Myeongdong black pork grill with citrus salad sides: Yuktongnyeong

I was looking for somewhere to have dinner in Myeongdong and ended up at Yuktongnyeong Myeongdong Main Branch! It's close to Myeongdong Station, so it was easy to swing by after wandering around the area. It's already been featured on TV several times, and customers kept streaming in during dinner hours.

There were people waiting when I visited too, so depending on the time you go, there might be a wait. If you'd rather skip that, it's worth checking ahead whether you can make a reservation. This time I tried the 15-day omija-aged Gwanggaeto black pork samgyeopsal (pork belly) and mokssal (pork neck), plus doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and mul naengmyeon (cold noodles) on the side~

Where is Yuktongnyeong Myeongdong Main Branch, and what are its hours?

Yuktongnyeong Myeongdong Main Branch is located at 37-2 Myeongdong8na-gil, Jung-gu, Seoul, and it's open daily from 11:30 to 23:00, with last order at 22:15. It's about 217m from Exit 5 of Myeongdong Station, and reservations, group bookings, and takeout are all possible, with high chairs available too.

Being walkable from Exit 5 of Myeongdong Station made it pretty accessible. It's tucked inside an alley, but the big Yuktongnyeong sign out front made it easy to find.

Inside Yuktongnyeong: three floors and autographs on the stairwell

Once inside, there were seats spread from the 1st to the 3rd floor. Every floor had charcoal grills and ventilation set up at each table, and the stairwell walls were covered with autographs from TV appearances and past visitors. One corner had old photos and captions about Myeongdong's past, which gave the place a bit of a retro feel rather than just a clean, modern BBQ joint.

The tables weren't few, but dinner time still felt packed, which told me people searching for good Myeongdong restaurants really do come here. And above all, having the staff grill the meat for me was so convenient haha. The thick samgyeopsal and mokssal need a fair bit of grilling time, so not having to do it myself made it easy to just chat and eat comfortably.

What we ordered at Yuktongnyeong and what it cost

• 15-day omija-aged Gwanggaeto black pork samgyeopsal ₩17,000
• 15-day omija-aged Gwanggaeto black pork mokssal ₩17,000
• Toasted doenjang jjigae ₩8,000
• Mul naengmyeon ₩8,000
• Gongginbap (steamed rice) ₩1,500

This time we ordered one each of samgyeopsal and mokssal so we could try both cuts together~

The side dishes: a Myeongdong grill house that serves tangerine salad

At Yuktongnyeong Myeongdong Main Branch, the side dishes came out before the meat. Vegetables and various accompaniments arrived together, along with salt and wasabi to eat with the meat. Among the side dishes, what caught my eye was a salad with citrus in it.

You don't often see a citrus-topped salad like this at a BBQ restaurant, but eating it between bites felt refreshing, like it reset my palate haha. There was also shredded scallion and pickled vegetables, so instead of just eating meat nonstop, I could mix and match.

15-day omija-aged Gwanggaeto black pork samgyeopsal

The samgyeopsal (pork belly) was noticeably thick right from the start! You could clearly see the layers of fat and lean meat, and the staff grilled it directly over the charcoal. At first they cooked it whole on both sides, and once it was partway done, cut it into bite-sized pieces and kept grilling.

Since the charcoal fire was strong, the outside browned nicely while the inside was kept from overcooking. The samgyeopsal, thanks to its fat, was juicier than the mokssal~

I tried it plain, dipped in salt, and also topped with pickled vegetables or shredded scallion as shown in the photo. Wrapping it in lettuce or perilla leaf cut down on the greasiness a bit, and I liked eating it that way.

15-day omija-aged Gwanggaeto black pork mokssal

The mokssal (pork neck) was pretty thick too~

They cooked the outside first, then cut it into large pieces and let it finish over the charcoal a bit at a time. A well-cooked piece of mokssal had a thick, meaty core as shown in the photo — even one piece felt hearty.

If samgyeopsal is fun for the fat layers, mokssal leans more toward lean meat, so switching between the two worked well. I tried it with a touch of wasabi, with shredded scallion, and with a bit of ssamjang (dipping sauce) too.

With so many sauces and accompaniments, you can just mix and match to your taste. What stuck with me wasn't so much the flavor of the meat itself being super distinct, but more the fact that the staff grilled the thick cuts of black pork just right so I could eat comfortably.

Toasted doenjang jjigae and steamed rice

Eating all that meat made me want rice, so I ordered doenjang jjigae (₩8,000) and steamed rice (₩1,500) too. The stew had tofu, potato, and meat in it, and the broth was pretty savory haha.

As you can see in the photo, there was a good amount of solid ingredients, making it easy to scoop up with rice. I really enjoyed taking a spoonful of doenjang jjigae between bites of meat that day haha. Dipping rice into the broth and scooping it up with tofu and meat made for a satisfying way to round off the meal.

Finishing with mul naengmyeon

To finish, I also ordered mul naengmyeon (₩8,000). It was a fairly classic version — cold broth with noodles, cucumber, and egg on top. After eating charcoal-grilled meat, a cool bowl of naengmyeon was exactly what I wanted. Eating any leftover meat together with the noodles worked fine, and it was also a great way to cool off my palate after all that grilling.

Final verdict: is Yuktongnyeong worth it for black pork in Myeongdong?

Yuktongnyeong Myeongdong Main Branch was a solid pick for when you're craving black pork in Myeongdong. They served up thick cuts of 15-day omija-aged Gwanggaeto black pork samgyeopsal and mokssal, and having the staff grill everything from start to finish made for an easy, hands-off meal.

I got to try the meat with all kinds of accompaniments, and the refreshing citrus salad and savory doenjang jjigae stuck with me in particular. The restaurant had plenty of traces of TV appearances and autographs on the walls, and it's also a place that was featured on Sooyomisikhoe (a Korean food TV program) for its black pork samgyeopsal and aged kimchi jjigae — worth a curious visit if you're hunting for good food in Myeongdong.

There can be a wait during dinner hours, so if you're visiting at a busy time, I'd recommend checking on reservations ahead of time. It's not far from Myeongdong Station, so it's also worth keeping in mind if you're looking for dinner after shopping or a date in Myeongdong :)