Mapo Korean BBQ with grilled kimchi, family dinner: Dojeok Hapjeong

The weather's been so nice lately..! And on days like this I suddenly crave grilled pork belly with kimchi haha

On a day like this, instead of grilling at home, we thought we'd go somewhere nice and let them do the work, so my family and I headed toward Sangsu. While looking for good restaurants near Sangsu Station, I found a place where staff grill the meat for you and the space looked spacious — Dojeok Hapjeong.

I'll introduce this Sangsu Station pork belly restaurant, which was also great for a family meal with a kid :)

Where is Dojeok Hapjeong and what are its hours?

Dojeok Hapjeong is located at 3 Eoulmadang-ro 5-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, and is open daily from 16:00 to 00:30. For parking, you can use the Tworu Parking lot in Sangsu-dong.

Dojeok Hapjeong sits between Hongdae, Hapjeong, and Sangsu Station, so it was easy to find. While looking for good spots near Sangsu Station, I noticed there are really a lot of Korean BBQ places around here..! Among them, Dojeok stood out because the space was quite large and the staff grill the meat for you. (Five stars..!)

Inside Dojeok Hapjeong: two floors and the mood

Dojeok Hapjeong's space is split between the 1st and 2nd floors, and it's bigger than I expected! On a nice day, the 1st floor windows open wide, giving it a bit of an outdoor-dining feel haha. Inside, the wooden tables gave the whole place a clean, warm atmosphere, and I liked that the tables weren't packed too close together!

The 2nd floor is spacious too, so it looked great not just for family meals but also for group gatherings haha

Staff grill the pork belly for you, so it's easy with a child

At Dojeok Hapjeong, staff bring out pre-grilled meat and finish grilling it right on the pan at your table. If you're looking for a Sangsu Station pork belly spot where staff grill for you, this will be a pretty convenient point.

Especially when eating with a kid, it's hard to also keep an eye on the grill, but since the staff handled the grilling, we could focus on our kid and eat comfortably. We ordered two servings of pork belly and egg soufflé that day.

There was a tablet at the table too, so ordering was easy.

What side dishes come with the meal?

The basic side dishes included lettuce wraps, myeongi namul (mountain garlic leaves), kimchi, bean sprouts and shredded scallion salad, pickled radish, garlic, and ssamjang. And of course — kimchi, which is a must with pork belly!

Two servings of pork belly and kimchi grilled on the pan

The pork belly at Dojeok Hapjeong comes pre-grilled, so you just cook it a bit more on the pan. We put the kimchi straight on the pan and grilled it together with the pork belly haha. Grilled kimchi with pork belly really is the best combo…!

The staff cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and checked in on the grilling level from time to time. Thanks to that, we didn't have to worry about grilling and could just take care of our kid and eat comfortably. Eating golden-brown pork belly with grilled kimchi completely solved that sudden craving haha.

We wrapped some in myeongi namul, wrapped it with kimchi in lettuce, and dipped some in sauce :) Meat grilled by someone else really is the best haha.

Cheese-topped gyeranjjim (steamed egg)

The fluffy egg soufflé had cheese melted on top, which was great to eat alongside the meat. Thanks to the cheese, it had a savory, soft taste that was really good to share with a kid too! Look at that cheese stretch haha.

Is Dojeok Hapjeong worth it for a family dinner in Mapo?

I went here on a nice day when I suddenly wanted grilled pork belly with kimchi, and it was a great place to eat comfortably as a family. Most of all, since the meat comes pre-grilled and staff grill it for you, it was easy to eat while taking care of a kid. The space, spread across the 1st and 2nd floors, felt perfect not just for a family meal but also for a group gathering!!

If you're looking for good food or a pork belly restaurant near Sangsu Station, give Dojeok Hapjeong a try :)