Gwangan Station pork BBQ for two, 5 portions: Gwangan-mok, Busan

Where is Gwangan-mok Gwangan Branch, and what are its hours?

Gwangan-mok Gwangan Branch is a BBQ restaurant near Gwangan Station, at 156 Gwangnam-ro, 1st floor, Suyeong-gu, Busan. It's open Mon-Fri 12:00-23:30 (last order 22:30), Sat-Sun 12:00-24:00 (last order 23:00), with a break time from 15:00-16:30.

• Location: 156 Gwangnam-ro, 1st floor, Suyeong-gu, Busan, South Korea
• Hours: Mon-Fri 12:00-23:30 (last order 22:30) / Sat-Sun 12:00-24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Break time: 15:00-16:30
• No regular closing day ** Closed on Chuseok holiday!
• Notes: ₩1,000/hour discount at the nearby Gwangan Signal Parking Tower, Catch Table waitlist and reservations available

Inside and outside Gwangan-mok: what is the waiting area like?

Inside Gwangan-mok Gwangan Branch there are about 15 tables of 4! Right by the entrance there's a spot where the ordered meat gets pre-grilled, and it was so fun to watch!

The waitlist is so long that there's a proper waiting zone set up inside too. They even have snacks laid out there, so waiting doesn't get boring!

Gwangan-mok menu and how to order

The Gwangan-mok menu comes as a simple paper card, and you order through the kiosk at each table. Since it's in Gwangalli, a lot of foreign visitors come through too — they even have a foreign-language menu ready, so it's worth recommending to any international friends!

The pork menu is simple: dry-aged neck (anmok-sal), dry-aged special belly, and Gwangan-mok tteukkeong-sal — three types in total — plus a good variety of rice/noodle dishes to pair with it.

What we ordered at Gwangan-mok, plus the banchan side dishes

As banchan (side dishes), they set the table with

seasoned minari (water dropwort), gat kimchi (mustard leaf kimchi), salted anchovies, pickled yeolmu (young radish greens), pickled chili peppers, pickled onions, jimichuri (marinated relish), ssamjang (dipping sauce), and aged kimchi

Just from the side dish spread, I could tell this place was going to be good. It came out so generously, I loved it.

There were two of us, and we ordered 5 portions total — 2 of pork neck, 2 of pork belly, and 1 of tteukkeong-sal.

How the staff pre-grill the pork and finish it at your table

While waiting, you can watch the pre-grilling happen right at the entrance — seeing exactly how the meat I ordered gets started was reassuring, and honestly kind of fun. Best of all, since I didn't have to grill it myself, I could just chat while waiting 👍

The pre-grilled pork came out with green onion, mushrooms, and basil all cooked together — the aroma alone got me so excited. Even though it's pre-grilled, it still needs more time, so the staff finish the rest right at your table.

Gwangan-mok tteukkeong-sal, the cartilage-rimmed cut

Gwangan-mok tteukkeong-sal is a specialty cut that's been aged and prepped for a crisp texture, so we ordered it too. The meat was really thick — totally recommend it if you like your pork thick and hearty!

The self-serve bar and the homestyle doenjang jjigae

All the wrap vegetables and extra banchan you need are at the self-serve bar, so if you need small plates, grab them there too!

And then there's the doenjang jjigae — haha, it genuinely tasted like something my mom would make. You can upgrade it to doenjang sulbap for +₩2,000, but we just got the regular bowl plus extra rice. It was so good that halfway through I stirred rice into it and made my own DIY sulbap haha.

The grilled meat gets set right next to the pan so it stays warm. Just eat it with whichever banchan you like!

Dry-aged pork neck (anmok-sal)

First up, the grilled pork neck. It's made only from top-grade cuts that go through a first round of dry-aging and a second cross-aging process, giving it much more flavor and tenderness than regular pork. Trying it, it really was tender. The meat was so thick and tasty I couldn't not order extra rice haha 😵‍💫😵‍💫

Dry-aged premium pork belly

And then the pork belly!! Because it's thick, it had a really nice chewy texture. It's fatty, so wrapping it in lettuce made it extra delicious. It went perfectly with the doenjang jjigae... 🙂‍↔️🙂‍↔️🩷

Wrapping the pork in fresh basil leaves

You can add extra basil wraps, but I just ate the basil that comes included as standard! Near the end they grill it together with the meat, and eating it with the pork, the basil aroma was absolutely wild. It was my first time having basil with pork, so it felt totally new. Eating meat with that fragrant kick put me in such a good mood!! 🌿

Long wait at Gwangan-mok? Book ahead on Catch Table

I'd skipped this place before because the wait was always too long! But booking ahead this time made it so much easier and more pleasant. If you want thick-cut pork in Gwangalli, I'd totally recommend checking out Gwangan-mok! The sides and rice dishes were so good too, it's the kind of place I want to come back to 😵👍