Jongno Seoul Korean BBQ restaurant for pork neck: Tapgol Gongwon

On Friday evening, my boyfriend and I went to Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch for meat in Jongno 3-ga. This is an outdoor-table meat restaurant with no indoor seating! It is such a hot spot lately, and it was full of romance!!! The view was amazing, so I left superrr satisfied.

We grilled frozen pork belly and pork neck ourselves, then had beer, soybean paste stew, and kimchi fried rice too.

It was just the place for when you want to grill meat at an outdoor table in Jongno 3-ga on a nice-weather day haha.

Where is this outdoor meat restaurant right by Tapgol Park?

It is at 111 Supyo-ro, 1F, Jongno-gu, Seoul, about 166 m from Exit 5 of Jongno 3-ga Station, directly across from Tapgol Park's east gate. We walked from the station too, and got there in no time.

There is no parking, so public transportation is the easier option.

Outdoor tables with bamboo and soft lighting

🏮 Atmosphere

We went on Friday evening and there was a wait ahead of us, so we put our name down first. We wandered around nearby, and our turn came in about 15 minutes, so we got in sooner than expected. Maybe the turnover is quick because there is a time limit?!

Once we sat down, soft lights were glowing among the bamboo and green plants, and the atmosphere was lovely. It felt decorated with a little more mood than a typical pojangmacha-style outdoor table haha.

From frozen pork belly to pork neck and fried rice

• Tapgol Set – ₩55,000
• Naju Grade 1 flash-frozen duck roast – ₩18,000
• Grade 1 female pork flash-frozen pork belly – ₩18,000
• Grade 1 flash-frozen pork neck – ₩19,000
• Melt-in-your-mouth beef brisket – ₩20,000
• Savory kimchi fried rice – ₩6,000
• Beef brisket soybean paste stew – ₩7,000
• Pork kimchi stew – ₩9,000
• Steamed egg – ₩5,000

You order by calling a staff member over directly. What I picked: Grade 1 female pork flash-frozen pork belly, Grade 1 flash-frozen pork neck, beef brisket soybean paste stew, savory kimchi fried rice, and beer.

Frozen pork belly grilled with kimchi, bean sprouts, and bracken

As soon as we sat down, we put the frozen pork belly on the grill. Since you grill everything yourself here, we added kimchi, bracken, and bean sprouts to cook alongside it. The side dishes were more substantial than I expected too.

There were bracken, salted seafood, shredded radish, and more, so I tried each one with the meat. At first, I had the frozen pork belly with grilled kimchi and made a wrap too.

Bracken + pork belly + salted seafood: this ended up being my favorite combo! This was the tastiest one for me. Put frozen pork belly on grilled bracken and add just a little salted seafood for one bite! Oh... this is the best one, isn't it?!

I liked it after one bite, so I ate it in that combo almost the whole time after that haha. After the rich frozen pork belly came the lighter pork neck!

After eating a fair amount of frozen pork belly, we put the pork neck on the grill too. The pork belly was rich, while the neck was a little lighter, so they were nice to alternate.

In the middle, we spooned up some beef brisket soybean paste stew and took sips of beer too. Beer somehow tastes even better when you are grilling meat yourself outside haha. We finished heartily with kimchi fried rice topped with an egg.

At the end, we ordered kimchi fried rice. I thought we would stir-fry it on the grill ourselves, but they brought out finished fried rice separately.

And one egg right on top! I scooped up the egg with the kimchi fried rice, and it was great for finishing after the meat. I said I was full, but the fried rice still went down haha.

Frozen pork belly and beer facing Tapgol Park

What I remember most about Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch was the atmosphere of grilling meat ourselves outdoors.

My personal favorite was definitely the frozen pork belly with grilled bracken and salted seafood haha. We waited about 15 minutes, but because we wandered around nearby, we got in sooner than expected.

I think I would come back when I want frozen pork belly and a beer at an outdoor table in Jongno 3-ga on a nice-weather day?!