Mapo Korean BBQ 2–3 person set with whole gullet meat: Ijjok

My boyfriend and I were on a rare Seoul date and I suddenly got a craving for pork belly grilled together with kimchi! So I went hunting for a Korean BBQ spot near Hapjeong Station and the moment I spotted Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal, I knew — this is it…! I ran straight there hahaha.

For kimchi samgyeopsal, the quality of the meat matters, but what matters even more is sizzling well-fermented kimchi cooked in the pork fat! The two of us ordered the 2–3 person set for ₩55,000, and we properly demolished pork belly, whole gullet meat, fluffy steamed egg, doenjang stew, and finished it all off with fried rice haha.

Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal hours and location

• Mon–Fri 11:30–23:00
• Break time 15:00–17:00
• Last order 22:00
• Saturday 17:00–23:00
• Closed Sundays

Less than 5 minutes on foot from Hapjeong Station! And the exterior looks pretty hip too~ haha

Not 'that way' — let's go 'this way' right now haha.

Interior vibe and seating

Inside, it's a long, narrow layout, and once you sit down it feels pretty private!

There's another seating area if you go down about half a floor on one side, and it's more spacious than it looks from outside!

Looks like plenty of celebrities have visited this place too haha.

What's in the ₩55,000 2–3 person set

The 2–3 person set is ₩55,000, and it comes with two servings of fresh pork belly, one serving of whole gullet meat, fluffy steamed egg, and doenjang stew! You can swap the fresh pork belly for fresh pork neck, but pork belly tastes better with kimchi so we kept it as is haha.

After the meat, dessert has to be fried rice ❤️

What banchan comes with it

Before the meat even arrives, the banchan (side dishes) gets laid out in full! Plenty of lettuce, plus scallion strips, mung bean sprouts, sliced garlic, pickled hot peppers, and ssamjang (dipping sauce) — everything you need for eating pork belly was covered haha. This is it~

There's wasabi too, which my boyfriend loves~ Staff here grill most of the meat for you, but if they look busy, feel free to grill it yourself.

The meat arrives, kimchi goes on

My heart was pounding when the meat finally arrived haha. The pork belly's color was so gorgeous and the meat-to-fat ratio was perfect. I'd never seen a whole, uncut gullet cut before — it was way bigger and thicker!

Once the grill heated up, the owner put the meat on for us~~ When the pork belly starts releasing fat… well actually it hadn't yet, but in went the kimchi anyway heehee.

Luckily it was still early evening so there weren't many customers, and they grilled it for us directly!

The meat and kimchi looked so good the waiting felt like torture ㅠ Hurry up and cook already 🙏🙏

Fresh pork belly

The pork belly's surface was grilled to a nice golden brown while the inside stayed juicy, so honestly it tasted amazing dipped in just plain salt! The thickness was just right — not too thin, not too thick — so it was tender but still had a nice bite. The fat gave off such a savory flavor, and topping it with a piece of kimchi is a combo that can't fail >_<

It's also delicious with the seasoned lettuce salad, or wrapped in lettuce with ssamjang and a slice of raw garlic — instant perfect wrap!

Whole gullet meat

This whole gullet meat cut was thicker than the usual sliced version, so the outside came out golden while the inside stayed juicy and had this chewy texture — so good ㅠㅡㅠ

The crunchy-yet-chewy texture of the gullet meat and the savory richness of the fat were such a different charm from the pork belly!

Gullet meat is quite fatty so it can get a little heavy, but a light dab of wasabi or a piece of grilled kimchi makes it fantastic!

Wrapping it up in that refreshing mung bean sprout salad I mentioned earlier was such a great match… I think I'll always think of this sprout salad whenever I eat gullet meat from now on >_<

Steamed egg

Here comes the fluffy steamed egg included in the set~ True to its name, it's soft and cloud-like!

Doenjang stew

You've gotta have doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) with meat! I'm the type who skips the rice but always orders doenjang stew, and this one was loaded with tofu and vegetables — so good. Absolutely calls for rice!!!

But I held off on ordering rice to save room for the fried rice… hehe.

K-dessert: fried rice

They chop up the kimchi and scallion salad that had been grilling on the pan into bite-sized pieces haha.

Then they fry it up with expert skill and spread it out thin across the pan haha.

The pork fat and the tangy-spicy kick of the kimchi coated every grain of rice perfectly — you'd seriously regret it if you skipped this fried rice…

In summary

I visited this Hapjeong Station favorite, Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal, with my boyfriend and had the 2–3 person set (fresh pork belly + whole gullet meat + steamed egg + doenjang stew) — the portions were generous and it was delicious!

• Staff grill the meat for you, so it's easy
• Kimchi grilled in pork fat is a real treat
• Comes with steamed egg and doenjang stew
• Generous banchan with mung bean sprouts, scallion strips, and lettuce
• A great spot to finish with fried rice at the end

If you're like my boyfriend and me and just can't enjoy pork belly without grilling kimchi alongside it, this is a great Korean BBQ spot to visit~ Both the meat and the banchan were excellent, especially that mung bean sprout salad we wrapped around the gullet meat — I'm still thinking about it!