Korean BBQ in Hapjeong with a friend who rests the meat: Jeongyukdo

I hadn't worked out, but I went to stock up on protein anyway (?) at Jeongyukdo, a Korean BBQ restaurant near Hapjeong Station said to serve quality meat around Hongdae and Hapjeong, haha.

How to get to Jeongyukdo from Hapjeong Station, and where to park

Jeongyukdo is one minute from Hapjeong Station and very close to the wider Hongdae and Mapo area, so it's a very easy Korean BBQ spot to reach. When you arrive it looks like it's on the 2nd floor, but if you go around the alley and find the entrance, you can walk in from the 1st floor.

Jeongyukdo doesn't provide its own parking, but there's a paid lot right in front of the restaurant, so it's close to use. The rates are ₩2,000 for the first 30 minutes, ₩4,000 for each additional 60 minutes, and a maximum of ₩20,000.

Jeongyukdo atmosphere and seating: terrace and private rooms?

Jeongyukdo also has terrace seats (yajang, outdoor street-style seating), so day and night feel quite different. When the weather is cool, it's a place to soak up the outdoor vibe and enjoy meat with all the feels.

The inside of Jeongyukdo is cozy, so it suits company dinners, dates, family gatherings, business meetings and more. The table areas aren't lumped together but separated, so it isn't too noisy, which I liked. There are also rooms and group seating for 6 to 20 people.

How does the weekend wait at Jeongyukdo work?

Many celebrities have visited this Hapjeong Station Korean BBQ restaurant, and there's a wait on weekends. You sign up for the waiting list after arriving and then wait, so if you want to avoid the wait, I recommend a Naver reservation!

Jeongyukdo menu and set prices

At Jeongyukdo you can try both domestic grade-1 pork and Hanwoo (Korean beef) 1++ Marble No.9, and the meat is grilled over charcoal for an even nuttier flavor.

You can order à la carte, but the set menus are well put together.

• Hanwoo 1++ set ₩99,000
• Hanwoo pork set ₩49,000
• Hanwoo pork special cuts set ₩55,000

If you join the Naver review event, you also get a free highball.

You can also see the grading certificate at Jeongyukdo, so it was a Hapjeong BBQ place I could eat at with confidence.

Jeongyukdo side dishes and sauces

The side dishes are scallion salad, pickled onion, dried radish strips, pickled chili strips and salted seafood, and the table has wasabi, whole-grain mustard sauce and salt, so you can take what suits your taste.

Whoosh, the piping hot charcoal arrived.

What's in the Jeongyukdo pork set, and how does it taste?

I ordered the pork set: 500g in total of grade-1 pork in three cuts, fresh galbi (ribs), flower neck and pork belly. You choose between an earthenware pot of meljeot (salted fish sauce) and a Hanwoo doenjang stew, and I went with the Hanwoo doenjang stew, haha.

The meat came out first and the plating stood out! It was glossy and the quality looked great, and personally I really liked that the fat ratio wasn't high, haha.

Why grill-it-yourself Jeongyukdo is better with a friend who grills well

Jeongyukdo is a grill-it-yourself restaurant, so I was so glad I brought a friend who's good at grilling, haha. My friend has experience working part-time at a BBQ restaurant, lol, and grilled the meat carefully, even resting it, so it was even tastier…!!

The Hanwoo doenjang stew uses traditional doenjang, so it has an even deeper flavor.

Enjoy the sizzling, delicious look with your eyes first, get ready with your nose, and then dig in, yum~!

Pork belly was the best of the three cuts at Jeongyukdo

Of the three cuts in the Jeongyukdo pork set, the one I especially loved was the pork belly! Juicy, rich, quality meat plus my friend's grilling skills, and I ate it all up so happily!!

In a clean, cozy space I could enjoy tasty pork and Hanwoo, and the sauces and side dishes made the meat taste even more special at Jeongyukdo. If you're looking for a Korean BBQ restaurant in Hongdae or near Hapjeong Station, it's worth a visit!