Seoul Korean BBQ in Geumcheon with potato and cheese: Daepan

I was craving meat so badly on my way home from work that I stopped by this Doksan-dong barbecue spot, Daepan Sotttukkeong Kimchi Samgyeopsal! Kimchi pork belly sizzling on a huge pot-lid grill—just thinking about it had me excited before I even went in.

Daepan Sotttukkeong Kimchi Samgyeopsal information

• Sun–Thu 11:00–22:00 / break 15:00–17:00 / last order 21:20
• Fri–Sat 11:00–23:00 / break 15:00–17:00 / last order 22:20
• Parking available; corkage available

A whole pot-lid grill in the Couple Set

We ordered the signature Couple Set for two! It was such good value, packed with pork belly and pork neck, grillable cheese, and even fluffy steamed egg.

As soon as we sat down, they arranged well-fermented whole-leaf kimchi, spicy-sweet seasoned bean sprouts, thinly sliced potatoes, and grillable cheese beautifully across the enormous pot lid! Most barbecue places give you onions or mushrooms, so it was my first time seeing thin potatoes grilled on a pot lid. It felt novel, and I could already tell it would be a real treat. Just looking at that grill completely covered in ingredients made my mouth water.

Spacious seating and a self-service bar

The restaurant was spacious, with plenty of six-person tables, so it struck me as perfect for a get-together or company dinner. What surprised me was that, even on a weekday evening, the entire place filled up in no time! The number of diners alone made it feel like a pork belly place already approved by nearby workers and residents.

A little bit of fun before the meal! They were also running a prize draw through a Naver review event. The basic table setting was wonderfully generous too: garlic, ssamjang (seasoned soybean dipping paste), pickled radish wraps, shredded scallions, green-onion kimchi, peppers, mushrooms, and fresh wrap vegetables. The fresh vegetables and side dishes were exactly what the meat needed. I also loved that we could comfortably refill anything we ran short on at the self-service bar!

It was so convenient being able to help ourselves to more side dishes without feeling self-conscious! We love mushrooms so much that we kept refilling them, then grilling them in the pork fat on the pot lid. Being able to enjoy plenty of your favorite sides is the charm of a self-service bar, I think!

The peppers at the self-service bar were punchy Cheongyang peppers! Pork belly can start to feel a little rich, but adding one spicy piece cut right through the fattiness and made everything taste much cleaner. If you like heat, definitely grab some Cheongyang peppers from the bar!

Grilling thick pork belly and pork neck

Our pork belly and pork neck arrived, and the thickness was no joke! You could tell at a glance that it was fresh, quality meat haha. As it sizzled on the pot-lid grill, kimchi and bean sprouts browned in the rendered fat too. The aroma and the visuals were both perfect—it was almost hard to wait. We flipped everything right on cue, and it cooked beautifully all the way through! Haha, thanks to my friend who is great at grilling meat, we could eat it at exactly the right point without burning a thing!

Meat really does taste best grilled on a pot lid! The intense heat cooked it properly, and I was completely satisfied haha.

⚠️ A note for your visit! The pot-lid grill gets much hotter than you might expect, so be careful not to touch it with your hands or arms while you eat!

Once the outside has browned nicely, cut it into bite-size pieces and keep grilling carefully so it cooks evenly inside! Hearing those thick cross-sections sizzle against the grill got my appetite going all over again haha.

⚠️ Mouthwatering alert ⚠️ The look of it while it cooks is already perfection, right? Haha. I tried a piece set aside so it would not burn with just a dab of ssamjang, and the juicy flavor was incredible. Above all, the meat was so thick that the full, satisfying chew was the best. If you are in Doksan-dong, you really have to try this place!

My perfect combo: potato, cheese, and green-onion kimchi

Here is my personal tip for eating pork belly deliciously haha. First, wrap the meat in thin potatoes crisped in the pot-lid fat and chewy grilled cheese, then eat it all in one bite! I was honestly surprised by that nutty richness—it was unlike anything I had tried before. Then roll pork belly in intensely savory green-onion kimchi and finish it wrapped in tangy pickled radish. I just kept eating without ever getting tired of it!

I have always loved making ssam (leaf wraps)! I piled a thick piece of pork belly onto fresh wrap greens, added golden grilled garlic, spicy bean sprouts, and a little ssamjang, then made myself a proper one-bite wrap. The range of textures and flavors filling my mouth made me smile automatically haha.

Grilled kimchi, steamed egg, and doenjang-jjigae

The finishing touch to the pot lid: grilled kimchi! The kimchi browned properly in pork fat tasted absolutely perfect!! Its spicy, tangy flavor paired so well with the pork belly and pork neck that I kept topping each piece of meat with grilled kimchi haha. Thanks to the kimchi, I never got tired of the meal to the very end!

We also enjoyed the steamed egg between bites of meat as a palate refresher! It rose above the ttukbaegi (earthenware pot), and it was so fluffy and soft that it melted gently in my mouth. Taking spoonfuls while eating meat made my palate feel completely reset haha.

The Gangwon-do makjang doenjang-jjigae (soybean-paste stew) arrived smelling wonderfully earthy! And this delicious stew was included as a basic side!! I always have to eat doenjang-jjigae with pork belly, so I was so happy they served it. The owner really knows good food haha. The first serving is included, and even additional servings cost only ₩2,000, making it a very affordable setup.

After finishing our meal happily and paying, the owner even gave us sweet yogurt for dessert, which I really appreciated!! It was perfect for cleansing the palate after rich meat. That small but thoughtful service made it a perfect meal right to the end haha.

From the thick, fresh meat to the kimchi grilled alongside it on the pot lid and the varied side-dish combinations, nothing was missing here. The restaurant was spacious and the tables were comfortable, so next time I would love to return with a bigger group of friends or for a company dinner! If you want proper Doksan-dong pork belly or a reliably good Doksan-dong restaurant, I wholeheartedly recommend Daepan Sotttukkeong Kimchi Samgyeopsal—it is also ideal for a group dinner 👍