Cheongju pork belly BBQ: 750g platter 63,000 won at Baeksan Hwarro

Songjeol-dong restaurant in Cheongju: top-grade dry-aged pork belly at Baeksan Hwarro Techno Polis Songjeol Branch

Today I'm sharing my review of Baeksan Hwarro Techno Polis Songjeol Branch, where the Cheongju dry-aged pork belly is delicious and even the side dishes and stew are made with care. I took a weekday off and figured since I was out anyway, I should eat something good too.

The biggest reason I picked this place — besides the taste — is that it has its own parking lot! It's surprisingly hard to find a BBQ restaurant where you don't have to worry about parking, but here you really don't have to. Haha.

Baeksan Hwarro Songjeol Branch: hours, location and what it serves

Is there parking at Baeksan Hwarro?

Baeksan Hwarro Techno Polis Songjeol Branch has its own parking lot right next to the restaurant with room for up to 14 cars. If it's full, you can use the Gangseo 2-dong Community Center parking lot, a 5-minute walk away, for free after 6 PM.

Inside Baeksan Hwarro: atmosphere and seating for groups

Inside, Baeksan Hwarro has tables laid out generously as you'd expect from a BBQ restaurant, making it a good spot for both family visits and group gatherings. From what I found, it can seat from 6 people up to 40, and up to 56 if the larger spaces are combined — sounds like a solid option for a work dinner too.

We arrived around 1:30 PM only to find out that day the restaurant, due to internal circumstances, was opening at 2:30 PM instead. Apparently it was noted on Naver Maps, but when I checked a week earlier I only looked at the usual opening hours and had no idea. Haha.

It could have been an awkward moment, but the owner came out first and tactfully explained the situation, then made sure we could eat right away. An owner who stays kind even in a situation like this — isn't that someone you can trust?

They use charcoal to grill the meat, so even on the grill plate you could catch a faint charcoal aroma rising up.

There's storage space under the chairs, and baby chairs are available too.

Menu and prices at Baeksan Hwarro in Songjeol-dong

Looking at the menu, there was a wide range of options from single cuts to mixed platters.

True to being a meat restaurant in Songjeol-dong, Cheongju, Baeksan Hwarro doesn't use regular chilled meat — instead, they source pork directly under contract with pig farms. It's dry-aged for 48 to 72 hours, which apparently makes the meat more tender and deepens its flavor. Does aged meat really make that much of a difference? Having tasted it, the juiciness was definitely different.

What comes in the 750g big mixed platter at Baeksan Hwarro

We came as a family of four and ordered the big mixed platter. It's made up of scored pork jowl, salt-grilled pork, pork belly, pork neck, and scored pork rind, totaling 750g for ₩63,000. We also ordered 3 extra bowls of rice.

Are side dishes refillable at Baeksan Hwarro?

The side dishes at Baeksan Hwarro are tasty one by one and there's really a wide variety. Lettuce wraps can be refilled at the self-serve zone, and side dishes get refilled too if you ask.

How does the big mixed platter taste?

The meat came out plated together all at once, except for the pork rind, and the owner personally set it on the charcoal grill. The scored pork jowl had cuts running through it so more surface touched the grill, cooking golden brown quickly, with juices bursting out more and more the longer you chewed.

They even tell you the weight of the meat like this.

Originally, the owner used to grill the meat for customers directly, but now it's changed to a system where customers grill it themselves — in exchange, they give you more meat. Maybe because of the aging process, the texture was noticeably tender, savory, and free of any gamey smell.

The pork jowl was chewy yet not too fatty, so it never felt greasy and I kept enjoying it all the way through.

On top of that, a subtle charcoal aroma soaked in, which felt like it brought the flavor even further to life.

The salt-grilled pork was clean-tasting with a slight chewiness, so even just dipped in salt you could really taste the meat's natural flavor.

The pork belly and pork neck had that solid, classic flavor — the kind that just keeps disappearing into your mouth!!

Scored pork rind: the cut worth ordering

After we finished the meat, we asked for scored pork rind and they cleaned the grill right at the table and put it on.

Since it's a soy-sauce-based marinade, they told us to keep flipping it so it wouldn't burn.

The marinade soaked in nicely, giving it a chewy, sweet-and-salty flavor that kept me reaching for more.

We also dipped it into the soybean powder that came alongside.

Final verdict on Baeksan Hwarro

Meat dry-aged for 48 to 72 hours, plus the aroma of the charcoal grill on top — the flavor was clearly different from a typical pork belly restaurant. It was great being able to try so many different cuts in one sitting, from scored pork jowl to pork jowl to salt-grilled pork.

Is Baeksan Hwarro good for a family dinner?

The 750g big mixed platter at Baeksan Hwarro was plenty to fill up 4 people comfortably. We'd originally thought about having naengmyeon (cold noodles) for dessert, but we were too full and gave up on it.

If you're trying to figure out a spot for a family dinner, a work dinner, or a group gathering, I'd recommend Baeksan Hwarro Techno Polis Songjeol Branch. Worth keeping in mind if you're looking for a pork belly restaurant with its own parking lot.