15-day aged black pork belly at Seocho pork restaurant Yuk Tongryeong

Meat's gotta be thick to be good, right?! There are seriously so many meat restaurants around Gyodae. Out of all of them, I found one whose name alone screams serious about meat. I went to Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store to eat black pork!

Wait, not just black pork but 15-day omija-aged black pork,, the name alone already sounds legit, right? While looking for good restaurants near Gyodae Station, this was a great place to go on a day I wanted to properly eat thick pork.

Where is Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store? Hours and parking

Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store is on the 1st floor of Jionville Building, 69 Banpo-daero 20-gil, Seocho-gu, Seoul. It's walking distance from Gyodae Station, so it's good for dinner after work!

• Hours: Daily 11:30–22:30 (last order 22:00)
• Parking: Available in front of the restaurant
• Reservations available

Hours can change, so double-check before you visit! Reservations are also available, so it's good to book ahead for a Gyodae work dinner or when going with a group.

The restaurant from outside

The name Yuk Tongryeong already gives off strong aged-meat-specialist vibes. Since Gyodae has so many office workers, there were a lot of people coming for dinner in the evening too. If you're looking for a meat restaurant near Gyodae, the location is pretty great too!

Inside Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store

Whoa,, how many Blue Ribbon awards and signatures are there??

It's a meat restaurant but the interior is clean, so it felt fine even for a date. When I go to meat restaurants, the taste matters but I also low-key check the table and store maintenance,,haha. A clean atmosphere that's good for eating a full plate of meat!

You can see the care put into aging the meat and freshly cooked rice, right? Already knew it was gonna be good before even eating,,haha.

Menu and what was ordered at Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store

Yuk Tongryeong has quite a variety of meats, from black pork ogyeopsal (five-layer belly), pork neck, and samgyeopsal (pork belly) to Korean beef menu items. But today's purpose was already decided.

• 15-day omija-aged black pork premium six-layer belly (2 servings)
• Homemade doenjang jjigae (fermented soybean paste stew) with meju
• Rice

15-day omija-aged black pork premium six-layer belly: how thick is it?

The basic side dishes showed up nicely too~ And the menu I was most curious about that day! The 15-day omija-aged black pork premium six-layer belly.

At the current menu price it's ₩20,000 per serving, and we ordered two servings. They said Yuk Tongryeong selects well-marbled black pork from properly raised pigs, then picks the tastiest cuts again to sell as the premium six-layer belly. And with 15 days of omija aging on top of that, it clearly wasn't just meat with a long fancy name,,haha.

First off, the meat is quite thick. I don't really like meat that's too thin because the moisture flies off right after grilling. But with the premium six-layer belly, the thickness gives you real bite when you pick up one piece!

The outside cooked to a nice golden brown while the juices stayed inside, so the savory flavor really came through the more I chewed.

And the fat part was soft while the skin side had a chewy texture, so how many textures come out of one bite,,? This must be why it's called six-layer belly lol.

If you usually like samgyeopsal, this has a different kind of fun compared to regular pork belly, so I really want you to try it! I personally like pork with a good ratio of lean meat to fat rather than pure lean meat, and this was exactly my style. If you're looking for pork belly near Gyodae Station and want something a bit special, I'd recommend starting with the premium six-layer belly!

Side dishes and dipping sauces

I also liked that there were various side dishes and sauces to go with the meat. When you keep eating just meat, even if it's delicious, you get a little tired of it at some point.

Dipping in this, then that, eating each piece a little differently — you can polish off two servings in no time^^haha.

The real highlight: doenjang jjigae made with house-fermented meju

And everyone. Am I the only one who feels let down when the doenjang jjigae (fermented soybean paste stew) is an afterthought at a meat restaurant? I give doenjang jjigae a pretty big weight when I'm rating a meat restaurant. Yuk Tongryeong has homemade doenjang jjigae made with meju, so I ordered it right away.

According to the menu description, they use homemade doenjang made from meju fermented directly in Gangwon-do. Maybe that's why it has a clearly savory, deep flavor rather than just tasting salty.

And the doenjang jjigae isn't just a side dish you take a spoonful or two of after eating meat — it's the kind of thing you can properly eat with rice!!

A bite of meat, a spoonful of doenjang jjigae, a bite of rice — phew,, the complete Korean meal.

Who is Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store best for near Gyodae Station?

If you're looking for a good restaurant near Gyodae Station, I recommend Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store! There are seriously so many meat restaurants around Gyodae that it's low-key hard to pick where to go. Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store comes to mind on a day you want thick aged black pork instead of regular samgyeopsal.

Especially the 15-day omija-aged black pork premium six-layer belly I had — highly recommend for those who love thick meat! Order the homemade doenjang jjigae and rice with it and you get the perfect Korean course: meat → stew → rice ^.*

If you've been looking for a good restaurant near Gyodae Station, a meat restaurant in Gyodae, or pork belly near Gyodae Station, save Yuk Tongryeong Gyodae Direct Store! Next time I want to add other cuts of black pork and have a proper meat party,,haha.

What to order

• 15-day omija-aged black pork premium six-layer belly
• Homemade doenjang jjigae made with meju

You have to eat these two together. No leaving after just the meat,,haha.