Seogyo-dong Korean BBQ weeknight date, brisket doenjang sulbap: Ijjok

I went to Hapjeong with my husband on a weeknight evening for some pork belly. This time we tried Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal (이쪽 김치삼겹살), a BBQ spot in Seogyo-dong.

At Ijjok you can grill kimchi together with your pork belly, and the staff grill the meat for you too. There were still empty seats when we walked in, but by the time we were eating, the place was completely full.

Where is Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal in Seogyo-dong?

The address is 20 Dongmak-ro 3-gil, Mapo-gu, Seoul, basement level 1. It's about a 3-minute walk from Exit 3 of Hapjeong Station.

There's a huge sign in the alley that says "Ijjok" (이쪽, meaning "this way"), so it wasn't hard to find.

Atmosphere and seating at Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal

Inside, the tables are wood-toned, and the mood is comfortable, like a typical Korean BBQ restaurant.

It was just the two of us, but with plenty of tables, it looked fine for a company dinner near Hapjeong Station too.

And seriously, it was a weeknight, yet customers kept coming in! It was relaxed at first, but later there wasn't a single empty table.

Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal menu and prices

The signature items at Ijjok are fresh pork belly and fresh pork neck.

• Signature fresh pork belly, 180g: ₩16,000
• Fresh pork neck, 180g: ₩16,000
• Korean beef brisket (hanwoo chadolbagi): ₩26,000

For meals, there's a kimchi stew set, naengmyeon (cold noodles), brisket doenjang sulbap (soybean paste rice pot) and more. We ordered the fresh pork belly and the brisket doenjang sulbap.

Thick fresh pork belly, grilled by the staff

The fresh pork belly at Ijjok comes sliced thick, with king oyster mushrooms on the side.

Personally, I love BBQ places where the staff do the grilling. When two of you go out to eat and one person is stuck grilling the whole time, it kind of nags at you, right?

At Ijjok the staff take care of it, so my husband and I could chat comfortably while we ate. They grill the pork belly, kimchi, onions and mushrooms together on a big square grill.

Pork belly really is best grilled with kimchi. And kimchi grilled in pork fat is a whole different thing from kimchi eaten as it is, haha.

They also cut the meat into bite-sized pieces for us, which was handy.

What side dishes come with the pork belly?

The basic sides at Ijjok included scallion salad, seasoned bean sprouts and ssam (wrap) vegetables. I noticed the scallion salad and bean sprouts came separately. Pork belly is a fatty cut, so eating it with vegetable sides makes it less greasy.

With grilled kimchi and scallion salad on top, we could eat the meat in all sorts of combinations.

What is the ₩7,000 brisket doenjang sulbap?

The brisket doenjang sulbap at Ijjok is ₩7,000 and comes in a earthenware pot (ttukbaegi). When you're eating meat, it feels like something's missing without rice or stew, right? So we ordered it too.

It was filled with tofu, beef brisket, mushrooms, zucchini and more. Sipping the warm doenjang broth between bites of pork belly went really well together. It's a good one to add when meat alone feels like not enough.

Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal in Seogyo-dong: good for a weeknight date?

That was our weeknight date at Ijjok Kimchi Samgyeopsal in Seogyo-dong. Personally, I liked that the staff grilled the meat, so we could eat in comfort.

The lineup was good too: pork belly, grilled kimchi and brisket doenjang sulbap. If you're looking for a Seogyo-dong BBQ place where the staff grill for you, or you have dinner plans near Hapjeong Station, give it a look.