Jeju black pork restaurant with 300-hour aging: Jeju Samchun

When you travel around the east side of Jeju, don't you always make sure to have black pork for at least one meal?

We spent some time around Jocheon too, then decided to have Jeju black pork for dinner, so we looked up a good restaurant near Hamdeok Beach.

This time, we visited Jeju Samchun. It is close to Hamdeok Beach, and the staff grill the black pork, aged for 300 hours, themselves, so I thought it was a great Hamdeok black pork spot for a comfortable meal with a child. Let me leave an honest review :)

Location and parking near Hamdeok Beach

Jeju Samchun is close enough to Hamdeok Beach to walk there, making it a nice place to head over for a meal after looking around the sea. Long travel distances can quietly wear you out while touring eastern Jeju, so visitors looking for a restaurant in Jocheon may also find it useful that it fits neatly into a Hamdeok itinerary.

It is open from noon until 11 p.m., with last orders at 10 p.m. We arrived at around 6 p.m. on a Sunday evening, when a few tables were dining, but by around 6:30 it was full. (Certified popular Hamdeok Beach restaurant!) If you go a little earlier, I think you can have a more relaxed meal ^^

You can park around the restaurant, but if there are lots of cars, try the free parking lot behind the Hamdeok Olive Young across the street. That is where I parked. Hamdeok gets plenty of tourists even normally, so it is nice to know the parking information before you go.

Restaurant atmosphere and black pork menu

When we went inside, the restaurant was more spacious and tidy than I expected. There was a fair amount of space between the tables too, so it seemed good for family meals.

There was even an outdoor area behind the tables! There were tables tucked into the corners as well, and high chairs were available, so these details should be convenient for anyone looking for a Hamdeok Beach restaurant with a child.

The menu lets you enjoy Jeju black pork by cut, including pork neck and ogyeopsal (five-layer pork belly), and there were set menus that were easy to choose when visiting in a group.

We chose the Joka Set, 500 g for ₩60,000. Since it included both pork neck and ogyeopsal, it was nice to try both cuts evenly.

What stood out was that the black pork is low-temperature aged for 300 hours and then smoked with grapevine smoking chips. I was already so excited before eating!!!

How was the Joka Set black pork?

The basic table setting came out first.

There were lots of side dishes and sauces to have with the meat, so it looked fun to try the combinations one by one from the start. Then, shortly afterward, the Joka Set appeared! The smoked meat arrived with that grapevine-smoke aroma rising up and making my mouth water.

The meat was quite thick, so it looked delicious even before it went onto the grill.

More than anything, what made things easy for me was that the staff grilled it themselves from beginning to end. When I go to a barbecue restaurant with a child, I can end up turning the meat on one side while taking care of my child's meal on the other, and not really get to eat properly myself.

Here, they watched the doneness and cut it into bite-sized pieces, so I could sit, look after my child, chat, and enjoy the meal. Jeju Samchun was wonderful not only for the meat but also because it made for such an easy meal during our trip.

Once nicely browned, the meat had a firm-seared exterior while staying fairly moist inside, and its thickness gave it a proper chewy texture.

The pork neck was clean-tasting and juicy, while the ogyeopsal gained a richer nuttiness from its fatty part, so they were nice to alternate between.

Rather than eating only meat the whole time, I like switching up the accompaniments. Put some grilled mugeunji (aged kimchi) on a piece of pork, and its tanginess cuts through the richness. The lettuce wraps were delicious too ^^

A light dip in meljeot (Jeju fermented anchovy sauce), essential with Jeju black pork, brought out more savory depth. On the other hand, a little salt or wasabi let the pork's own nutty flavor come through more cleanly. The flavor changed depending on what you paired with the same meat, so it was easy to enjoy right to the end without getting tired of it.

The gyeranjjim (steamed egg) we ordered as a side was soft and delicious too.

For an easy black pork meal in Hamdeok

Jeju Samchun is close to Hamdeok Beach, so it is easy to add to your travel route, and I loved that the staff grill the meat for you.

The meat itself also had clear points of difference: 300 hours of low-temperature aging and grapevine smoking.

• People who want black pork for dinner after looking around the Hamdeok sea
• Families with children who find grilling meat themselves burdensome
• People staying in Jocheon or Hamdeok

If, like me, you are spending a day in eastern Jeju and looking for a restaurant where you can enjoy black pork comfortably, I think Jeju Samchun is well worth adding to your itinerary!