Three pork cuts, samgyeopsal to jowl, at a Cheonan BBQ: Motsaenggin

I'm Nayeon, a newbie who's been living in Korea for just over a year now!

I suddenly had a huge craving for meat one evening... so my husband and I went to Motsaenggin Ttungdwaeji Cheongdang Branch, well known as a samgyeopsal (pork belly) spot in Cheongdang-dong! There's a gym I go to nearby, and every time I passed by I'd see the place packed with people, so I'd been curious about it for a while. I finally got to visit in person this time.

What I liked here is that you can choose from not just samgyeopsal but also different pork cuts like kkodeulsal (chewy pork neck) and ppolsal (pork cheek).

It was interesting how each cut had a slightly different texture — personally I liked samgyeopsal best, while my husband said kkodeulsal was the real winner haha.

And here, on top of the meat, so many different side dishes come out, plus they show you how to eat it the tastiest way — following their method made it even better, and it was a really filling dinner!

So if you're looking for a good barbecue restaurant in Cheongdang-dong, one that would also work well for a group dinner, let me introduce Motsaenggin Ttungdwaeji Cheongdang Branch!

Location and parking at Motsaenggin Ttungdwaeji Cheongdang Branch

• Address: 39 Cheongsu9-ro, Dongnam-gu, Cheonan, Chungnam
• Hours: Daily 11:30–24:00 (last order 23:00)
• Note: Cheonan Sarang Card accepted!

The restaurant is right in front of the public parking lot next to Hanaro Mart in Cheongdang-dong, so it was easy to find.

You can park in the nearby public lot, but we parked in the temporary lot right in front instead.

We visited in the early evening and there were already diners inside, which really confirmed how popular this Cheongdang-dong spot is.

What's the atmosphere like inside?

The interior is spacious and clean, and I liked how there was plenty of room between tables, giving it an open feel.

My husband said barbecue places with this kind of old-school vibe are usually the good ones.

On one wall there was a guide showing the owner's recommended way to make a wrap, so I thought I'd definitely have to try eating it that way!

Side dishes and the self-serve bar

As soon as we sat down, the side dishes came out right away — a surprisingly generous spread for a barbecue place.

And if you need more, there's a self-serve bar where you can freely help yourself to extra side dishes.

There's also kimchi, pa-kimchi (green onion kimchi), and garlic that aren't part of the self-serve bar — good to know!

And the side dishes we got earlier weren't even everything — corn mayo, fried egg, and even doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew) came out too. (I was touched by the owner's generosity)

The menu lineup

The menu ranges from raw pork ribs and Motttung beef short ribs (both require 2+ servings) to raw samgyeopsal, hangjeongsal (pork jowl), ppolsal, kkodeulsal, makchang (pork intestines), and chadolbagi (beef brisket) — everything looked delicious, which made it hard to decide!

And the side menu was so extensive it had basically everything: kimchi jjigae, rice, steamed egg, mul-naengmyeon, bibim-naengmyeon (cold noodles), bibim-guksu, ramyeon, bibimmyeon, somyeon, doenjang sulbap, soy-sauce egg rice, fried egg, corn mayo, flying fish roe rice ball, nurungji (scorched rice), doenjang jjigae, plus drinks and alcohol!

Grilling the samgyeopsal and kkodeulsal

Since I wanted to try each cut of pork, we ordered samgyeopsal, kkodeulsal, and ppolsal, and my husband — who insisted meat has to be eaten with rice — also ordered rice and a Tarms Zero drink!

Not long after we ordered, the owner came right over and put the samgyeopsal and cheonsang mokssal on the grill for us, and the sizzling sound was so satisfying! (Doesn't it look amazing too?)

Usually at barbecue places the grill fire can be weak and the meat doesn't cook right away, but here the fire was strong and I could really feel the meat cooking fast 😊

Above all, the color of the meat as it cooked was just... I can't even describe it, it looked so good I was already excited.

My husband said he'd show me what crispy-outside-juicy-inside really means, and grilled the first side crispy — the golden brown meat looked so good it made my mouth water.

Samgyeopsal on the left, cheonsang mokssal (kkodeulsal) on the right — both looked so good I couldn't decide which to try first.

The wrap method the owner taught us

While we were still deciding, the owner picked up two pieces of samgyeopsal, dipped them generously in the soy sauce, and made us a wrap.

He also lightly grilled some seaweed for us, which was great because it showed us exactly how to eat it for the best flavor.

This is the tasty wrap method — grilled seaweed topped with meat and pa-jeori (green onion salad).

We tried eating it the first and second ways the owner showed us, together with my husband... wow... this is actually really good??

The samgyeopsal in particular melted the moment it hit my mouth, full of juice and with great texture — and my husband said the kkodeulsal was truly delicious.

What does ppolsal taste like?

Just as we were finishing up the samgyeopsal and cheonsang mokssal, the ppolsal came out right away.

As the ppolsal started cooking, it felt similar to galmaegisal (skirt meat) — my husband said this cut is a real delicacy you have to try!

The fire was so strong that, no exaggeration, it cooked really fast, so we dug right in.

We liked wrapping it with pickled radish, and also added some of the pa-kimchi we grabbed from the self-serve bar for the last bite. It was so good, I'd give this Cheongdang-dong spot a full five stars!

If you join their event, they also give out drinks or dessert, which is worth knowing.

And I'd recommend trying all of the owner's top 5 recommended wrap flavors at least once!

Would we go back?

What I liked was being able to try different cuts of pork, not just samgyeopsal, plus the side dishes came out generously — it was really solid overall!

Motsaenggin Ttungdwaeji, a samgyeopsal spot in Cheongdang-dong, was generous with both meat and side dishes, and the owner's hospitality was excellent — it's a barbecue place we'd love to visit again!