Charcoal black pork BBQ with radish salad refills: Nopo Dwaeji Aewol

While moving from Seogwipo, where we'd stayed two nights, toward western Jeju, we went looking for black pork near Gwakji Beach and ended up at Nopo Dwaeji Aewol. I figured the 600g geungogi (whole-cut meat) would be plenty when I ordered. Lately my first kid stops eating rice altogether once the meat is on the table. Even after eating that much, she wanted more, so we ended up adding pork neck too and left completely full.

Where is Nopo Dwaeji Aewol? A black pork restaurant near Gwakji Beach

Hours are 11:00–23:00, with last order at 22:00. There's free parking behind the building, and it's close to Gwakji Beach, so it's easy to fit into a nearby itinerary. The restaurant was also bigger than I expected.

This was the only table without customers, so here's a look at the dining room!

Black pork grilled over charcoal on a wire rack

The meat is grilled on a wire rack (seokswoe). Grilling on a pan versus grilling on a wire rack over charcoal really does taste different. The smoky flavor is unmistakably alive here.

The basic side dishes are ssamjang (dipping sauce), wasabi, a thinly sliced chili pickle-ish side, and a thin radish salad — all great with the meat. I used to avoid cheongyang chili peppers entirely, but somehow they've gotten so tasty lately. Even eating just the chili on its own was delicious. And the radish salad! It's sliced super thin, and it was so, so good that I refilled it three to four times.

It was great that you could easily grab more side dishes from the self-serve bar whenever you ran low. The side dishes were tasty enough that I kept going back for refills.

Aged black pork geungogi 600g: what you get

What we ordered first was the black pork geungogi 600g. It's aged black pork, made up of pork neck and pork belly.

Black pork geungogi 600g

I liked the thickness of the meat right away, and once it hit the charcoal, the aroma was incredible. The smoky scent wasn't just on the surface — it came through gently with every bite. That savory Jeju black pork flavor rising together with the smokiness! That's only possible grilling on a wire rack over real charcoal like this. Normally I love grilling kimchi alongside the meat, but at Nopo Dwaeji Aewol, that thought never even crossed my mind. Smoky flavor, radish salad, chili pickle — that was all we needed!

Above all, the tenderness was genuinely amazing. I thought the thick cuts might be tough, but biting in released juices and it went down smooth and soft. This is the place that taught me what real juiciness means.

It was so convenient having the staff grill every last piece to perfection for us. With thick cuts you never know if they're cooked through, so you end up flipping constantly and cutting into them to check — but with staff grilling for you, none of that worry.

Even eaten plain with a dab of wasabi, it was springy and full of juice — so good.

The fattier cuts dipped in breadcrumb salt — so good!

And dipped in myeoljeot (fermented anchovy sauce), it gains extra savory depth — incredibly good. The kids ate really well too. Usually the pace slows down midway through a meat meal, but not this time.

Extra pork neck at Nopo Dwaeji Aewol, and one gripe about order sizes

My first kid was so bummed we didn't have more that we ended up ordering extra pork neck.

Extra pork neck 400g

According to the menu, the extra pork neck comes at 400g for ₩48,000. Even after eating quite a lot of meat already, we still managed to finish the pork neck. That said, it would have been nice if smaller portion additions were an option.

How can such thick meat be this soft instead of dry? With the smoky flavor added on top, the pork neck really impressed me too. Pairing it with radish salad refreshes your palate so you're ready for the next bite. This was genuinely so good!!!!

Aged black pork kimchi jjigae to finish

We ordered the kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew) from the start too.

Aged black pork kimchi jjigae

Taking a spoonful of the broth between bites of meat — what a combo. The pork in the stew, in particular, was way more tender than expected. Stew meat can sometimes be tough, but here it was genuinely enjoyable to eat on its own.

Piling the kimchi and broth on top of rice made a bowl disappear in no time. If you're looking for black pork near Gwakji Beach and love a deep smoky flavor, I recommend Nopo Dwaeji Aewol. The meat was full of smokiness and, despite being thick, still tender. Even the pork in the kimchi jjigae was tender, so we kept saying how good it was through the whole meal. Honestly, paying the bill, I did think — maybe I should've given the kids a snack beforehand..... haha, oops.