Group dinner Korean BBQ near Mapo Station, Seoul: Mapo Gui Madang

Today I'm sharing my visit to Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang Direct Branch, a pork belly restaurant near Mapo Station that's also known for having one of the country's three best green onion kimchi.

Where is Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang Direct Branch, and what are its hours?

• 🏡Location: 284-1 Tojeong-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰Hours: 16:00–22:30
• 🚗Parking: Street parking in front of the restaurant or nearby public parking lots

Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang Direct Branch, a well-known pork belly spot near Mapo Station, is a 7-minute walk from Mapo Station Exit 1, near the Yonggang-dong restaurant alley.

Is Mapo Gui Madang a good spot for group dinners and company gatherings?

Here's the inside of Mapo Gui Madang, a popular pork belly restaurant in Yonggang-dong. The interior had a comfortable, homey atmosphere overall, so it felt easy to just walk in and eat, and there were plenty of tables inside, which made it look like a good spot for group gatherings or company dinners. We visited on a weekday evening, and customers kept streaming in nonstop, so I could really feel why it's known as a popular meat restaurant in Mapo.

Mapo Gui Madang menu and what we ordered

Here's the menu board at Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang Direct Branch. True to its reputation as a meat restaurant near Mapo Station, it had a variety of options, including the main meat dishes—frozen pork belly, fresh whole pork belly, fresh whole pork neck—as well as whole beef tripe and spicy octopus. We wanted thick, juicy meat, so we ordered two servings of fresh whole pork belly, plus minari and fernbrake to grill alongside it.

Side dishes at Mapo Gui Madang, plus added minari and fernbrake

Here are the basic side dishes at Mapo Gui Madang, a meat restaurant near Mapo Station. Napa cabbage kimchi, white kimchi, Jeolla-do style green onion kimchi, and lettuce wraps all came out generously, pairing well with pork belly, and we also separately added fragrant minari and fernbrake as sides to grill together with the pork belly. Personally, I'd really recommend adding minari and fernbrake, since eating pork belly with kimchi and vegetables keeps it from feeling greasy all the way through :)

We also got ssamjang (dipping sauce) for wrapping the pork belly, along with Mapo Gui Madang's own secret meat sauce. The ssamjang worked well when wrapping pork belly in lettuce, and the secret sauce brought out the savory flavor of the meat while adding even more umami—I kept reaching for it.

Jeolla-style green onion kimchi you can also buy to take home

At Mapo Gui Madang, a meat restaurant in Yonggang-dong, the Jeolla-do style green onion kimchi we ate with the pork belly is also sold separately at the store. The sharp aroma of green onion and the rich seasoning really came through, making it a perfect match for pork belly. It seemed like it would even taste great eaten just with rice, so if you like green onion kimchi, it's worth picking some up.

Two servings of fresh whole pork belly, pre-grilled at your table

The fresh whole pork belly we ordered wasn't served straight onto the grill—a staff member pre-grilled it for us first. We got to watch the pre-grilling process right at our table, and seeing the meat's surface take on a mouthwatering color was genuinely appetite-stirring.

🍽️Fresh whole pork belly (2 servings)

Here's the pre-grilled fresh whole pork belly we ordered at Mapo Gui Madang, a meat restaurant near Mapo Station. It was noticeably thicker than typical pork belly, looking juicy just from its appearance, with a mouthwatering color and smoky char from the pre-grilling on the outside.

The pre-grilled pork belly from Mapo Gui Madang was then placed on the grill and cooked to a golden brown on both sides. Since the meat had already been pre-grilled once, it cooked quickly and was convenient to eat :)

Grilling kimchi, fernbrake and minari alongside the pork belly

After the pork belly at Mapo Gui Madang, a meat restaurant near Mapo Station, was cooked, they also placed kimchi, fernbrake, and minari on the grill together with it. As the kimchi and vegetables cooked in the fat rendered from the meat, the grill looked even more abundant and appetizing, and the fernbrake and minari, soaking up the pork fat, tasted much richer and more savory than if eaten plain.

The green onion kimchi at Mapo Gui Madang, a meat restaurant near Mapo Station, cleanly cut through the richness of the pork belly, so we could keep eating the meat without getting sick of it, and the fragrant minari and chewy fernbrake paired really well with the thick pork belly.

At the end, we piled pork belly, ssamjang, grilled kimchi, and vegetables onto a lettuce leaf for a big wrap. With green onion kimchi, minari, fernbrake, and lettuce all available to pair with the pork belly, there were so many combinations that we enjoyed every last bite :)

Is Mapo Gui Madang worth it for Korean BBQ near Mapo Station?

That wraps up my visit to Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang Direct Branch, a pork belly restaurant near Mapo Station in Yonggang-dong. The thick fresh whole pork belly, pre-grilled over charcoal, let us enjoy a subtle smoky char along with juicy tenderness, and it was even better paired with Jeolla-do green onion kimchi, minari, and fernbrake—a great pork belly specialty restaurant overall :) If you're looking for a company dinner spot or a meat restaurant near Mapo Station, I'd recommend Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang Direct Branch, where you can enjoy green onion kimchi together with thick fresh whole pork belly :)