Hapjeong Korean BBQ night, four bottles of soju for three: Ijjok

Lately I've been craving meat for dinner a lot, so I figured I'd meet up near Hapjeong Station and introduce my boyfriend to my friend at the same time.

Hours 11:30–23:00 / 15:00–17:00 (break time) / last order 22:00 / closed every Sunday

Walking from Hapjeong Station to Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal

Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal (이쪽 김치삼겹살) is on the basement level of a building on Dongmak-ro 3-gil, an easy walk from Hapjeong Station. There are so many places to eat around Hapjeong Station that we went back and forth on where to go, but ended up here because we were craving the combo of kimchi and pork belly grilled together.

The restaurant was in a spot that wasn't hard to find on foot from Hapjeong Station.

The name of the place is literally 'Ijjok' (This Way), so the sign really stuck in my memory too, haha!

Seats and atmosphere half a floor below street level

Right when you walk into Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal there are seats, and if you go down half a floor there's an even cozier seating area. The three of us sat in the section half a floor down.

It seemed like a good spot for visiting with friends or a partner, and also great for a company dinner! Apparently a lot of celebrities have come through too?

What three of us ordered: the 2-3 person set

Here's the menu! The lunch menu looked well put together too, so it seems like a solid option for lunch as well. Since there were three of us today, there was no need to think twice — we went straight for the 2-3 person set. One bottle of soju is a must ❤️

Receipt review is a must, you know~? ❤️ We ordered the bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles) for dinner too. Learn how to enjoy the meat, then get ready to eat ⭐️

Banchan, doenjang jjigae and steamed egg set

Here are the basic side dishes (banchan). They gave us a generous amount of lettuce wraps too. Having something to cut through the richness while eating meat makes it way easier to keep eating the pork belly. This bean sprouts side dish is insane — take note ⭐️

The doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) and steamed egg set! The stew pairs perfectly with rice. For me, someone who doesn't eat meat with rice, it felt a bit salty on its own 🥲

Pork belly and whole pork jowl, grilled by the owner

The thickness of the pork belly at Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal was just right, and the color looked amazing too. The big piece of meat I thought was pork neck turned out to be whole pork jowl 🤣 It was nice that the owner grilled it for us directly. The oil splatters more than you'd expect, so an apron is essential if you're sitting up front where the grilling happens!! Better to step back a bit 🥹

Enjoy a bit of meat ASMR before you go 🎶

Sour kimchi with potato and mushroom — all a combo I love 🤤

The owner seemed to be team well-done, because it came out grilled pretty firm~! Crispy-outside-juicy-inside people vs. well-done people, this could be a matter of taste!

First bite dipped in salt to savor the meat's flavor, then wrapped in lettuce from the second bite on. Between pork belly and pork jowl, I'd pick pork belly!!

The fresh wasabi seemed to have lost its kick — no matter how much I ate, it wasn't spicy at all, which was a bit disappointing 😢 The kimchi + pork belly + bean sprouts combo really makes the soju go down way too easily 🫠

Review-event bibim guksu and one extra serving of meat

As we kept eating, the bibim guksu from the review event arrived. The portion was bigger than expected, which I liked. The daikon-radish-like kimchi was the fun surprise 😆

Had a bite with the noodles too, haha — this is genuinely delicious.

Ordered an extra serving of meat. Before we knew it, slurping away, we were already three bottles of soju in...

Finishing with three orders of fried rice

We ordered three servings of fried rice and cracked open the last bottle of soju^^ They chopped up the scallion and kimchi from the banchan and fried it all up expertly.

Maybe because it was three orders of fried rice, the portion was huge — no matter how much we spread it out on the grill, more rice kept appearing, haha. If I hadn't been so full I could've eaten a lot more... my boyfriend ended up finishing most of it, hahaha. Thinking about it now, I want to eat it again ㅠㅠ It's on the intense side because of the kimchi, but so addictive 😂

We finished it off in no time, haha. Cleaned our plates and decided to head to round two~ haha

Is Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal worth it for a group of three?

If you're craving Korean BBQ around Hapjeong Station, I think this is a place worth trying at least once. Personally, when eating pork belly, I care not just about how good the meat itself is but also how well the kimchi and side dishes pair with it — and this place did well on that front overall.

• Pork jowl felt closer to pork neck, so I'd recommend the pork belly instead
• Definitely recommend naengmyeon (cold noodles) or bibim guksu as a side
• If you know your meat, one look at the photos on blogs or Naver and you'll want to come straight here 🥹