Gwangju Korean BBQ with a 4-sauce self-bar: Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon

I've been craving meat nonstop lately, so this time I went to Sangnok Hoegwan Yeontan-gui Taejeon Branch in Taejeon-dong, Gwangju! I was curious what charcoal grilling would feel like compared to a regular barbecue place, and I finally got to try it myself haha. I bet a lot of people looking for meat spots in Taejeon-dong are curious too, so let me walk you through the vibe and everything I ate, step by step!

Where is Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch, and what are its hours?

📍 Sangnok Hoegwan Yeontan-gui Taejeon Branch

💭 350-6 Hoean-daero, 1st floor, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

🕖 Daily 12:30 PM – 12:00 AM

What does the inside of Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch look like?

The moment I walked into Sangnok Hoegwan Yeontan-gui Taejeon Branch, I could feel that unique charcoal-grill-place atmosphere! Clean, modern barbecue spots are great too, but places like this have this old-school charm that got me excited before I'd even started eating lol.

After sitting down, I took my time looking through the menu! There were so many meat options that I spent a while deciding what to order that day haha.

What's on the menu at Sangnok Hoegwan Taejeon Branch?

From fresh seafood to beef to pork, the menu was really varied haha. I wanted to try everything, so I ended up ordering one of each type!

Once we ordered, the basic side dishes came out one by one to go with the meat! At a barbecue place, the side dishes matter just as much as the meat itself, and it was nice to be able to try a bit of everything haha. Since charcoal-grilled meat has that smoky char, I figured pairing it with wraps and sides would bring out even more flavor!

The self-bar: four sauces plus roasted bean powder

There was a self-bar set up on one side of Sangnok Hoegwan Yeontan-gui Taejeon Branch! While eating meat, you sometimes run low on wraps or side dishes, so it was convenient being able to grab as much as I needed myself haha. Being able to pick out exactly the sides I wanted to pair with the meat was great too!

What really impressed me was that there were four different sauces plus roasted bean powder!!! The owner really knows their stuff 🫶♥️

Beef galbisal: nuttiest when eaten on its own

Being galbisal (short rib flap), the meat looked so appetizing that I just wanted it to cook faster haha. I tried a golden-brown piece, and thanks to the charcoal grilling, it had a subtle smoky char while still letting the meat's own flavor shine through nicely!

I tried it both wrapped in lettuce and eaten plain, and personally, I preferred it plain — the savory flavor of the galbisal came through more clearly that way haha.

Salchisal: the juicier, more tender cut

Salchisal (chuck flap) felt more tender than galbisal, so it was a totally different kind of experience haha. I grilled it over the charcoal until golden, and once it was fully cooked, I tried a piece — the juices were nice and moist, and it was delicious!

If galbisal was great for its savory flavor, salchisal was better for its softer, more tender bite! 😙

Pork belly and pork jowl: where the charcoal smoke shows

And of course, we couldn't skip pork belly! Grilled over charcoal, the savory flavor combined with that smoky char gave it a completely different charm compared to the beef we'd had earlier!

And for the very last meat, we ordered pork jowl lol. I love the distinctive crunchy texture of pork jowl, and grilling it over charcoal added that smoky char too, making it a great way to wrap up the meat course haha.

Finishing with mul naengmyeon and a dessert slushie

And truly last but never skippable — the side dish mul naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodle soup)!!! The quality was as good as a dedicated naengmyeon restaurant, which made me really happy haha.

And after finishing all the meat, I noticed a slushie machine off to the side that I just couldn't walk past lol. My stomach was already completely full, but when there's dessert like this around, I end up grabbing it anyway lol. From the meat to dessert, I left having eaten well right down to the very end!