Family gathering at a Mapo Seoul Korean BBQ restaurant: Jeongyukdo

Jeongyukdo, great for a private family gathering near Hapjeong Station

Everyone in my family has a birthday in the fall... so it’s like a double-expense event, haha 🥹 The birthday person loves meat, and we wanted to enjoy it privately in a room with the whole family, so we found Jeongyukdo (정육도), a Korean BBQ restaurant with rooms in Hapjeong!

The grassy outdoor patio was the first thing that struck me when we arrived! 🫶 In cool fall weather like this, it seemed like you could enjoy fresh meat outside without the smell clinging to you. The patio was spacious, with plenty of room between tables, so it didn’t have that cramped Jongno-style patio feel—you could comfortably come with a bigger group too ❣️

As soon as we stepped inside, there was a whole wall of celebrity signatures..! There are so many truly delicious, famous Korean BBQ places in Hapjeong, and Jeongyukdo was already well known for serving high-quality meat too. It has appeared on TV several times, so I was super excited even before eating, haha.

The restaurant was broadly divided into room-style seating and regular table seating. The whole place was not only pleasant and clean, but also felt very upscale!

We were shown to a private room, which was lovely because it was just our family and we could chat comfortably. I think a room would be a good choice for company dinners, family gatherings, or group gatherings around Hapjeong Station!

Meat aged with Korean pork and Hanwoo beef

Aged 1++ Hanwoo beef and domestic Korean pork, looking deliciously ready... drool 🤤 The menu mentioned that the meat was directly certified, so I could eat with confidence!

The Korean pork set that worked well for a larger group

We ordered the Korean pork set. There were set menus mixing different cuts of Hanwoo beef and Korean pork, so they seemed like a good choice when visiting with a larger group 🍀

The basic side dishes! The pickled chili peppers and seasoned shredded radish were both really good, but the shredded scallion salad and salted seafood were so tasty that we got refills several times 🤤

Three sauces were prepared to enjoy with the meat: Himalayan salt, wasabi, and whole-grain mustard.

Korean pork set cuts and stew choice

Finally, our first dish arrived! The Korean pork set consists of 200 g fresh rib meat, 150 g pork belly, and 150 g flower pork neck. When you order it, you can choose either Korean beef doenjang-jjigae (soybean paste stew) or Gijang earthen-pot myeoljeot (fermented anchovy sauce), and we chose the Korean beef soybean paste stew to enjoy with drinks.

They told us it tastes best to grill the meat in the order it was arranged: rib meat, pork belly, then pork neck. So that’s exactly how we tried it!

The order we tried, from fresh rib meat to flower pork neck

First, the fresh rib meat! It had just the right amount of chew from the very first bite, which made it fun to eat. The more I chewed, the more savory juices came through, so it was delicious with just a light dip in salt :)

Next, pork belly! Grilling the outside until golden made its savory flavor come through even more. The lean meat was moist while the fatty part was tender, so there were so many textures in one bite. Maybe because it was Korean pork, the quality of every cut was really excellent!

Lastly, flower pork neck! Since it has a higher proportion of lean meat, I thought it might be dry, but it was moister than expected. It had a satisfyingly thick bite and a subtle savory flavor, so it suited my taste for cleaner-tasting meat!

The Korean beef doenjang-jjigae! A little pleasant heat came through after its deep, earthy flavor, making it great to spoon up between bites of meat. The rich broth made this a dish that absolutely called for a bowl of rice!

Extra pork jowl and wrapping up the gathering

After the Korean pork set, we ordered extra pork jowl! Its rich fat was especially good with a little wasabi on top. The sharp kick made the pork jowl’s savory richness stand out even more ❣️ It wasn’t included in the set, so we ordered it separately, but if the quantity feels short, definitely order it—you won’t regret it 🙂↕️ The meat was genuinely fresh, beautifully colored, had no off smell, and was in such great condition 🥩🥩🥩🥩

The restroom was clean, the restaurant was spacious, and the meat was delicious, so I highly! recommend Jeongyukdo when you are gathering as a group around Hapjeong Station ❣️