Suji-gu bossam restaurant with rib-cartilage pork: Cheongdam Jokbal

I heard a great jokbal and bossam place had opened near Sanghyeon Station, an area already packed with good restaurants, so I went to check it out. This is Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch, a jokbal specialist near Sanghyeon Station.

Where is Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch, and what are the hours and parking?

• Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch
• 10 Gwanggyojungang-ro 296beon-gil, Suji-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do
• Open daily 11:30–23:30
• Last order 22:30
• Takeout, group dining, delivery, parking available

Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch, a jokbal specialist near Sanghyeon Station, is 147 meters from Exit 2 and sits on the ground floor facing a main road, so it feels open and bright. The parking lot entrance is right next to the restaurant's entrance, making it easy to find, and even on a Sunday early evening there was plenty of space. Parking is free once you get it confirmed after your meal.

This jokbal specialist near Sanghyeon Station on the Shinbundang Line has a sign reading, "We deliver 100% domestic fresh trotters daily, boil them in-store every day, and sell only same-day for the best flavor."

Inside Cheongdam Jokbal: indoor tables and outdoor seats

The interior has cylindrical tables, giving it a pojangmacha (street tent bar) feel, and while there aren't many seats, it's clean and tidy. There's also outdoor seating by the window as shown above, which looks perfect for enjoying a drink with friends in the cool night air — a great gathering spot near Sanghyeon Station.

Looking at the neatly posted country-of-origin labels, the fresh trotters, cabbage, and rice are all domestic.

Why we chose Set 4: soft bossam plus warm jokbal

Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch, a favorite near Sanghyeon Station in Suji, serves both jokbal and bossam, with a lineup varied enough to make choosing fun — a combo set of warm jokbal and flame-grilled spicy jokbal, a set of flame-grilled salt-seasoned and sauced pork, barbecue flame-grilled salt pork, and more. I asked the friendly staff about adding the flame-grilled spicy jokbal, but was told it's quite spicy, so I passed and went with Set 4: soft bossam plus warm jokbal.

Side dishes and free vegetable refills

Once the order was placed, clean utensils and side dishes were set out neatly — lettuce, perilla leaves, carrots, cucumbers, along with decent cabbage kimchi and dried radish strips, plus salted shrimp, soybean paste, and hot sauce. When I asked for more vegetables, the staff, whose Korean was a bit halting but very kind, brought them right away.

Looking around the restaurant, I spotted a photo of Neurin Maeul Makgeolli (rice wine), which most restaurants don't carry, and noticed there's a ₩5,000 discount for takeout. Delivery riders were also coming in and out frequently.

How the torch-charred warm jokbal tastes

Here's a look at the ensemble of warm jokbal and soft bossam, one of the signature set menus at this jokbal specialist near Sanghyeon Station. On the left is the jokbal, which had a smoky aroma — when I asked the staff, they said the boiled jokbal is lightly charred with a torch.

Soft bossam cut with the rib cartilage attached

The bossam had the fat trimmed away nicely and was very tender, with a good balance of lean meat and collagen-rich fat, cut thick. Wrapping one piece of bossam in vegetables filled my mouth completely, and it had a savory depth.

The bossam pork comes from the part with rib cartilage attached, which tastes great, and the cartilage isn't tough at all, so it's easy and pleasant to chew.

Look at the visual of a lifted piece of jokbal. Freshly boiled domestic pork, warm and chewy. It was a bit bland for my taste, so dipping it lightly in salted shrimp brought the flavor right back to life.

Wrapping a piece of jokbal in lettuce along with garlic dipped in soybean paste and the chewy dried radish strips also made for a delicious bite.

Free makguksu and the receipt-review rice ball

A special bonus at this great gathering spot near Sanghyeon Station is the free makguksu (buckwheat noodles) served on the side. Wearing plastic gloves and mixing it up, the sesame-oil-scented sauce and chewy noodles paired well with the jokbal and bossam — it was delicious.

Be sure to take part in the receipt review event too.

After showing my receipt review written on the spot, I was given the seaweed rice ball ingredients shown above.

Again with plastic-gloved hands, I rolled the rice into little balls and ate them one by one. They were tasty, but also brought back a nostalgic memory of home — a kind of gimbap (seaweed rice roll) from the past. There was so much that I took the leftovers home.