Korean BBQ with parents in Mapo, Seoul: ₩53,700 for three at Gui

I was looking for a pork belly restaurant near Mapo Station where I could have a relaxed weekend dinner with my parents. I wanted somewhere affordable with good portions, and that's how I found Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang Direct Branch.

The meat comes pre-grilled once already, so it didn't take long to finish cooking, and the price was great too!

Apparently it's been featured on several TV shows like Tasty Guys, Rooftop-less Table, and Live Today.

Where is Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang, and what are the hours and parking?

Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang Direct Branch is located at 284-1 Tojeong-ro, Mapo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, roughly in the middle of Mapo Food Culture Street. It's about 500m from Exit 1 of Mapo Station on Line 5, an easy stroll.

It's open daily from 16:00 to 22:30, with last order 30 minutes before closing at 22:00. There's no dedicated parking lot, so if you're driving, you'll need to park in the public street parking run by the Mapo-gu Facilities Management Corporation.

Inside Mapo Gui Madang: an old-school room full of families

Walking in, there are round tables scattered around — maybe 10 to 12 of them?

Mapo Gui Madang has more of an old-school neighborhood barbecue joint feel than a flashy, modern one — the kind of place you can just walk into comfortably. Maybe because of that friendly, worn-in atmosphere, every single table around us was a family group when we visited haha. The place isn't huge, but you can push tables together, so it could easily work for a group dinner too, not just a family meal. If you're coming as a group, they said calling ahead lets them set up the seating for you!

Menu and prices at Mapo Gui Madang: full 200g portions

Looking at the menu, most of the meat is based on 200g portions! A lot of other pork belly places near Mapo Station usually serve 170–180g, so I had a feeling right away — this place was going to be great value.

Sure enough, frozen pork belly is ₩9,900 for 200g, whole pork belly and whole pork neck are ₩13,900 each, and whole beef tripe and spicy octopus are in the same price range — genuinely nice prices.

Beef brisket (chadolbagi) is ₩15,000 for 180g, adding minari or doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) is ₩3,000 each, and there are various side dishes too, like jjagyechi, butter soy sauce rice, or fried rice. Since we wanted to try a bit of everything with my parents, we ordered whole pork belly, whole pork neck, whole tripe, doenjang jjigae, and naengmyeon (cold noodles), and it came to ₩53,700. Being able to have dinner at a pork belly place in Mapo for under ₩20,000 per person... I think Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang is worth recommending to anyone looking for a place to eat meat without breaking the bank.

Whole pork belly and pork neck, pre-grilled over charcoal

When you order meat, it's pre-grilled once over charcoal near the kitchen, then a staff member cuts it into easy-to-eat pieces and brings it to the table.

Since it's already pre-grilled, neither the pork belly nor the pork neck needed much time on the grill, which was great. Whenever I go eat meat with my parents, I usually end up being the one grilling, so unless it's a place where staff grill for you, meals can get a bit hectic — but this time I could actually focus on eating 👍

The outside was browned nicely with a faint charcoal aroma, while the inside kept that moist texture typical of a thick cut of meat.

The whole pork neck came out pre-grilled the same way, and even though pork neck can easily turn dry if overcooked, I didn't get that at all here.

It's less greasy than the pork belly, so my parents liked it for being lighter, and they went back and forth between the two comfortably.

Jeolla-style pa kimchi (green onion kimchi) and whole makchang

Apparently Mapo Gui Madang is known for its Jeolla-do style green onion kimchi. It's good eaten plain with its sharp, tangy flavor, but I personally prefer grilling it on the pan haha.

Placing the green onion and napa cabbage kimchi over the pork belly fat makes it soak up that savory meat fat and taste even richer! My dad loved this combo too, and kept putting more green onion kimchi on the grill the whole time the meat was cooking.

The whole beef tripe also came pre-grilled and pre-cut into easy portions, so it only needed 2–3 minutes rolling around on the grill before it was basically ready to eat.

There wasn't much of that gamey smell, and it was savory and chewy — really good, honestly haha.

Ending the meal with doenjang jjigae and mul naengmyeon

The doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) we ordered as a side wasn't overly strong, seasoned lightly, more like something simmered at home than something loaded with seasoning — nice and savory.

For only ₩3,000, it was packed with plenty of tofu and zucchini.

We finished with mul naengmyeon (cold noodle soup), which had bits of slushy ice floating in it, looking refreshing and tasting solidly good! Wrapping the leftover meat with the noodles cut through the greasiness nicely and gave the meal a clean finish!

Mapo Gui Madang Yonggang Direct Branch! An easygoing, good-value pork belly restaurant near Mapo Station. Both the tripe and the pork neck came pre-grilled, so it was easy to just chat and eat together, and with the main dishes and sides all reasonably priced, we had a filling meal without spending much!