Busan Korean BBQ: green tea pork belly at Jirisan Kkul Tong Galbi

The atmosphere at Jirisan Kkul Tong Galbi near Yangjeong Station

This is Jirisan Kkul Tong Galbi Busan Yangjeong Branch in Yangjeong-dong, Busanjin-gu, Busan.

It is near Yangjeong Station, prominently located in the middle corner of an alley.

You can check the menu and prices by the entrance, which makes it easy to roughly decide what to order before going in.

Inside, there was also an open-air space with the feel of a pocha-style outdoor dining area. The overall layout was nice and relaxed for a meal, so it felt like an easy place to visit with friends or family.

The tables had that classic round Korean barbecue restaurant style, but the window-side seating opened straight to the outdoors, so there was hardly any meat smell. There were sofa seats farther inside too, making it a nice place to bring children.

I wondered, “Why Jirisan Kkul Tong Galbi?” Apparently, the pork galbi marinade is made with native honey from Jirisan. I had huge expectations ⸜( ◜࿁◝ )⸝

The prices are such a bargain, right!! 🤍 Since they were so good, I ordered a whole bunch of different things.

• Green tea pork belly ₩4,900 × 3
• Honey-marinated galbi ₩3,900 × 3
• Jar Jjapagetti ₩4,900
• Bibim naengmyeon ₩4,900

Self-serve banchan and green tea pork belly

The banchan (Korean side dishes) came out first, like this. There were shredded scallions, pickled onions, white kimchi, pickled radish wraps, special soy sauce, Maldon salt, ssamjang, and garlic. Of course, I could have as much as I wanted from the self-serve bar, and I immediately helped myself to corn salad and green onion kimchi too.

Green tea pork belly dusted with green tea powder

Green tea pork belly, 300g. Just as the name suggests, it arrived with a light dusting of green tea powder over the meat, so it looked a little different from ordinary samgyeopsal (pork belly) from the start.

Once it hit the grill, that nutty pork-belly aroma rose up, while the green tea powder sizzled over the surface ꯁ.̮ꯁ

Doesn't it look ridiculously delicious? The green tea powder sizzled as the surface browned beautifully and turned glossy. Snip, snip, cutting the meat too~

I cooked it to a nice golden brown and tried it. The lean-to-fat ratio was just right, and the green tea removed the characteristic porky smell, so it was sooo good.

What I especially found delicious was the wonderfully chewy texture of the fat!!

Personally, the green tea aroma did not stand out; it just slightly cut the richness of the pork belly, so the amount was perfect. The fat was not the kind that feels greasy. It developed a little bounce as it browned on the grill, becoming more and more nutty with every chew ( ¤̴̶̷̤́ ‧̫̮ ¤̴̶̷̤̀ )

Honey-marinated galbi served in a jar

Marinated galbi, 300g. True to its name, it came in a jar, and there was quite a generous amount. Doesn't the meat look really good too? It looked tender, with the marinade nicely soaked in.

As the marinated galbi cooked on the grill, the sauce coated the surface with a glossy sheen that looked so appetizing.

Using advanced skills, I grilled it well without burning it~ One bite and the meat was incredibly tender; sweet and savory, it was a total rice thief.

Above all, considering the ₩3,900 price, it was such a good menu item. This special soy sauce was sweet too, and dipping the meat deeply into it made for amazing sweet-salty flavor 🫢

The grain and knife cuts were so nicely done, and it was pure juicy tenderness 🥹

Bibim naengmyeon and jar Jjapagetti sides

Bibim naengmyeon to refresh the palate with tangy spice

Bibim naengmyeon (₩4,900). It arrived topped with red seasoning, and the color alone got my appetite going.

Eating it with the meat made a fantastic combination: the sweetness of the marinated galbi with the tangy, spicy bibim naengmyeon. Its sourness refreshed my palate, so I highly recommend it as a side!!

Jar Jjapagetti with rice cakes

Jar Jjapagetti (₩4,900). You cannot skip Jjapagetti while eating meat, so I ordered the jar Jjapagetti too. Unlike regular Jjapagetti, it came in a jar-shaped bowl, which made it fun to look at as well.

It was lightly sprinkled with scallions and chili powder, and the rice cakes mixed in made it more filling than I expected. The chewy rice cakes were a nice addition to the salty-sweet black-bean sauce, making it even better than noodles alone.

You know you have to eat it with the green onion kimchi from the self-serve bar, right? The pungent, refreshing flavor of the kimchi balanced Jjapagetti's deep, rich taste—one bite, then a piece of kimchi, and it becomes a magical combination you cannot stop eating ✨👍

This time, I tried everything from green tea pork belly and marinated galbi to bibim naengmyeon and jar Jjapagetti. Rather than eating a lot of just one dish, the low prices made it so satisfying to order little portions of several things and sample them all.

• Affordable prices from meat dishes to sides
• The green tea pork belly's chewy fat texture was memorable
• The marinated galbi was tender and sweet, so highly recommended
• A great-value Yangjeong Station restaurant for trying a range of dishes

Overall, this was a place where I could enjoy everything from meat to meal dishes without worrying about the price. Since all the meat is sold at low prices per 100g, it is easy to order small portions of several kinds, and even the meal dishes are ₩4,900, which made the overall pricing so affordable. If you are looking for a great-value restaurant near Yangjeong Station and want a generous spread of different meats, naengmyeon, and Jjapagetti, I highly, highly recommend it ✨🤍👍