Seoul Korean BBQ near Seoul Forest: Seongsu Teojeon

We were planning a date near Seoul Forest, so I was looking for a good Korean BBQ spot around Seongsu Station. Seongsu Teojeon (성수터전) really stood out among the places that grill the meat for you. It is close to Ttukseom Station and Seoul Forest, and I heard you could enjoy aged special cuts there, so my boyfriend and I reserved a Saturday evening slot and went!

Seongsu Teojeon Ttukseom Main Branch: location and information

Seongsu Teojeon is about a two-minute walk from Ttukseom Station, so it was easy enough to get to from Seongsu Station or Seoul Forest too. It is especially well located for dinner after a walk around Seoul Forest!

• Hours: Daily 11:00–23:30; no regular closing days
• No dedicated parking. Use nearby paid parking.
• Seongsu Art Hall parking lot in the building next door: 30 minutes free, then ₩1,000 per additional 30 minutes
• Nobel Building private parking lot, a five-minute walk away: ₩3,000 per 30 minutes
• Ttukseom retention basin public parking lot, a 10-minute walk away: ₩1,800 per hour
• Naver and phone reservations available; groups accepted
• One bottle of corkage is free; from the second bottle, ₩20,000 per bottle

Exterior and interior atmosphere

Seongsu Teojeon is on the second floor, so just head up the stairs and the restaurant is right there!

The interior was neat. There was a bit of space between the tables, so it did not look like it would feel uncomfortable while eating.

We had reserved, and all the side dishes and place settings were already laid out, so we could start eating as soon as we sat down. Maybe because it was early, the restaurant was fairly quiet too.

Side dishes and sauce pairings

Seongsu Teojeon had a really satisfying lineup of basic side dishes and sauces.

There was napa cabbage kimchi, seasoned garlic chives, myeong-i namul (pickled wild garlic leaves), garlic salted-shrimp sauce, hairtail fish sauce, salt, and fresh wasabi. There were so many things to pair with the meat that it was fun switching from one sauce to another.

There were detailed sauce-pairing tips posted on the wall too, so I tried them as suggested, and they really did bring out the meat's flavor more, haha.

Seongsu Teojeon's special-cuts platter

The signature options are the special-cuts platter (pork skirt meat, pork jowl, and special pork neck for 2, ₩57,000) and the Teojeon popular platter (pork belly, pork neck, and vegetables for 2, ₩55,000). You can also choose individual cuts such as aged pork belly, special pork neck, or pork skirt meat!

There is lots more besides, from meal dishes such as two-hour kimchi stew and third-generation cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) to spicy pork tail and skin, fried rice, and naengmyeon (cold noodles). They would be great alongside the meat or as a finishing meal. We wanted to try cuts we had not eaten recently, so we ordered the special-cuts platter!

A platter of pork skirt meat, pork jowl, and special pork neck grilled for us

It was a nice setup because pork skirt meat, pork jowl, and special pork neck all came together, so we could try several different cuts.

The meat looked fresh from its color alone, and I liked the balance of lean meat and fat. The vegetable selection was varied too: mushrooms, green onion, bell pepper, minari (water celery), and zucchini, haha.

They melted this butter, then put the minari on top and grilled it.

Seongsu Teojeon is a Korean BBQ restaurant where the staff grill the meat for you. They even arranged everything beautifully on the grill, which made it great for photos, haha.

That color is insane....

Since they grilled everything from start to finish, we did not have to be distracted by cooking the meat and could eat comfortably while chatting, haha.

Pairings we tried, from special pork neck to pork jowl

The first thing we ate was the special pork neck! I dipped it in salt, and it was so good, with just the right balance of lean meat and fat, haha.

They placed the cooked meat to the side like this, so you could simply pick whichever cut you wanted to eat.

The pork skirt meat was chewy and savory ㅠㅠ It tasted even better because it had been a while since I last had it.

I had the pork jowl with myeong-i namul and wasabi, and the pairing cut right through the richness. It was tender but still had that delicious fatty savoriness, so pork jowl was my top pick that day!

I was curious about the garlic salted-shrimp sauce because it was unusual. The umami of the salted shrimp and the garlic aroma worked so well together, making it a great match for the meat. It was my first time trying it, and it was totally my taste! I did not get a separate photo, but the hairtail fish sauce was tasty too—umami with a little spice. No fishiness!

They grilled and served all the vegetables too, so we ate comfortably and deliciously right to the end, haha.

An easy Korean BBQ dinner after a Seoul Forest date

I liked having a special-cuts set menu, and the pork jowl was especially the best for me. With so many sauces to enjoy it with—salt, garlic salted shrimp, fresh wasabi, and more—we could keep eating without getting tired of it until the end. Above all, the staff grilled the meat themselves, so I loved being able to relax and talk with my boyfriend instead of worrying about cooking, haha.

It is about a two-minute walk from Ttukseom Station and also close to Seoul Forest, so it would be a nice dinner spot after a Seoul Forest date. If you are looking for a Korean BBQ restaurant around Seongsu Station or Ttukseom, it is a good place for a date because you can eat comfortably without grilling the meat yourself. Especially if you want to try several special cuts at once, Seongsu Teojeon Ttukseom Main Branch is worth keeping in mind, haha.