Guro Station bossam restaurant with a 400g combo set: The Jokbal

Where is The Jokbal Sindorim Main Branch? Hours and parking

The Jokbal Sindorim Main Branch is a jokbal and bossam restaurant at 619-3 Gyeongin-ro, Guro-gu, Seoul, on the first floor of the Sindorim Prugio 3rd Complex shopping arcade, a 10-minute walk from Guro Station. Hours are Mon–Fri 11:00–22:30 (break 15:00–16:00), Sat 11:00–22:30 (no break), Sun 11:00–21:30. Parking is available in the basement level 1 lot of Sindorim Prugio 3rd Complex, supported for up to 2.5 hours. Reservations can be made through Naver Reservations.

I suddenly had a craving for bossam yesterday!! Maybe because I only had noodles (carbs) at lunch and my body wanted protein, haha. My partner is more of a jokbal person, so we looked for a good spot nearby and ended up at The Jokbal Sindorim Main Branch, known as a Guro Station favorite.

The restaurant is right near Guro Station, so it was super convenient to drop by after work, and the dining hall inside had a clean wood interior and felt pretty spacious! Beyond that wall-like divider on the left there was another whole section with tables, so it looked like it could handle groups too, haha.

What comes in the combo of 3: two 200g bossam plates and one jokbal

We settled into our table, looked over the menu, and ordered the choose-your-own combo of 3, where you pick 3 out of 5 options! We went with 2 combo bossam (200g) and 1 combo jokbal, and rounded it out nicely with rice balls and a small cold buckwheat noodle platter on the side.

Side dishes and rice balls at The Jokbal

After we ordered, the side dishes arrived on a clean black plate. There was a solid lineup: chive salad, bossam radish kimchi, garlic and onion, plus fresh lettuce, perilla leaves, and napa cabbage for wraps. Salted shrimp and ssamjang (dipping sauce) were served neatly per person too, which felt hygienic and well thought out. The tidy spread of banchan had us excited before the meal even started, already imagining pairing everything with the meat.

Next came the rice balls, set out in a big bowl heaped with toasted seaweed flakes and sesame seeds! As soon as it landed on the table, my partner put on plastic gloves and started mixing the rice and seaweed flakes together, carefully rolling them into bite-sized balls, haha.

Maybe because of all that effort put into shaping them nicely, the rice balls tasted great in one bite. Just the right amount of savory saltiness with a clean finish — perfect for curbing hunger before the main dishes arrived. For me, jokbal and bossam absolutely need rice balls on the side, haha.

Starter cold jokbal and dried radish soybean paste soup

And then, before the main dishes, we got a taster of cold jokbal! It wasn't overwhelmingly spicy or pungent — instead, the moment it hit my mouth, the tangy-sweet sauce and the springy meat came together cleanly, waking up my appetite in the best way. A really special little bite.

Then a soybean paste soup arrived in a stone bowl, steaming and bubbling away! I took a spoonful and it had that mild, savory dried radish flavor — not harsh at all, just comforting and settling for the stomach.

The seasoning wasn't too strong, just a gentle savoriness lingering, and it was perfect for cleansing the palate between bites of meat and wetting the throat! I really love a good soup, and usually with jokbal and bossam you only get cold noodles — so this was such a nice surprise, haha.

The combo of 3 arrives on a wooden tray

Finally, the star of today's meal arrived — the combo of 3! Three plates lined up neatly in a row on a long, generous wood tray, haha.

The top and bottom plates each held a generous 200g of combo bossam, and the middle plate held combo jokbal, glossy brown and cut into bite-sized pieces.

It really filled up the whole table — almost not enough room, ha ha ha. Just the sight of the jokbal and bossam, all that glistening shine, had both of us gasping!

How the combo jokbal tastes

I picked up a piece of jokbal and tried it plain first, no sauce, to taste it on its own. The golden, glossy skin was chewy and springy with every bite, while the meat itself was juicy, moist, and tender with zero unpleasant smell! My partner, who loves jokbal, called it the textbook version of jokbal — so good, ha ha ha.

The whole-leg jokbal kept its signature warmth intact, and the deep sweet-savory flavor spread gently through my mouth with every chew. You could really tell this was a Guro Station favorite for a reason — the jokbal quality was clearly top-notch.

400g of combo bossam and the best way to wrap it

Next, the combo bossam!! Even just looking at it, the ratio of lean meat to fat was perfectly balanced, and you could see the tenderness and moisture right away! One bite and there was zero dryness — it melted apart smoothly along the grain the second it hit my mouth. This is exactly why people eat bossam! I actually prefer bossam over jokbal, and this totally satisfied me!!!!! No trace of that pork gaminess or greasiness, just clean flavor with a savory juiciness that built with every chew — the real deal for bossam.

The combination of the crisp, freshly-made-tasting bossam radish kimchi with the bossam meat was absolutely magical! I'd load a thick, juicy piece of bossam onto a fresh napa cabbage leaf, top it with the crunchy radish kimchi, raw garlic dipped in ssamjang, and a heap of spicy chive salad, then wrap it all up and take a big bite — the contrast between the tender meat and the crunchy radish kimchi delivered incredible depth of flavor.

With the bossam split across two 200g plates for 400g total, we didn't need to ration it out at all through the meal — we could pile two generous pieces into each wrap. Both the jokbal and bossam had perfect texture and flavor, making it the best dinner choice, haha.

Small cold buckwheat noodle platter and pork-wrapped noodle rolls

And then, the highlight of the jokbal-bossam set!! The cold buckwheat noodle platter! On a white plate, chewy buckwheat noodles, shredded cabbage, lettuce, and a generous amount of special sauce were piled high, topped prettily with a boiled egg.

I snipped the noodles a bit with scissors, mixed the vegetables and sauce well, then took a big bite with my chopsticks. The tangy, spicy-sweet sauce, chewy noodles, and crunchy vegetables came together beautifully, cutting through the richness of the meat.

Wrapping a piece of jokbal or bossam in the noodles and eating them together was an absolutely perfect pairing. Cold buckwheat noodles really are non-negotiable with jokbal and bossam, haha.

Is The Jokbal Sindorim good for a post-work date or team dinner?

This post-work dinner at The Jokbal Sindorim Main Branch — with its tidy side dishes, savory rice balls, tangy cold jokbal, savory dried radish soybean soup, generously and prettily plated chewy jokbal and melt-in-your-mouth bossam on a wood tray, and finally the tangy-sweet cold noodle platter — was a total hit across the board, a real Guro Station favorite. If you're craving high-quality jokbal and bossam near Guro Station, or looking for a spot for a post-work date or a work dinner, this place is well worth a visit!!