Seoul Korean BBQ: frozen pork belly and spicy octopus, Mapo Gui Madang

On the weekend my husband and I got a craving for frozen samgyeopsal (pork belly) and a cold soju, so we made our way back to 'Mapo Gui Madang Bukgajwa Direct Branch' after a while. We used to come here whenever we wanted frozen pork belly, and honestly the pork belly itself is great, but grilling their green onion kimchi in the meat fat is what really gets me. A place where the drinking just tastes right, haha. Let me tell you about 'Mapo Gui Madang Bukgajwa Direct Branch,' a go-to restaurant in Bukgajwa-dong 💜

Who should visit Mapo Gui Madang Bukgajwa Direct Branch?

• Anyone craving frozen pork belly with a shot of soju
• Fans of the pork belly + green onion kimchi combo
• Anyone wanting frozen pork belly and fire octopus together
• Anyone looking for a laid-back neighborhood BBQ spot in Bukgajwa-dong

Where is it? Ground floor, a walk from Jeungsan and DMC Stations

Mapo Gui Madang Bukgajwa Direct Branch is on the 1st floor of the Sinjin Building, 2 Geobukgol-ro 23an-gil, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul. It's easy to reach on foot from Jeungsan Station or DMC Station.

Inside there are round tables with fairly generous spacing between them. Seating extends toward the back too, so it's fine for a casual meal for two, but it also looked comfortable for bigger groups.

Mapo Gui Madang Bukgajwa Direct Branch menu and prices

The menu was pretty varied — frozen pork belly, whole pork belly, whole pork neck, beef brisket, even makchang (grilled intestines). Beyond meat there's fire octopus, plus sides that go well alongside like chewy bibim noodles, green onion cold noodles, and soybean paste stew.

Here's what we ordered today.

• Frozen pork belly, 2 servings ₩19,800
• Fire octopus, 1 serving ₩13,900
• Chamisul Original (soju), 2 bottles ₩10,000
• Soybean paste stew ₩3,000
• Rice ₩1,000
• Chewy bibim noodles ₩5,000

The free side dishes: green onion kimchi made with 30 years of know-how

This is Mapo Gui Madang Bukgajwa Direct Branch's basic table setting. You get lettuce wraps, garlic and ssamjang as standard, plus green onion kimchi, napa cabbage kimchi, and white kimchi. They say the green onion kimchi in particular is made in-house with 30 years of know-how — we'll grill it in the pork fat in a bit, haha. And of course our beloved soju is right there with us 💜 Naturally we also ordered soybean paste stew and rice.

Frozen pork belly, ₩19,800 for two servings: unseasoned 200g slices

The pork belly we'd been waiting for arrives! 200g per serving is a decent amount, and unlike a lot of frozen-pork-belly places that pre-season with pepper or seasoned salt, Mapo Gui Madang Bukgajwa Direct Branch serves it plain, unseasoned. They laid the slices onto the heated grill one by one. It looked so good I recorded a video of it.

They flipped the slices back and forth on the grill until golden brown.

Because the slices are thin they cook fast, so there's no waiting around — you can just keep grilling and eating. Once the fat starts glistening and the edges turn crisp, that's exactly the frozen pork belly look I love 💜

Once the pork belly was mostly cooked, they added napa cabbage kimchi and green onion kimchi to one side of the grill. You have to grill them sizzling in the pork belly fat, right? That's just the rule, haha.

I tried a well-cooked piece of pork belly first — golden and slightly crisp on the outside, savory the more you chew, exactly the flavor that makes you think of soju, haha. Also great dipped in garlic and ssamjang.

This time I loaded lettuce with pork belly, rice, and a generous helping of the grilled green onion kimchi. The tangy kimchi cuts through the fatty pork belly perfectly — every time I come here, this kimchi combo is my favorite part.

Fire octopus, ₩13,900: stir-fried with bean sprouts in the pork fat

We ordered fire octopus to eat alongside the pork belly! Spicy-seasoned octopus came out with a generous amount of bean sprouts.

Once we'd gotten through some of the pork belly, they put the fire octopus on the grill too. They stir-fry it together with all the bean sprouts so the seasoning soaks in evenly.

Stir-fried together in the meat fat, the sauce clung to everything and cooked up looking really appetizing. The octopus had a nice springy bite, and the seasoning was spicy with a touch of sweetness. By my standard it wasn't too spicy — just the right amount of kick.

Pork belly plus fire octopus is the best combo. The savory pork belly paired with the spicy octopus worked really well together, and adding the bean sprouts on top gave it a nice crunchy texture too.

Chewy bibim noodles, ₩5,000: icy broth with a slice of pork belly

Lastly, I ordered chewy bibim noodles to eat with the meat. It came topped with cucumber, egg, and cherry tomatoes, with a slushy, icy broth pooled underneath.

After mixing it thoroughly, I added a piece of pork belly on top. Sweet-and-tangy bibim noodles with savory pork belly really is a fail-proof combo. Glad I ordered it.

Pairing up a piece of pork belly with a piece of octopus and washing it down with soju, bite after bite — we made sure to enjoy the well-grilled kimchi and pork belly right down to the very last piece.

We finished it off with two bottles of soju, and once again ended with a completely cleaned-up grill, haha!

Is Mapo Gui Madang Bukgajwa worth it? Final verdict

At reasonable prices, it's great for pairing frozen pork belly with fire octopus and various sides, and it made for a comfortable drink out, haha. The homemade green onion kimchi grilled in pork belly fat was, as always, delicious 💜 If you're in Bukgajwa-dong craving frozen pork belly and a soju, I'd recommend Mapo Gui Madang Bukgajwa Direct Branch!