Grilled pork ribs with scallion and mala sauce at Seokok Galbi

Seokok Galbi in Haeundae

I was looking for somewhere to eat meat near Haeundae and ended up visiting Seokok Galbi.

I'd heard it was a great galbi (grilled ribs) spot, and when I got there the interior was clean and the ribs were high quality — my friends who came with me were happy too!

Location and hours of Seokok Galbi

• Address: 499-9 Jwadong Sunhwan-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan, South Korea, 1st floor
• Hours: Mon–Sun 16:00–23:00

Black-toned interior and self-serve bar

The inside stood out with a clean, modern black-toned interior! Each table had good ventilation, so you could eat comfortably without worrying about smelling like meat afterward.

On one side there's a self-serve bar with dishes sorted by type, and various sauces and side dishes neatly stocked, so it was easy to grab as much as you needed.

It looked like they kept things carefully hygienic, which was reassuring.

Once we sat down, a wooden tray full of neat side dishes was set out! Green kelp, crisp-looking scallion kimchi, and ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) and sauce to add extra flavor all came in pretty dishes. They also gave us lettuce and perilla leaves.

What we ordered — Seokok 2125 Jangin Galbi, 7 servings

Here's the menu at Seokok Galbi. This is what we ordered!

• Seokok 2125 Jangin Galbi (₩13,000) — 7 servings
• Minsaeng Kimchi Stew (₩3,000)

The signature menu, Seokok 2125 Jangin Galbi, is made from pork raised on garlic in Namhae, scored 2,125 times to give it a tender texture, they say.

As soon as it arrived, the tightly scored look caught my eye. The fine scoring made the texture really tender! The photo shows 2 servings of Seokok Galbi — thick raw meat neatly plated with pale potato slices, yellow eggplant, and rice cake, which made my mouth water.

Grilling the scored raw ribs

We put the thick raw ribs on the grill! The bright red color of the meat looked so appetizing, I was already excited before it even started cooking.

As the raw ribs started to turn golden brown, a delicious smell filled the whole grill.

The heat spread nicely through the scored cuts, so it cooked through quickly, which I liked. If the fire's too strong it's hard to grill meat well, but at Seokok Galbi the grill heat was just right, so the juices stayed locked in as it cooked!

The outside browning up looked incredibly appetizing. We carefully flipped the meat back and forth as it sizzled away.

Once fully cooked, they cut the meat into bite-sized pieces for us! The eggplant and rice cake were also grilled to a nice golden brown, completing a perfect spread.

How the ribs tasted

I tried a well-cooked piece — it was tender, chewy on the outside and moist inside, keeping that distinctive galbi texture. Without any artificial flavor, the meat's natural savory taste spread richly through my mouth.

I dipped a piece in ssamjang, piled on a bunch of bangahip (Vietnamese balm leaf), and took a bite! The tangy, crisp texture cut through the richness of the meat perfectly, and I kept reaching for more. The side dishes paired so well with the meat that it went down clean without feeling heavy.

I also picked up a nicely grilled piece of eggplant with my chopsticks! The outside was lightly charred and savory, and the inside burst with moist vegetable juice — great paired with the meat.

I let the crispy, chewy grilled rice cake cool a bit with the tongs before eating it! It had that perfect crispy-outside, chewy-inside texture.

Scallion sauce and mala sauce

And then there's this finely chopped scallion sauce!! It's made with finely sliced scallions mixed into a seasoned sauce — the sharp scallion aroma and the spicy-sweet sauce really cut through the richness of the meat. Piling it generously on the meat — wow, the crisp, spicy scallion texture combined with the savory meat juices was a flavor explosion!

I'm someone who always needs ssamjang with meat, but this scallion sauce was tangy with that distinctive spicy scallion kick, so it was delicious even without ssamjang. This scallion sauce is insane — you have to try it!

Lastly I dipped it in the mala sauce too — as a mala lover, this sauce really hit the spot for me.

₩3,000 Minsaeng Kimchi Stew and Chodang Corn Hot Pot Rice

To finish the meal, we ordered Minsaeng Kimchi Stew from the tablet menu. A pot full of meat and kimchi for ₩3,000 — seriously so cheap. This is a must-order menu item.

For the first 10 teams who visit between 11:30 and 14:30, they give out a free Chodang Corn Hot Pot Rice — worth ₩9,800, so going at lunchtime is an even better deal! We made it in as one of the first 10 teams and got the hot pot rice for free ><

The kimchi stew portion was huge. It even included ramyeon noodles, so we ate the stew and then filled up on noodles too!

For the Chodang Corn Hot Pot Rice, we mixed in the curry powder that came with it.

The corn kernels popped with each bite, and with the curry powder mixed in, it really woke up my appetite.

Final thoughts

The finely scored raw ribs had a tender texture, and the side dishes were made with real care — both were delicious. The finishing meal of bubbling kimchi stew on the table, the hot pot rice topped generously with savory curry powder, and even the chunky, round-braised radish were all great. Seokok Galbi in Haeundae was perfect from start to finish, and it's a place I'd love to visit again.