Hongdae Korean BBQ with pork skin: Chopilsal Pork Grill

I went out for pork in Hongdae at Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch! It is famous in Busan for its honeycomb pork skin, and I was curious when I heard a Hongdae branch had opened. The signature pork skin is especially well known, so this time I came to try it with ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly)!

Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch location and parking

It is about a five-minute walk from Exit 1 of Hongik University Station, so it was perfect for getting there by public transport! 🚗 There is no dedicated parking, so if you are driving, use a nearby paid parking lot.

Saturday evening waiting and Catchtable remote waiting

We visited at around 7 p.m. on Saturday! As you would expect of Hongdae on a weekend evening, it was packed haha. There were about eight parties waiting on-site when we arrived, and we got in after around 40 minutes. Catchtable remote waiting is available too, so if you are planning to visit, it might be nice to put your name down in advance, look around Hongdae, then head in!

Salt ogyeopsal and signature pork skin menu

The menu at Chopilsal Pork Grill was simpler than I expected! Along with the signature salt ogyeopsal and signature pork skin, there were jinjja dwit-gogi (pork cuts from the back) and Choryang galbi, while meal options included mixed naengmyeon (cold noodles), kimchi stew, zucchini stew, and steamed egg.

There were two of us, so for our first order we got 🥩 two 100g portions of salt ogyeopsal at ₩12,000 each and 🐷 one 150g portion of signature pork skin at ₩9,500! Then the pork skin was so delicious that we ordered one more portion.

An interior spread over the first and second floors

The restaurant operates across the first and second floors. It had that lively, classic Korean BBQ restaurant atmosphere, and on a weekend evening it was full of diners all the way to the back! You grill the meat at your table, and the chairs have space inside for coats or bags, which looked handy for keeping clothes away from the meat smell. There is group seating upstairs too, so it seems like a good option for friends or larger work gatherings.

Banchan and a variety of sauces

The banchan (Korean side dishes) included well-aged kimchi, perilla leaves, pickled radish wraps, garlic and chili peppers, and assorted pickles—mostly things that go well with grilled meat.

They set everything up as soon as we sat down, with several sauces to suit different cuts of meat! There were salt and soy-sauce-based options, plus soybean powder and a seasoned sauce that pair especially well with pork skin, so it was nice being able to enjoy the same meat in different ways depending on what we dipped it in.

Thick salt ogyeopsal and seriously, seriously delicious pork skin

The ogyeopsal quality was good. A serving is 100g, so it did not look like much at first, but the meat itself was trimmed quite thickly. Once it went on the grill, it was thicker than expected.

Personally, I also liked being able to order small portions.

And then—seriously, seriously delicious pork skin!! It arrived already cooked, and a staff member even cut it up for us, so we could eat it right away!

We tried it lightly dipped in soybean powder, which added a nutty flavor and went so well with it!! Dipping it in the seasoned sauce made it more savory, and alternating between the sauce and soybean powder made the same pork skin feel completely different.

As salt ogyeopsal, it was seasoned simply with salt rather than a strong marinade, so it was easy to taste the meat itself. As it browned on the grill, the outside became lightly crisp while the inside kept that distinctive chewy ogyeopsal texture!

At first, I tried it with just a little salt, then with myeolchi jeot (fermented anchovy sauce), pickles, and ssam vegetables (wrap vegetables). Each combination was different, so it was fun to try it in lots of ways!

Why I want to return even with the wait

Above all, there was a wait on a weekend evening, but it is close to Hongik University Station, which makes it easy to get to, and staying open late is another plus! Everything was neat, clean, and delicious, so I am totally up for a return visit!

If you are looking for great pork in Hongdae, want to enjoy ogyeopsal and pork skin together, want to try honeycomb pork skin properly, need somewhere for meat near Hongik University Station, or want a good spot for meat and drinks with friends or a date, Chopilsal Pork Grill Hongdae Branch could be worth considering! Weekend evenings can mean a wait like ours, so I also recommend using Catchtable remote waiting if you visit!!