Seogyo-dong group dinner spot for pork belly: Mapo Gui Madang

Fall came... 🍂 then I thought summer was gone... ☀️ then it got so cold at night... 🥶 is it just me haha⁉️ I wanted to enjoy some outdoor seating but it's colder out than expected, and honestly I've been craving frozen pork belly lately..🔥 So a bunch of friends and I went hunting for a good frozen pork belly spot in Hongdae, and today's post is about Mapo Gui Madang Seogyo Direct Branch! ❣️

Where is Mapo Gui Madang Seogyo Direct Branch, and what are the hours?

• 📍Name: Mapo Gui Madang Seogyo Direct Branch
• 📍Address: 49 World Cup buk-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul
• 📍Hours: Daily 16:00–22:30 (open weekends too!)
• Free parking available

A wide hall in Seogyo-dong that fits big groups near Hongdae

Since there were quite a few of us, we needed a spacious place, so I searched for a Hongdae group-dinner spot ⭐️ jackpot ⭐️ it's big, comfortable, and far enough from the main Hongdae street that it's not noisy at all. Whenever I'm looking for a group spot I always search with the "group dinner restaurant" keyword, and it never fails me❣️

Before the frozen pork belly, we started by ordering the fresh whole pork belly!

As soon as we sat down, the kind and thoughtful owner brought us aprons...

The scallion kimchi billed as one of Korea's three best (the white kimchi too)

So this place has "top 3 scallion kimchi (pa-kimchi) restaurant in Korea" written right on the exterior... and I have to admit it. Actually, it's not just the scallion kimchi — the white kimchi (baek-kimchi) is amazing too. Everything, from the scallion kimchi to the other kimchis, is made in-house, and thanks to the kitchen ladies' skilled hands, all the side dishes were delicious❣️

We added bracken fern (gosari) to grill together with the whole pork belly! Adding gosari or water celery (minari) is ₩3,000, and they give you a generous portion!

One unique thing — instead of a salt dip, the sauce comes with cheongyang chili and soybean powder sprinkled on top. It went great with the whole pork belly, but this sauce was especially perfect with the thin frozen pork belly.

Whole pork belly, 200g for 13,900 won, pre-seared over charcoal

When you order the whole pork belly, they pre-sear it directly on a natural grill using Chiaksan charcoal before bringing it out 🔥🔥🔥 What I loved about this pre-sear was that you could really taste the charcoal smoke the whole time you ate it — a noticeable difference!

The perfectly cooked whole pork belly! 200g for ₩13,900 — a ray of light in terms of price and portion for broke students like us ✨ The meat was thick, juicy, and had none of that distinct pork gaminess 🐷🐷🐷

The signature frozen pork belly, 200g for 9,900 won

Don't stop the meat train‼️ Moving right on to the next round. This is the whole reason we came here today — Gui Madang's signature frozen pork belly. This place is already famous as a neighborhood frozen pork belly spot in Seogyo-dong, so we ordered it with high expectations

We grilled it with a sauce of mixed pepper and salt, and it was definitely different from frozen pork belly at other places 🤤🤤🤤 Because it's flash-frozen and served right away, the meat flavor doesn't fade, so it tastes amazing and the quality was great. It gets nuttier the more you chew, and if you grill it a little longer you get that crispy-outside, juicy-inside magic. Honestly, the exact flavor to wipe out an office worker's Friday-night overtime stress🔥

Wait, who finished all of it. Surprisingly, we're already onto a second round, ahem. The frozen pork belly is also 200g for a whopping ₩9,900... the price is so kind but the taste is way above that price point. Whether you come with family, as coworkers for a work dinner, or as a student group like us, it's such good value and the interior is spacious enough that everyone can eat comfortably!

Best bite: frozen pork belly wrapped in scallion kimchi

My personal favorite Gui Madang combo is scallion kimchi + frozen pork belly! Right around when the pork belly starts feeling a bit greasy, wrapping it up with the tangy-sweet scallion kimchi is just so good... it's an unstoppable combo that keeps the frozen pork belly coming 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️

Round three, no less. 200g of frozen pork belly is really a generous portion.. everyone in our group ate until we were stuffed that day, and it still didn't come out expensive — genuinely the best

Side dishes: jjagyechi, cheese Yeolramen and anchovy kalguksu

Another thing I personally loved was that compared to other Korean BBQ places, the side menu was really varied. Jjagyechi, cheese yeol ramen, mul-naengmyeon (cold noodles in broth) / bibim-naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles), anchovy kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup), grilled octopus, butter soy sauce rice, and more...! We were too full that day so we finished with naengmyeon, but next time I want to try one of the other sides (because I already know the kitchen ladies' hands are golden)

Is Mapo Gui Madang Seogyo Direct Branch worth booking for a work dinner?

So that's how I settled my frozen pork belly cravings for the year. The prices are so kind, the portions are generous ❣️ but the meat quality is also great ❣️ everything is clearly made with skill ❣️ the scallion kimchi is insane.. ❣️ and on top of all that, the owner has such thoughtful hospitality, rushing over to refill side dishes before we even ask.. ❣️ There's really no reason not to go to Mapo Gui Madang Seogyo Direct Branch.. It seems great for people who live nearby, good for a bit of a walk-in group outing from Hongdae, and the space is genuinely spacious enough that I'd recommend it for a work dinner too 😊😊😊