Myeongdong Korean BBQ restaurant with scallion salad: Yuktongnyeong

There are plenty of choices when you decide to eat meat in Myeongdong, but I was craving charcoal-grilled pork that day, so I headed to Yuktongnyeong Myeongdong Main Branch (육통령 명동본점). Tucked inside Myeongdong 8na-gil, it was in a nice spot for looking around the neighborhood before or after a meal. Even from the front, it was clearly a meat-focused meal kind of place, and once inside, every table had a brazier, which naturally got me excited.

A Myeongdong evening choosing pork on a tablet

The dining room had tables and ventilation set up for grilling meat, and ordering was done on a tablet at the table. When starting a meal in busy central Myeongdong, it is more comfortable when the ordering process is simple rather than having to take ages choosing from the menu, and I liked being able to look through the cuts and combinations on the screen. The menu photo showed the weights and prices for omija-aged Gwanggaeto pork belly and pork neck, but menus and prices can change, so it is best to check the current information before visiting.

That day, I ordered two portions of pork belly and one portion of pork neck. I chose both because I wanted to notice the difference in texture instead of eating only one cut the whole time. It is hard to say exactly which piece is which cut from the photos alone, but the order itself was clear, and it was fun watching the thick pieces gradually cook together on one grill. Rather than piling on too much from the start, grilling in batches according to how quickly everything cooked made it easier to find a good rhythm for the meal.

Bites that change with scallion salad and myeong-i leaves

The pa-jeori (seasoned shredded scallion salad) and accompanying vegetables set out before the meat also caught my eye. Pa-jeori is a familiar mix of red seasoning and sesame seeds, but this banchan was especially good that day, so I kept eating it with the meat. Having it after a fatty bite of pork refreshed my mouth and made the next piece feel less heavy. At Korean barbecue restaurants, accompaniments can sometimes feel like side dishes simply filling an empty space, but here they helped carry the flavor of the meal along.

Myeong-i namul (pickled wild garlic leaves) also paired beautifully with the meat. Rather than opening a leaf wide and wrapping the pork in it, I added it to bite-size pieces; its aroma did not jump out too strongly and instead supported the pork's flavor. Instead of repeating pa-jeori and myeong-i leaves in the same way, I tried the more seasoned pa-jeori with pork belly and the more aromatic myeong-i leaves with pork neck, and the table never felt monotonous. As much as the meat itself, those two accompaniments were what I remember from this meal.

Eating in batches as the pork cooks over charcoal

Once the charcoal was in the brazier and the grill had heated up, I put the pork on. The heat and smoke in the photos capture the cooking atmosphere well, but what I want to linger on here is not the grill scene itself—it is that waiting for the meat became part of the meal. There are plenty of meals in Myeongdong where you simply grab something quickly, but this was an evening of watching the pork cook, preparing the sides, and chatting.

The pork I put on first was still pale, but watching its surface slowly change near the charcoal meant the wait did not feel long at all. Rather than flipping it all at once, it suited the thick pieces better to watch how far the sides had cooked too.

The pork belly showed layers of fat and lean meat, and its surface color became more distinct as it cooked; the pork neck was cooked alongside it in slightly thicker pieces. Instead of waiting for every piece on the grill to reach the same stage, I took off the pieces that were ready first, so I did not miss that just-off-the-charcoal warmth. Mushrooms cooked alongside the meat too, making them easy to add between bites. Even without explaining any special cooking technique, that arrangement naturally created a pleasant flow for a meat meal.

Once the fat started rendering and the edges of the meat turned golden, the scene on the grill changed a little too. I liked taking off the charcoal-scented pieces first, then continuing to cook the remaining pieces while keeping an eye on them so they would not dry out.

The side dish I reached for most often with the meat was pa-jeori. The sharp taste of seasoned scallions met the pork and cut through the richness, so alternating between pork belly and pork neck never became tiring. The myeong-i leaves added their aroma in a calmer way. I remember both being delicious not because the sides were overpowering on their own, but because they changed the direction of each bite without covering up the pork.

The flow of ordering pork belly and pork neck together

The order of two portions of pork belly and one portion of pork neck suited this meal well. I started with pork belly, enjoying the charcoal aroma and the texture of its cooked edges, then moved on to pork neck midway through to change the flow of the grill. To avoid turning this into a post that identifies cuts from photos alone, it is more accurate to distinguish between the ordered items and my actual experience: this combination was simply my choice because I wanted to eat two kinds of pork together.

Around the middle of the meal, I took the cooked meat from the grill and placed it on a plate. Since there was always pork still cooking, the meal did not feel interrupted, and I naturally ate slowly with the sides until the next pieces were ready.

When eating meat in Myeongdong, it can matter more to have sides that let you enjoy what you ordered well than to lay out lots of different menu items. Here, pa-jeori and myeong-i leaves played that role. The pa-jeori was especially good after a piece of meat, while I reached for the myeong-i leaves when I wanted to add some aroma to a bite. That is why the brief memory of both sides being so good stayed with me to the end.

Pork on charcoal cooks in an order, and even though I captured many moments at once, I do not think every part of that process needs explaining in writing. What remained in the end was the atmosphere of one table: taking off properly cooked pork and eating it with pa-jeori or myeong-i leaves. With the meat divided into several pieces, even when dining together it did not become a situation where only one person kept grilling and waiting; we could naturally move back and forth between eating and grilling.

Even as I wrapped up while looking at the remaining meat and mushrooms over the charcoal, it felt comfortable to share them as they cooked rather than rushing to clear the grill. If you enjoy the surface of grilled meat and that charcoal aroma, this unhurried rhythm would suit you well.

Is it good for two or three people to talk over dinner?

Yuktongnyeong Myeongdong Main Branch was a place I would think of on a day when I wanted a meal centered on charcoal-grilled pork in Myeongdong. The in-tablet ordering, tables with braziers, and sides that worked well with the meat all shaped the flow of the meal. I came away feeling that it suits an evening for two or three people who want to talk while grilling more than a quick solo meal. Still, party size and appetite vary, so it is best to decide the quantity you order based on the day.

What I remember most in the end is not so much the menu name “omija-aged,” but the experience of choosing pork belly and pork neck together, grilling them over charcoal, and changing each bite with pa-jeori and myeong-i leaves. The meat combination itself may be familiar, but it reminded me once again that when the accompaniments are a good match, you can enjoy the same meat right to the end. If you are planning a meat meal in Myeongdong, check the location and current menu first, then make sure to try it with the pa-jeori and myeong-i leaves.

Because I captured the meat cooking so many times, I can also remember the warmth and pace of that meal. It was a Myeongdong evening of eating the pork belly and pork neck I ordered, piece by piece over charcoal, and finishing with pa-jeori and myeong-i leaves.