Diced hangjeongsal at Girin Samgyeopsal, a Yadang Station BBQ in Paju

I had to grab a late dinner near Yadang Station the other day! I'd been craving pork belly for a while, so I searched around Yadang Station and ended up at Girin Samgyeopsal (기린삼겹살), a newly opened spot 🥩

Girin Samgyeopsal 📍Address 경기 파주시 경의로 1102 1층 110호, 111호 ⏰Hours Daily 16:00 - 23:00 🔖Parking available (free), no corkage

There are so many pork BBQ places around Yadang Station, but this one felt clean and comfortable overall, probably because it's fairly new. Best of all, they use domestic pork, and I got to try everything from regular pork belly to kkodeulsal and diced hangjeongsal :) The diced hangjeongsal especially stuck with me this visit! If you're looking for a decent BBQ spot near Yadang Station, let me walk you through what I ate.

How far is Girin Samgyeopsal from Yadang Station?

Girin Samgyeopsal is close enough to Yadang Station that it's easy to stop by for dinner after work. It seemed like a good option for locals and office workers around the station looking for a place to eat! Perfect for those 'I want meat today' evenings after clocking off, like me :)

Inside Girin Samgyeopsal: atmosphere and table spacing

Since it's a newly opened place, the restaurant felt really clean overall when I walked in. What I liked most was that the tables were spaced out generously.

At some BBQ places the tables are so close together it feels a bit cramped, but here I could eat comfortably with some breathing room. Good for dinner with a friend, and it'd also work well for a work dinner or gathering near Yadang Station :)

What two people ordered at Girin Samgyeopsal

At Girin Samgyeopsal you can enjoy not just pork belly but various pork cuts together. Here's what the two of us ordered!

• Pork belly (saeng samgyeopsal) x1
• Kkodeulsal x1
• Diced hangjeongsal x1
• Doenjang sulbap x1
• Fried rice x1

Ordering three servings of meat plus rice dishes for two people, we were really stuffed 🤤 The meat looked fresh overall, probably because it's domestic pork, and it looked good even before grilling. Getting to try regular pork belly and specialty cuts in one sitting was great too!

Side dishes the owner makes by hand

Before the meat arrived, they set out the side dishes, and apparently the owner makes all of them by hand except the kimchi! Maybe that's why they tasted a bit different from typical BBQ restaurant side dishes — clean but with a lot of care behind them.

I especially loved ✔️ the homemade ssamjang (dipping paste) ✔️ the secret yukjang sauce ✔️ the green onion salt! When the sauces are good at a BBQ place, eating meat becomes so much more fun, right? All three paired really well with the meat, and I kept reaching for them.

The combo with green onion salt especially brought out the meat's savory flavor even more, and both the homemade ssamjang and soy sauce dip tasted a bit different from the usual BBQ restaurant versions, which stuck with me. They also served minari (water dropwort) to eat alongside the meat, which made the side dish spread even more generous.

Fresh pork belly with green onion salt

We started by grilling the pork belly first. There's something irresistible about watching pork belly turn golden brown on the grill. Since the meat was domestic, it looked fresh even before cooking, and once properly grilled, I could really taste how savory and juicy it was.

Personally, I really liked pairing it with green onion salt! It's like the green onion cleanly cuts through the fattiness of the pork belly. A combo I kept going back for :)

How chewy is the kkodeulsal (pork jowl)?

Next up was kkodeulsal, which has a totally different texture from pork belly — worth ordering if you're into specialty cuts. True to its name, it has a lively, chewy bite, which suited me perfectly since I love that kkodeul-kkodeul texture. Pork belly alone can feel a little repetitive, but mixing in different cuts like this kept things interesting all the way through.

Best dish of the night: thick diced hangjeongsal

And the most delicious thing I had that day was the diced hangjeongsal (pork jowl)...! 🤍 This is personally the dish I'd most recommend from this visit. Grilling the thickly diced hangjeongsal gave a golden brown outside while the inside stayed savory and chewy.

The signature savoriness of hangjeongsal was great, but what I really loved was the chewiness when you bite into it. Honestly, it reminded me of gopchang or makchang (grilled intestines) that I hadn't had in a while... that same chewy, savory satisfaction, to some degree !!! Of course the flavor isn't identical to gopchang or makchang, but if you love a savory, chewy texture, you'll really love the diced hangjeongsal!

The pork belly was good too, but if I come back, I'll definitely order the diced hangjeongsal again 👍

Doenjang sulbap: soybean-paste rice soup with fish sauce depth

After eating a good amount of meat, we ordered the doenjang sulbap (soybean paste soup with rice) too! Doenjang stew or sulbap at BBQ places can sometimes taste a bit heavy, but here the fish sauce added a savory depth that made it taste cleaner and richer at the same time.

It was also loaded with chewy meat inside, so it wasn't just about the broth — you got a satisfying chew too. A spoonful of hot soup between bites of meat was such a good combo 👍 It'd pair especially well with fattier cuts like pork belly or hangjeongsal!

Finishing with fried rice on the grill

Of course, Korean meals end with fried rice, right?! This time too, we finished with fried rice. It didn't look too different from fried rice at other BBQ places at first, but once I tasted it, there was a tangy-ish, sweet flavor that kept my spoon moving 🤣

Even though I was already pretty full from all the meat, somehow the fried rice kept going down. Overall it leaned sweet-and-tangy rather than heavy, which made it a good closer. Eating meat then fried rice always feels like a proper meal, so we ended up cleaning the plate again..!

Dessert slushie and dental floss at every table

They also had a slushie for dessert, which was great for cleansing the palate after all that meat. It really wipes away the greasiness!

I always want dental floss after eating meat, so I was touched that the owner had hair ties and floss set out at every table.. 🤍 They're also running a scratch-board event if you write a review, which looked really fun !!! A blast from the past, like those stationery-store scratch boards 🤣

Final verdict on Girin Samgyeopsal near Yadang Station

Girin Samgyeopsal was where I ended up after searching for a late dinner spot near Yadang Station! Being newly opened, the restaurant felt clean throughout, and the generous table spacing made for a comfortable meal.

What I liked most was that they use domestic pork and let you enjoy a variety of cuts alongside pork belly, like kkodeulsal and diced hangjeongsal — and of all of them, I'd recommend the diced hangjeongsal the most! The savory, chewy texture was really good, and anyone who loves specialty cuts should definitely order it at least once 👍

The owner also reportedly makes all the side dishes except kimchi by hand, which is probably why the homemade ssamjang, yukjang, and green onion salt that go with the meat weren't ordinary and stuck with me.

• Anyone looking for a domestic pork restaurant
• Anyone wanting to try pork belly and specialty cuts together
• Anyone looking for a clean, spacious BBQ restaurant
• Office workers looking for dinner after work
• Anyone looking for a place to eat meat near Yadang Station

if that's you, this place is worth a visit :) I especially can't stop thinking about the diced hangjeongsal, so next time I'm craving pork belly, I'll probably be back!