Hapjeong Station Korean BBQ, set pork belly swapped for neck: Ijjok

Today I want to introduce a place worth stopping by when you're craving good samgyeopsal (grilled pork belly) in Hapjeong!

Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal

Hours Mon–Fri 11:30 - 23:00 Break time 15:00 - 17:00 Last order 22:00 Saturday 17:00 - 23:00 Last order 22:00 Closed every Sunday ✅ Reservations available, groups welcome

The name alone screams kimchi-samgyeopsal-must-eat, right? Haha. Pork belly and kimchi is honestly a combo that's hard to mess up, but here they grill the kimchi together with the meat, and since I'm someone who needs kimchi with meat no matter what, I walked in with sky-high expectations!!

Where is Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal, and how far is it from Hapjeong Station?

Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal is located near Hapjeong Station, so it's pretty easy to get to. It was the perfect spot for meeting up in Hapjeong and going straight to eat meat.

What comes in the 2-3 person set, and can you swap pork belly for pork neck?

The 2-3 person set at Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal comes with raw pork belly (2 servings) + whole pork jowl (1 serving) + soft steamed egg + doenjang jjigae, and the raw belly can be swapped for raw pork neck. The 3-4 person set is raw pork belly (2 servings) + raw pork neck (1 serving) + whole pork jowl (1 serving) + soft steamed egg + doenjang jjigae.

You don't need to order the steamed egg and stew separately since they come with the set — so nice haha. We ordered the 2-3 person set and swapped the belly for pork neck.

Weekend evening at Ijjok and the free bean sprout salad refill

We went during the weekend evening slot, and you could totally feel the lively energy unique to Hapjeong's restaurant alley haha haha. The mood was perfect for pork belly with a glass of soju.

The side dishes here were surprisingly solid. Unlike other samgyeopsal places, they serve seasoned bean sprouts, which turned out to be a total win. The owner had good instincts too — noticed we'd finished the sprouts and brought more without us asking 👍🏻 Such a great match with the meat.

I had a Coke, my husband had a beer~~~

Staff grill the pork for you, with sour kimchi tucked underneath

You could tell right away from the color that they use good quality meat. They laid out the pork neck and pork jowl neatly on the grill haha. When the place isn't busy, they'll grill everything for you directly!! Luckily it wasn't too crowded the day we went, so they grilled each piece for us 🤩

And then — ta-da — they laid a generous layer of sour kimchi right under the meat. This right here is truly the highlight of this place...

Such a hearty spread~~~~ Beef is good too, but sizzling pork really is the best when eaten with kimchi.

Look how golden brown and delicious it looks. They added potatoes and mushrooms on the side too. Ready to eat with full enthusiasm!!!

How does pork neck grilled over sour kimchi taste?

They grill the pork neck and pork jowl until golden and lay sour kimchi underneath so it grills together — the fat rendering from the meat soaks into the kimchi, making it way more delicious, hehehe.

Eating a well-grilled bite of pork neck together with the kimchi gave it this savory-yet-tangy flavor that kept my chopsticks going back for more 👍🏻 Especially since eating just meat can get a little greasy after a while, but the sour kimchi cuts through it in between bites so it never gets old, seriously.

And then the soft steamed egg and doenjang jjigae that come with the set! Eating like this for two, you get a really filling meal.

Pork neck vs whole pork jowl: which was better at Ijjok?

And also, this place is a pork-neck must-try spot 🧡 Who knew pork neck could be this tender...? Even samgyeopsal loyalists should definitely try the pork neck here. And the pork jowl is unreal!!! Chewy and savory. Now I get why they include pork jowl in the set.

Ugh, even looking back now I want to eat it again. It was so, so good. The kind of taste that makes you happy 🧡🧡🧡

Try dipping it in salt with a generous dab of wasabi. I don't think I can hold out — I might have to drag my husband out for grilled pork again today!!! Haha. Highly recommend this place to anyone looking for a great samgyeopsal spot around Hapjeong or Sangsu 👍🏻