Yongin Korean restaurant for family jokbal dinner: Cheongdam Jokbal

A few days ago, my family and I were deciding what to have for dinner when someone said they were craving jokbal (braised pig’s trotters) for the first time in a while. While looking for a good jokbal place around Sanghyeon Station, Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch (청담족발 광교상현점) caught my eye. The note saying it uses only fresh Korean pork trotters boiled that day stood out, and it was close to the station, so we made a reservation and went right away. I walked in feeling half excited and half curious about just how good the jokbal would be. Haha.

Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch information

The address is 107, 1F, 10 Gwanggyojungang-ro 296beon-gil, Suji-gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do. It is open daily from 11:30 to 23:30, with last orders at 22:30. You can use the building’s underground parking, and registering your parking ticket after your meal gives you two free hours. There is ₩5,000 off takeaway orders, plus an event that gives you a seaweed rice ball for posting a receipt review.

A restaurant and terrace great for family meals

When we stepped inside, it was a cozy space with around six tables. It was neatly arranged overall, making it nice for a family meal or a small gathering.

Best of all, there was a separate terrace area at the front. On a pleasant evening, it looked like you could enjoy jokbal outside, almost like at a Korean outdoor drinking spot. Eating comfortably indoors would be nice too, but having jokbal and a drink on the terrace on a cool day would give it a completely different feel.

Jokbal is delicious to eat at home too, so the ₩5,000 takeaway discount seemed like a pretty good deal.

Jokbal and bossam menu prices

There was a wide selection centered on jokbal and bossam (boiled pork wraps).

• Freshly boiled warm jokbal, direct-flame spicy jokbal, jokbal barbecue with seasoned sauce, and barbecue direct-flame salt-grilled jokbal: from ₩45,000 each
• Tender bossam: from ₩45,000
• Honey garlic bossam/jokbal: from ₩47,000
• Warm jokbal, direct-flame spicy jokbal, bossam, and seasoned barbecue combination sets: from ₩50,000
• Makguksu ₩8,000, seaweed rice ball ₩4,000, garlic sauce ₩3,000

We ordered the medium freshly boiled warm jokbal, which they said was the most popular.

The basic table setting before the jokbal arrived

While we waited for the jokbal, the side dishes arrived first. There were wrap vegetables including lettuce, perilla leaves, peppers, cucumber, and carrot, along with kimchi, dried shredded radish, and garlic.

Personally, I really liked the kimchi and dried shredded radish here. The kimchi was slightly sweet and went well with the jokbal, while the radish was nicely seasoned and good with the chewy pork.

Perhaps because they serve bossam as well, it felt like they paid attention to these accompanying side dishes too. And the complimentary bean sprout soup was so refreshing.

My child had not really felt like eating rice that day, but after having the bean sprout soup, they seemed to feel better and suddenly said they wanted rice. That was a relief for me too. Haha.

The texture of the medium freshly boiled warm jokbal

Finally, a generous plate of jokbal arrived. More than anything, I loved that it was warm, just as its name promised.

It had a soft, chewy texture that felt different from chilled jokbal. The lean meat was mild and moist, so it was easy to eat almost like bossam.

The pieces with just the right amount of skin and fat had that wonderful chewiness jokbal is known for.

Personally, when I eat jokbal, I love pieces where the lean meat and chewy skin are still attached together, and this was exactly my kind of style.

What was especially fun was the soft texture that seemed to stretch as I ate it. With jokbal, the meat around the bone can sometimes cling on toughly, so you have to pull it off with your teeth. Here, though, even the meat around the bones came away very softly. It pulled away with a slight cheese-like stretch but was not tough at all, so it was easy to eat. I really loved that part. I wanted to film that moment, but it went straight into my mouth before I could, so sadly I cannot show you!.

Tender jokbal with no off smell

As I ate, I became a little curious. How did they make it this tender? It felt a little different from jokbal simply simmered in water for a long time.

It felt as if it had been pre-treated and then braised carefully. The texture made me think they may have treated the surface once, then braised it, a little like dongpo pork. Of course, that is only my personal guess from tasting it. What I know for certain is that it was clean, moist, and tender without any off smell. They say they boil fresh Korean pork delivered that day directly at the restaurant every day, so it seemed they put a great deal of care into achieving that warm, soft texture.

Complimentary makguksu with the jokbal

Lots of people enjoy makguksu (buckwheat noodles) with jokbal, right? I also feel something is missing if jokbal does not come with makguksu, and they gave it to us as a service. Hahaha, thank you so, so much. Hahaha.

It was not simply sweet: it had a faint bitterness, savoriness, and just the right amount of spice. The perilla leaves, cabbage, lettuce, and other vegetables in it left my mouth feeling clean and refreshed.

After making wraps with lettuce or perilla leaves, jokbal, kimchi, and dried shredded radish, adding makguksu alongside them was such a great match.

The jokbal-and-makguksu combination truly never fails.

Seaweed rice balls my child enjoyed

My child also ate the seaweed rice balls we received through the receipt-review event really well. They contained flying fish roe, mayonnaise, pickled radish, and seaweed flakes, and with plenty of seaweed flakes, they were nutty and delicious when mixed and shaped by hand.

If jokbal alone feels like a slightly lacking menu for a child, I think it would be good to order these alongside it.

After joining the receipt-review event, you can show it to a staff member and receive the rice balls, so make sure to check this out if you visit.

Why I want to take it home with a drink next time

We had driven that day, so we could not drink. But as I ate the jokbal, I kept thinking, haha, “This would be so good with a glass of makgeolli or beer.” The jokbal was warm and chewy, so it seemed like a great drinking snack, and the makguksu made me think about a drink even more. Next time, I am thinking of getting it to go and enjoying it comfortably at home. With the ₩5,000 takeaway discount, it sounds nice to take my time over it at home with a glass of makgeolli or beer.

Overall thoughts

Cheongdam Jokbal Gwanggyo Sanghyeon Branch was a place where I loved the tender, chewy texture of freshly boiled warm jokbal. The lean meat was moist and mild, the skin was chewy, and even the meat around the bones came away softly, so we enjoyed it very much. With the kimchi, dried shredded radish, refreshing bean sprout soup, and spicy makguksu, the whole spread was quite satisfying. Parking was convenient and there is a ₩5,000 takeaway discount, so it also seems like a good option for anyone looking for jokbal around Sanghyeon Station to take home. My child ate well with the rice balls too, making it a satisfying family meal, and next time I would like to take it home and have it with a glass of makgeolli.