Hapjeong Korean BBQ after 8 PM on a weekend, doenjang sulbap: Ijjok

Where is Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal near Hapjeong Station?

Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal (이쪽 김치삼겹살) is a Korean BBQ restaurant near Exit 3 of Hapjeong Station, in an alley packed with BBQ places and other restaurants. I went there with my husband for a weekend dinner date ✋🏻

It's close to Hapjeong Station, and since the alley is full of BBQ spots and restaurants, it works well as a place to meet up with a group too. There's also a big Saeng Maekju (draft beer pub) right next door, so heading straight to a second round looked easy.

Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal hours, parking and before-7 PM event

Ijjok is closed on Sundays and open from 11:30 to 23:00. Break time is 15:00–17:00, and last order is at 22:00.

• Event: free bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles) if you visit before 7 PM
• Parking: none at the restaurant
• Group seating, reservations available
• Restroom inside the restaurant

Since there's no parking, I parked at Mesa Napolis Mall, ate, did some shopping and got my parking registered. Otherwise, a nearby public parking lot is the closest option.

Is there a wait at Ijjok after 8 PM on weekends?

I went after 8 PM on a weekend and had to wait a little before getting in. By the time we were eating, past 8:40, tables were clearing out nicely.

Besides grilled meat, there are proper meal dishes starting from just over ₩10,000, so it looked great for a weekday lunch too! They also take lots of payment methods, including Zero Pay, Alipay and Seoul Pay.

What's in the 2–3 person set for two people?

The 2–3 person set at Ijjok comes with 2 servings of pork belly and 1 serving of whole pork jowl (hangjeongsal), plus steamed egg and doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) as sides. There were two of us, and the lineup was generous and the price decent, so we ordered without a second thought.

Depending on your taste, you can swap the pork belly for pork neck, and for just ₩4,000 more you can change the doenjang stew to doenjang sulbap (a soybean paste rice dish).

Do the staff at Ijjok grill the meat for you?

At Ijjok, the staff grill the meat for you by default. Fresh wasabi and salt are set out on the table, and there was a notice saying that when the restaurant is busy, you'll need to keep an eye on the grill yourself.

But when I actually went, even though it was full and there was a big group, they didn't miss a thing and always got to the meat before I had to worry about it..!

The small plates came out clean and roomy, and the grill was set up so the grease drains away. Maybe because of how the grill is built, there wasn't much grease splatter around it and everything stayed tidy.

What side dishes come with Korean BBQ at Ijjok?

The basic sides are lettuce wraps, shredded scallion salad, garlic, pickled chili peppers, bean sprout salad and seasoned ssamjang (dipping paste) to go with them. Personally, I loved the bean sprout salad, which was tangy and topped with shredded Cheongyang chili.

Overall, the sides go well with the meat and weren't salty, which I liked.

From the grill to the meat, they grilled everything for us and checked in now and then, taking a lot of care to make it easy to eat.

Since it's the 2–3 person set, the meat lineup is great, and they gave us as much extra kimchi as we needed.

Are the steamed egg and ₩4,000 doenjang sulbap too salty?

This is the steamed egg that comes with the 2–3 person set, and the doenjang sulbap I got by paying ₩4,000 extra to swap out the doenjang stew. BBQ restaurants' steamed egg, doenjang stew and rice dishes can sometimes be way too salty, so I was worried, but this Hapjeong spot wasn't overly salty at all. It was just right, and I really loved that.

The portions are solid and the quality felt homemade, so my satisfaction was 10000%...

Why the set menu at Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal is worth ordering

The set at Ijjok is fresh pork belly and pork jowl, you can switch to pork neck if you like, and the meat quality itself is good, so I recommend ordering a set menu! Even for a group, the sides are so well put together that I think everyone would be very happy.

Is the restroom inside Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal clean?

Ijjok has a unisex restroom inside the restaurant. I worried it might not be clean since it's shared, but my worries were for nothing. It was very well kept!