Late-night 10pm wait for pork belly in Jongno3-ga: Cham Dwaejitgan
In short
Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is a samgyeopsal (pork belly) restaurant on the first floor of the CGV Piccadilly building at Jongno3-ga Station in Jongno, Seoul. Even arriving after 10pm there was a wait, and once seated the side dishes were out with minari and kimchi already grilling, while staff cooked the Boseong Nokdon pork belly from start to finish. The meal ended with rice stirred into the doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew), at a place still full late at night.
Good to know
- Address
- Unit 1-89, 1st floor, Piccadilly CGV Theater, 1 Donhwamun-ro 5ga-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul
- Hours
- Daily 12:00–23:00
- What we ordered
- Boseong Nokdon cham samgyeopsal (pork belly), doenjang jjigae to finish
- Vegetable sides
- All vegetable side dishes are unlimited refills
- Parking
- Tucked inside an alley, so parking is difficult
- Size
- Large space that suits group dinners and gatherings; reservations recommended
- Directions
- Jongno3-ga Station Exit 2 or 2-1, opposite Tom N Toms
as written by the visitor on Sep 5, 2026
Arriving at Cham Dwaejitgan in Jongno3-ga at 10pm
Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is a pork belly restaurant on the first floor of CGV Piccadilly near Jongno3-ga Station, open daily from 12:00 to 23:00. I suddenly craved meat late at night. (We've all been there, right? haha)
I found this Jongno3-ga pork belly spot after 10pm, and there was still a wait even at that hour — Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch. I felt like I'd found the right place.
Boseong Nokdon pork belly with minari grilled for you
What I ordered at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch was the Boseong black pork true pork belly. After the wait, we got seated and — unbelievably — the side dishes were already set, and domestic minari (water dropwort) and kimchi were already sizzling on the heated grill. So worth the wait!
Then came our order of Boseong black pork true pork belly, served with thinly sliced potato, king oyster mushroom, and shishito peppers.
The staff grill everything for you. They were super friendly too, so it was easy to just relax and eat.
Why the soju bottle wears a milk thistle necklace
Tonight was a somaek (soju-beer mix) night. But the soju bottle was wearing a cute necklace — turns out it was a milk thistle liver supplement. My husband and I were both impressed. There's a reason this Jongno3-ga pork belly spot gets a wait.
The meat was also cut exactly to my taste, size-wise.
Beautifully grilled domestic Boseong black pork and domestic minari.
Six sauces and potato wraps set per person
Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch sets up wasabi mushroom sauce, wasabi, spicy sauce, salt, garlic, and ssamjang (seasoned soybean paste) per person, as shown above. So many dips to try, I got excited.
We enjoyed this Jongno3-ga pork belly spot in every way possible. (The spicy sauce was so my style...)
We also ate the potato and mushroom garnish.
The meat was so good it reminded us to make a wrap — throwing in that pickled garlic scape too, which was an unexpected delicacy.
Made a potato wrap right away, and the combo with the pickled garlic scapes was insane. So good, ugh.
Finishing with rice stirred into doenjang jjigae
I feel like pork belly pairs better with doenjang jjigae than kimchi jjigae. Not sure why, but doenjang jjigae just feels more fitting with meat somehow?
Even as a dessert dish, the doenjang jjigae came in a generous portion with substantial ingredients. I mixed in rice and filled up on a satisfying drinking-meal finish. Ah, so good.
Inside Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch
All the vegetable side dishes at Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch are free refills. But what we were given was already plenty, so we didn't ask for more.
The restaurant is genuinely spacious and comfortable, but it was so crowded I barely managed to take interior photos. It was clearly popular even late into the night — office workers on dinner outings, couples on dates, and a lot of foreign tourists too. Enjoy plenty of good food while you're in Korea...
The Boseong black pork meat fridge you see right when you walk in says a lot about how popular Cham Dwaejitgan is.
Self-serve items to grab right of the entrance
There's a corner of the restaurant stocked with these thoughtful little extras.
Kids' tableware, candy, aprons, plastic covers for storing your clothes, Wi-Fi info, dental floss, toothpicks, mouthwash, deodorizer, phone charging, and hair ties — all on the right side of the entrance, so be sure to grab what you need!
Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch menu and prices
Cham Dwaejitgan's menu board. A meal worth savoring. I want to try everything else on it too.
Walking to Cham Dwaejitgan from Jongno3-ga Station
Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch is on the first floor of the CGV Piccadilly theater, out Exit 2 or Exit 2-1 of Jongno3-ga Station. The building is huge, so make sure to come in through the outer alley. It's directly across from A Twosome Place.
Cham Dwaejitgan Jongno Main Branch was popular even late at night — a hot Jongno3-ga pork belly spot with plenty of foreign visitors too.
Good to know before visiting Cham Dwaejitgan
- Address: 1 Donhwamun-ro 5ga-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 1st floor of Piccadilly CGV Theater, Unit 1-89
- Hours: Daily 12:00–23:00
- Parking: located in an alley, so parking is difficult
- Scale: the restaurant is really spacious, great for group dinners or gatherings, but it's popular enough that a reservation is recommended
Where it is
1 Donhwamun-ro 5ga-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 1st floor of Piccadilly CGV Theater, Unit 1-89, South Korea서울특별시 종로구 돈화문로5가길 1 피카디리 cgv극장 1층 1-89호
