Pork neck seconds and cold noodles to finish, Bucheon: Cham Dwaejitgan

Today I'm introducing a Bucheon Korean BBQ favorite: Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch! A 3-minute walk from Lotte Department Store, Exit 3 of Sinjung-dong Station, tucked in the alley between McDonald's and KFC, this spot grills Jirisan black pork and Boseong nokdon pork with the fragrance of charcoal and Korean rice husks.

With a handmade grill that doesn't splatter oil, fragrant Korean water dropwort and unlimited vegetable refills, and thoughtful service down to the smallest detail, this place is popular for group get-togethers or Bucheon date nights. It runs on a near-24-hour basis with break times set aside for cleanliness and maintenance — let me introduce you to Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch, a Bucheon Korean BBQ favorite!

Getting there from Sinjung-dong Station and parking

🚗 Parking info: There's no dedicated lot, but there is a paid parking lot right in front of the restaurant.

Grabbing a free drink through the review event

Cham Dwaejitgan is running a review event!

• 💚 Naver receipt review: Ask a staff member for a review receipt, then write a Naver review with a photo of your main dish attached.
• 📸 Instagram story review: Follow the official account and post a photo of your main dish to your story with the account tagged.
• 🎁 Event perk: Show the review or story to staff and get a free canned drink or fried rice.

It's the perfect little bonus after eating meat, so don't forget to grab it when you visit!

Inside Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch

Walking in, the space felt clean overall but still had that comfortable, cozy BBQ-restaurant vibe.

Every table has its own grill and solid ventilation, which made it comfortable for eating, and the seating had plenty of room — good for family dinners, friend gatherings, or company dinners with a group.

On one side of the restaurant there's a dedicated area for trimming and storing meat, with cuts displayed in a showcase. It definitely gave off a real meat-specialty-restaurant feel.

On the wall there's a board explaining the characteristics of different pork cuts — cheongyeopsal, gabrisal, kkotmokssal, black mokssal, ogyeopsal, cham samgyeopsal, and more — so it was fun to check out the cuts before ordering.

Self-serve bar and amenities

The self-serve bar on one side has a neat lineup of side dishes that go well with meat — napa cabbage kimchi, seasoned bean sprouts, shredded green onion, and more. There are sauces to suit any taste, plus extra plates, scissors, and tongs, all easy to grab whenever you need them.

According to the signs the owner put up, they've also prepared aprons, plastic covers for your clothes, kids' tableware, phone chargers, Wi-Fi, floss and toothpicks, mouthwash, breath mints, and Febreze so guests don't feel any inconvenience during the meal. Overall, it felt like a restaurant that thought carefully about everything needed for a comfortable BBQ meal.

There are separate men's and women's restrooms inside the restaurant, so you don't have to step outside during your meal.

The menu at Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch

🥩 Jirisan black pork (belly vs. neck)

The black pork belly (160g / ₩19,000) has an incredible chewy, springy texture in the skin — it's practically art! The savory fat flavor bursts more and more the longer you chew, seriously impressive. The black pork neck (160g / ₩18,000), on the other hand, has zero dryness — it's lean but still leaves your mouth full of rich, moist juiciness.

💡 The key difference between the two — the belly is great for the layered chewy texture of fat and skin, while the neck lets you fully enjoy a heavier meaty aroma and tender lean meat!

🍲 Comparing the soup and rice/noodle sides

🔥 Soups: Kimchi jjigae (₩7,000) has a spicy, refreshing kick that clears your palate and cuts right through the richness of the meat. Doenjang jjigae (₩6,000) has a deep, savory, comforting flavor that pairs beautifully with the meat.

🍜 Noodles: Choose based on your taste between the Jirisan arrowroot cold noodles (₩7,000), with its refreshing icy broth, or the Jirisan arrowroot spicy mixed noodles (₩7,000), with springy noodles coated in a spicy-tangy sauce!

🍳 Rice & sides: After finishing the meat, don't skip the fried rice (₩3,000), the sweet-and-salty soy sauce egg rice (₩3,900), or the fluffy steamed egg (₩5,000) — all solid choices.

🌱 Great grilling combos: I highly recommend ordering water dropwort (₩5,000) — its aroma explodes when grilled in pork fat — along with sliced potato (₩2,000) and king oyster mushroom (₩2,000) for extra savoriness!

🥤 Drinks

Alongside the basics like soju, beer, and makgeolli (₩5,000), they also have the popular Saero Apricot and Byeolbit Cheonha (₩5,000). For something lighter, there's Hanmac (₩4,000), Cass Zero (₩3,000), and soft drinks (₩2,000) — pick whatever suits your mood!

Most importantly, the pork itself is 100% domestic premium meat — Boseong nokdon from Jeollanam-do and Jirisan black pork from Hadong, Gyeongsangnam-do. The rice, lettuce, water dropwort, potatoes, and king oyster mushrooms served alongside are also reliable domestic produce. Just note that the kimchi, chili powder, and pastes (doenjang, gochujang) and some other ingredients are imported.

What Jini ordered

We ordered black pork belly + Boseong nokdon pork belly + cheongyeopsal (pork neck) + a bowl of rice + doenjang jjigae + cold noodles!

The moment we sat down, we finished the review event right away — got a Coke Zero, haha!

Below the tabletop kiosk, there's a guide to Cham Dwaejitgan's suggested 'gold-standard BBQ combo.' A savory-spicy sauce and mushroom wasabi add umami, while crunchy garlic scapes and fresh lettuce wraps cut the richness — all boosting the meat's flavor. Add the three grilling vegetables (water dropwort, bean sprouts, kimchi) plus the staff-recommended sliced potato, and it's an even richer, more flavorful experience!

Opening the drawer next to the table, I found individually wrapped spoons and chopsticks — very hygienic! There were also wet wipes stocked right there in the drawer, so I didn't need to call a staff member during the meal — super convenient, haha.

A handmade grill filled with rice husks

Peeking inside the grill, it was packed with rice husks around the charcoal! Since they use a handmade grill that doesn't splatter oil, there's no worrying about grease on your clothes — you can grill your meat cleanly and comfortably, haha. In particular, the subtle rice-husk smoke aroma soaks into the meat and creates rich, juicy results — it's really the secret behind this place's flavor!

The basic table setting

On one side of the grill, they laid out fragrant water dropwort (amazing when grilled golden in pork fat), crunchy seasoned bean sprouts, and napa cabbage kimchi. On top of that, they added the essential meat companion — sweet-and-spicy shredded green onion salad — plus fresh lettuce wraps and perilla leaves, and pickled cheongyang chili peppers to cleanse the palate. My mouth was watering before the meat was even grilled, haha.

Black pork belly, pork belly, and pork neck trio

The three main cuts we ordered arrived — black pork belly, Boseong nokdon pork belly, and cheongyeopsal (pork neck)! Just the bright red color of the meat radiated freshness, haha. Big king oyster mushrooms, sliced potato perfect for golden grilling, and cheongyang peppers to cut the richness were served alongside as the basic grilling vegetables.

Both the black pork belly and Boseong nokdon pork belly had a thick cut and a perfect lean-to-fat ratio. The belly in particular kept its chewy skin intact — really satisfying to bite into! The cheongyeopsal (pork neck) was gorgeous just from the tight marbling. One bite grilled and it had that distinctive slightly crumbly texture with savory juices bursting in the mouth!

Don't touch the sliced potatoes on the grill — the staff handles those themselves! They grill them to golden perfection at exactly the right timing, so you can just wait comfortably and enjoy them once done, haha.

Staff grill the meat from start to finish

The staff grilled the meat perfectly from start to finish, so all we had to do was wait!

Once it was golden and cooked through, they moved it to the lower part of the grill so it wouldn't burn. It stayed gently warm with no burnt spots — just pick it up and eat, haha.

I was craving something spicy, so I grabbed a cheongyang chili from the self-serve bar 🌶️. Eating a piece of meat with a dip in the spicy pepper-ssamjang cut through the richness and made everything taste even better!

Next, the cheongyeopsal (pork neck) was grilled to juicy perfection and moved to the lower grill too!

They also cooked the sliced potatoes, which had soaked up all the pork fat and turned wonderfully crispy. Crispy outside, fluffy inside — paired with the crumbly, savory pork neck, it was honestly the best combo, haha.

Doenjang jjigae

The bubbling doenjang jjigae served in a stone pot was exactly the classic, comforting BBQ-restaurant flavor you'd hope for! It's savory with just the right spicy edge at the end, making it perfect for spooning up between bites of meat to cut through the richness.

It was loaded with zucchini, tofu, mushrooms, and more, so mixing the broth into warm rice with a piece of meat on top was absolutely the best... (writing this is making me hungry again, T_T)

Ordering seconds of cheongyeopsal (pork neck)

The distinctive crumbly, chewy texture and savory juices of the cheongyeopsal (pork neck) were so good we ended up ordering a second round, haha. After the staff coated the grill cleanly with fat, they carefully grilled it again — golden outside, juicy inside!

Eating the freshly grilled, still-hot pork neck together with well-grilled kimchi — it was the kind of order we would have truly regretted skipping.

Finishing with Jirisan arrowroot cold noodles

We also ordered cold noodles, which are a must when eating BBQ! I took a sip of the icy broth first, and the seasoning was spot on — flavorful and delicious even without adding vinegar or mustard! Wrapping the chewy noodles around a nicely grilled piece of meat cut the richness and made for a perfectly refreshing finish, haha.

Overall thoughts on Cham Dwaejitgan Bucheon Sinjung-dong Branch

From the quality of the meat, to the subtle rice-husk smoke aroma, to having the staff grill everything from start to finish — this was a genuinely satisfying restaurant! I really enjoyed the whole meal, from the handmade splatter-free grill to the generous basic side spread with savory, juicy meat. After you're done eating, head to the right to pay — worth noting. Highly recommended if you want clean, well-executed Korean BBQ.

This post was written after receiving a complimentary meal from the restaurant, but all opinions are honest impressions from an actual visit and tasting.