Seomyeon late-night jokbal for 4: spicy & garlic set, Naseong Jokbal

A great jokbal spot in Seomyeon with a table so full the legs nearly bend: a real review of the half-and-half set at Naseong Jokbal 🐷🌙

You know those late evenings when you suddenly crave tender, chewy jokbal (braised pork trotters)? I wandered around Seomyeon looking for a proper late-night meal and ended up at Naseong Jokbal, already famous as a holy ground for jokbal in Seomyeon.

I was won over by the taste and by the sheer amount of food, so let me walk you through my visit to Naseong Jokbal in detail!

Naseong Jokbal location, hours and parking in Seomyeon

Naseong Jokbal is at 57 Bujeon-ro, Busanjin-gu, Busan, on the first floor of the Royal Bowling Alley building, 598m from Seomyeon Station Exit 7. It is open 16:00–00:30, closes at 23:00 on Mondays, and may close early once the jokbal sells out.

For parking, use the Myeongdong Parking Lot (515-48 Bujeon-dong, Busanjin-gu) right in front of the restaurant: 1 hour is free, then it's ₩2,000 per 60 minutes. Getting an hour of parking support in the middle of Seomyeon is a huge plus.

The exterior is a clean, classy black and white. The terrace-style window side has folding doors, so on nice days they open wide and you feel like you're eating outdoors. A very atmospheric jokbal spot in Seomyeon!

Reserved table, basic side dishes and the mentaiko mayo sauce

You can reserve by phone at Naseong Jokbal. I booked ahead and our table was neatly set when we arrived. The tables are spaced widely too, so it was easy to eat comfortably with my group. As soon as we sat down, the generous side dishes caught my eye.

The side dish lineup: ssambu (pickled radish wraps), chili peppers, garlic, fresh wasabi, ssamjang (wrap sauce), saeujeot (salted shrimp), radish kimchi, mustard leaf kimchi, and fresh lettuce and perilla leaves!

💡 Cheat-code sauce: Naseong Jokbal also serves its own special mentaiko mayo sauce, which creates amazing synergy when it meets the spicy jokbal later.

(By the way, if you write a Naver receipt review you can also get a free drink or tofu stew, so don't forget!)

Naseong Jokbal menu and what 4 people ordered

• Jokbal: Small ₩34,000 / Medium ₩39,000 / Large ₩44,000
• Half-and-half jokbal: Small ₩36,000 / Medium ₩41,000 / Large ₩46,000
• Meals: spicy jokbal bibimbap (₩10,000), tray makguksu (cold buckwheat noodles, ₩9,000), flying fish roe rice ball (₩5,000) and more

There were four of us, so we ordered the large half-and-half set for ₩62,000, which lets you taste everything generously.

(We picked spicy jokbal and garlic jokbal for the halves!) The set includes not just jokbal but also tray makguksu and stir-fried squid, so the value is honestly top-notch.

Digging into the half-and-half set: late-night feast time!

1. Spicy rice-stealer: the free tofu stew

At Naseong Jokbal in Seomyeon, every jokbal order comes with a tofu stew (sundubu-jjigae) boiled in an earthenware pot. It's a freebie, but they don't make it half-heartedly!

It has odongtong (sea squirts) and soft tofu in it, and the broth is spicy and refreshing, a bit like gochujang stew, which cuts right through the greasiness of the meat.

2. Stress-melting heat: spicy jokbal

The spicy jokbal had incredibly soft, chewy meat and skin. True to their rule of making and selling it the same day, it's so tender you could chew it with your gums. The spicy seasoning soaks right in and completely satisfies a craving for something hot!

✔️ Eating tip: dip a piece of spicy jokbal generously in the mentaiko mayo sauce from the side dishes. The rich mayo softly tames the heat!

3. Sweet and tender garlic jokbal

The garlic jokbal is great to alternate with the spicy one! A special garlic sauce is piled really, really high on top of tender plain jokbal. The sharp, spicy bite of garlic is gone and only a pleasant sweetness remains, so anyone can enjoy it without any hit-or-miss.

4. Chewy bonus dish: stir-fried squid

The stir-fried squid included in the set comes with crunchy onions and chewy squid, nicely tossed in a sweet sauce. Squid stir-fry at a jokbal place felt a little unfamiliar, but eating it alongside the jokbal is a surprisingly charming combo! (I bet it would also be heavenly with a bowl of rice, some seaweed flakes and sesame oil, mixed up.)

5. 🏆 The big number one pick! Tray makguksu

The tray makguksu is honestly my favorite dish and the reason I wrote this post! The makguksu sauce is crazy good. It's so sweet and sour that it wakes up your appetite, and the seasoning is just right.

Put on the plastic gloves they give you and toss it together by hand, then pile a piece of jokbal and plenty of noodles on a fragrant perilla leaf and wrap it up... that is heaven right there, T_T. If you visit, you absolutely have to order the makguksu!

Verdict: is the large half-and-half set enough for 4? (Seomyeon late-night tier 1!)

Four adults shared the large half-and-half set at Naseong Jokbal, and by the end we were bursting full: the amount was very generous and just right. The big table was loaded until the legs nearly bent, and everyone left completely satisfied with the hearty lineup!

The atmosphere is nice and the staff were friendly, so it's a comfortable place near Seomyeon for a get-together, company dinner or date. If you want to taste real, tender jokbal, I strongly recommend stopping by Naseong Jokbal 🤍