Seocho Korean BBQ: owner-grilled aged pork dinner for 3 at Cheontong

Visiting Cheontong Seocho Yangjaesimineusup Station Branch, famous as a Yangjae Citizen's Forest go-to for meat, located super close to exit 3 of Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station! Let's start the review :))

Location and parking at Cheontong Seocho Yangjaesimineusup Station Branch

Cheontong Seocho Yangjaesimineusup Station Branch is at 13 Dongsan-ro, 1st floor, Seocho-gu, Seoul, right near exit 3 of Yangjae Citizen's Forest Station. Hours are Mon–Fri 11:00–22:30 (break time 15:00–17:00), and Sat–Sun 11:00–22:30 with no break time, and you can park for free in the dedicated lot next to the restaurant.

Cheontong, a pork belly specialist in the Yangjae area, has the advantage of being super close to the station plus its own parking lot, so you can drive here too 🫠

Interior vibe and self-serve bar

The inside of Cheontong is really spacious, so it's perfect for a work dinner or a gathering with friends. The basic side dishes come out automatically, but the bonus — you can refill extra sides at the self-serve bar as many times as you want!!

What's in the ₩63,000 Cheontong Set A

We ordered the Cheontong Set A for ₩63,000, and soju/beer are ₩5,000 each. Cheontong's grill has a really unusual shape — it's all one connected plate. So once you turn on the gas, the heat spreads across the whole plate and every side dish stays warm.

Marinated octopus, pineapple, onion, mushroom, corn cheese — the same lineup comes out on both sides of the grill, so the person sitting across from you doesn't miss out on a single side dish either.

Cheontong's pride and joy is the aged kimchi (mukeunji). They pile half a head of it right onto one section of the grill, and this kimchi is seriously the highlight 👍 It was aged just right — not too fermented, not too fresh — perfect for grilling.

The lettuce comes out looking like a pretty bouquet of flowers. It was genuinely fresh. I'm growing lettuce at home these days and mine just never tastes as good,,? And it never gets this big either — does anyone know why,,?

Also eat your appetizer salad.

The owner grills everything: pork jowl, neck, and belly

Even on a Sunday evening, the place was packed with customers. I guess Cheontong is already well known as an aged pork belly spot.

From left, 🐷 pork jowl, neck, and belly. They grilled the pork belly (ogyeopsal, five-layer pork belly) and minari (water celery) first. And the best part was that the owner grilled everything for us, so all we had to do was wait and eat ㅎ.ㅎ

Curious about that empty spot in the middle of the grill? Right? That's where the doenjang stew (soybean paste stew) and steamed egg go haha. Since the whole set comes with all the sides included, you don't need to order anything extra — it's plenty heh.

Cheers ❤️ Can't survive a weekend without a drink,, gotta wash it all down and fight on for another week!!

What does the 480-hour aged pork belly taste like?

First up were mushroom and pork neck. They told us to eat the pork neck first since the mushroom's distinct aroma can overpower the taste of the meat. Can you see the juices,,? Genuinely mind-blowing, it's really that good 👍

Maybe because it's 480-hour aged pork belly, but the juices practically burst in your mouth and just keep flowing. No other side needed — just salt, that's all!!

We also ate the steamed egg and doenjang stew thoroughly. There was way bigger tofu in it than I expected!!

I turn into a mushroom killer every time I go to a BBQ place — that's me!!ㅋㅋ I love the king oyster mushrooms grilled on the plate so much I always order extra.

The fattiest cut, pork jowl, was grilled last.

The aged kimchi was perfectly ripe. You've gotta tear off big pieces to eat it right!!

Is the portion enough for 3 people?

The three of us shared the Cheontong Set A and the portion was genuinely huge. You'd think that would be it, right? Nope!! Thinly sliced gochujang (red chili paste) pork belly comes out too ㅋㅋ Finishing off with that spicy gochujang pork belly left our stomachs about to burst ㅋㅋㅋ

Well, ate well again today — that's it for the Cheontong review :))

Oh! There's also a coupon at the entrance for free anju (drinking snacks) at nearby second-round bars, so if you're wondering where to head for round two, I'd recommend checking it out haha.