Aged pork belly Korean BBQ near Ttukseom Station: Seongsu Teojeon

There are so many great restaurants around Seoul Forest and Seongsu, right? But when it comes to finding a place that really does pork belly well, it's surprisingly hard to know where to go.

This time, while looking for a good pork belly spot near Seoul Forest for dinner, I ended up at Seongsu Teojeon, a restaurant specializing in aged meat. If you love pork belly or pork neck, this is a Seongsu-dong meat spot you have to try at least once.

Where is Seongsu Teojeon, and what are its hours?

Seongsu Teojeon sits between Ttukseom Station and Seoul Forest, making it a great spot for gatherings or dates. Hours are weekdays 11:30–22:00, weekends 16:30–22:00.

From the outside it doesn't look like a huge restaurant, but once you step inside, the layout turns out to be pretty interesting.

Inside Seongsu Teojeon and the 55,000 won Teojeon Popular Set for 2

Inside, Seongsu Teojeon doesn't feel like one continuous space so much as tables tucked into separate little nooks throughout. The spot we sat at felt fairly private, which made for a comfortable meal.

They have several meat menus including pork belly and pork neck, but since it was our first visit, we went with the signature option: the Teojeon Popular Set for 2, ₩55,000. It comes with pork belly, pork neck, and vegetables together, making it a solid choice for two people to start with.

What side dishes come with the Korean BBQ set?

After ordering, the basic side dishes came out first. Overall it's the kind of lineup you'd expect at a Korean BBQ place, but a few of them really stuck with me.

In particular, the scallion kimchi, olive-oil salted shrimp, and myeolchijeot (fermented anchovy sauce) were genuinely great with the meat. Each one seemed to bring out the meat's aroma in a different way.

250-hour aged pork: quality you can see on the plate

And then finally, the meat arrived — and it's not called an aged-meat specialist for nothing. From the moment the plate was set down, the lean meat and fat layers looked remarkably clean, and the cuts were nice and thick.

The surface of the meat itself had a glossy look, like it was holding onto moisture, with no dry or flaky feel at all. Wherever you go, places that handle aged meat really do have a different level of juiciness and quality.

Deep meaty aroma with salt and olive-oil salted shrimp

We grilled a piece on the pan and tried it. The meat itself had a really deep aroma, and it brought out the savoriness and tenderness of the fat beautifully.

It was delicious just dipped in plain salt, and just as good with scallion kimchi, salted shrimp, or myeolchijeot. Personally, I thought the shrimp cured in olive oil made for a surprisingly great, unusual pairing with pork belly.

Finishing the meal with naengmyeon

I'd originally planned to stop after a reasonable amount of meat, but in the end I couldn't resist the naengmyeon (cold noodles). A bite of meat with cool, refreshing naengmyeon turned out to be a great match.

Because the aged meat has such a strong aroma, its flavor didn't get lost even when eaten together with the noodles.

Is Seongsu Teojeon worth a visit? My verdict

Seongsu Teojeon has a lot going for it, but the quality of the pork belly and pork neck really stood out. Beyond that, each side dish, like the scallion kimchi, felt made with real care, and the side menus were tasty too. If you're looking for a Seoul Forest restaurant that really smells like grilled meat, I highly recommend Seongsu Teojeon.

+++ One little behind-the-scenes note — a former National Assembly member happened to be dining in the same space. He was sweet to my kid, which made for a fun time.