without steamed egg, and right as I was about to order it, it came out as a free side. The texture was so fluffy and soft — perfect for scooping up with a spoon.

When the meat we ordered arrived, the portions were bigger than expected. Being a spot the locals frequent, it wasn't pricey at all — actually cheaper than other black pork restaurants. When you're in Jeju and see black pork over 20,000 won, you often hesitate about whether to order it, but finding a local favorite like this makes it so much easier.

Staff grill the pork belly for you, ideal after a delayed flight

The staff put the meat on the grill and kept checking on it, even grilling the tricky pork belly for us so we could eat with ease. Our flight had been delayed and we were all exhausted, so having help with the grilling made the meal so much more comfortable.

First bite of the raw galbi at Jeju Boncham Sutbul Galbi

My first bite was a perfectly grilled piece of raw galbi. The meat was nicely browned with just the right amount of salt — genuinely delicious, and the most tender raw galbi I've ever had. It was so good I immediately told everyone to hurry up and try it haha.

My younger sibling wrapped it with some seared kimchi and loved how the meat just melted in their mouth. The marinated galbi looked good too, but personally, I highly recommend the raw galbi at Jeju Boncham Sutbul Galbi.

Among the side dishes, there were perilla leaves — totally my style. You could skip every other side dish, but perilla leaves are non-negotiable for me. Wrapping the meat in perilla leaves with no extra sauce is pure gold.

Naengmyeon at 8,000 won with meljeot (fermented anchovy sauce)

Naengmyeon (cold noodles) is ₩8,000. You've got to have naengmyeon with meat, right? Since this place focuses on galbi, I figured the naengmyeon would be great too, so I added it midway through the meal.

As always, naengmyeon tastes even better eaten with meat. The noodles here were different from what I usually have — a bit chewier, almost like milmyeon (wheat noodles), with a stickier texture that paired really well with the meat.

Another must when you're in Jeju: the mel젓 (fermented anchovy sauce) combo. My dad really loves mel젓, so he dipped and simmered the meat in it — the savory depth it added made the meat even more delicious.

Verdict: a first-day or last-day dinner near Jeju Airport

To finish, the staff helped pull the meat off the bone attached to the raw galbi — they left just the right amount of meat on the bone, so there was fun in gnawing it off, and the fat content was just right till the very end. Jeju Boncham Sutbul Galbi in Nohyeong-dong won us over from day one. If you're looking for a black pork restaurant near the airport for your first or last day in Jeju, I'd recommend this spot — and the marinated galbi at the next table looked so good that I'd love to come back and try that next time.