Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ after Cheonggyecheon, 20-min remote wait: Cham

I hadn't been to Gwanghwamun and Cheonggyecheon in a while, so I went for a stroll and ended up eating delicious Jirisan black pork belly~ This is Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch (참돼짓간 종로본점), and the pork belly quality was seriously sooo good!!! I enjoyed it so much that I'm recommending it, recommending it, to anyone looking for a great Jongno 3-ga pork belly spot~

Where is Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch, and can you park?

Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is a 100 m walk from Exit 2-1 of Jongno 3-ga Station, on the first floor of the CGV Piccadilly cinema~ It's right next to Tom N Toms, so it's very easy to find~ Parking isn't possible, though!

How long is the Catch Table wait at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno?

You can make a reservation on Catch Table (a Korean restaurant booking app), and remote waiting is available too. It's a place with a huge wait... The app said 8 teams and 135 minutes, but I actually waited only about 20 minutes!

Opening hours

Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is open every day from 12:00 to 23:00.

Cham Dwaejitgan menu and prices

Here's the Cham Dwaejitgan menu! There are two kinds of pork, Jirisan black pork and Boseong green pork, each with samgyeopsal (pork belly), ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly), neck and gabrisal (pork skirt), and of course the Jirisan black pork tastes better! The side menu is varied too, with lots of tasty options~

This is Cham Dwaejitgan's promise!! They say they use only top-grade premium charcoal, domestic water dropwort (minari, a leafy herb), and top-grade black pork delivered straight from Jirisan. No wonder it tastes so good~ You can trust it, right?

Basic table setting at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch

The basic setting at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch has water dropwort, kimchi and bean sprouts already on the grill. The grill just hits your eyes!! It looks like pure honey-sweet deliciousness~ There's also shredded scallion and dipping sauces!

Ordering Jirisan black pork belly and neck, grilled by staff

The first things I ordered were Jirisan black pork belly (ogyeopsal) for ₩19,000 and Jirisan black pork neck for ₩18,000.

Cham Dwaejitgan offers a grilling service~ I was worried because Jirisan black pork is so thick, but a skilled pro handles the meat for you~ Like this!! Aren't those scissors amazing? haha They look like taffy scissors..? They cut it up nicely with those~

They cut it so deliciously~ So prettily! Look at that skin on the Jirisan black pork belly!! The skin is the reason you eat ogyeopsal, and the meat quality is so good~

They sear it quickly like this, and once it's nicely cooked they move it to the grill area on the side!

Next to it, the water dropwort, kimchi, bean sprouts, mushrooms and more are cooking up so deliciously~

And they give you these thin potato slices too, and grilling them on the grill is delicious too!!! The combo is so good, right?

What's the best way to wrap Jirisan black pork?

Cham Dwaejitgan's Jirisan black pork is great wrapped in grilled water dropwort or grilled potato slices, and it also went really well with bean sprouts and kimchi~ The meat was really delicious~ The quality is really good, and it's been ages since I enjoyed neck and belly this much~

Atmosphere and self-serve side dishes at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno

Bustling, with not a single empty seat at Cham Dwaejitgan! The wait isn't there for nothing~ Reservations are a must in the evening!

Side dishes are self-refill! Kimchi, bean sprouts and everything you need are there~ But water dropwort, potato slices and king oyster mushrooms have to be ordered as extras!

One-line verdict

Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch, a Jongno 3-ga pork belly spot where I really enjoyed my meal for the first time in a while! I had Jirisan black pork belly and neck, and the meat quality is top~ Being Jirisan black pork made it even tastier, with chewy skin! Moist lean meat! And they give you plenty of water dropwort, bean sprouts and kimchi to go with it, so I recommend it!!! Above all, since they grill the meat for you, I think it's great for a company dinner or a wedding-invitation meetup~