Konkuk Univ. Korean BBQ with free corkage: Hwayangri Jeongyuk Sikdang

What's new at Hwayangri Jeongyuk Sikdang on a return visit

Hwayangri Jeongyuk Sikdang (화양리정육식당) is a corkage-free Korean BBQ restaurant on Gunja-ro in Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, near Konkuk University. I hadn't been to the Konkuk area in a while, so I stopped by this spot my boyfriend loves. He'd eaten here with friends and insisted on bringing me along — I even wrote a self-funded blog post about it a few years back.

Going back after all this time, I noticed quite a few things had changed. Here's my updated review of the main branch.

Inside Hwayangri Jeongyuk Sikdang: the meat fridge and drinks shelf

Right when you walk into Hwayangri Jeongyuk Sikdang, there's a space where you can pick your own meat. Every cut from pork to Korean beef (hanwoo) is laid out in abundance.

Right next to it, they also sell a variety of wine, champagne, and other drinks. Nice to be able to pick what to drink with your meat right there in-store.

Going further inside leads to the seating area.

I visited before the weekday dinner rush, and quite a few tables already had people who'd brought their own drinks. Being corkage-free, this really does seem like a great spot for wine and champagne lovers to gather!

Since I'd booked through Naver Reservations, they even had a table name card set up for us — made me feel like a VIP haha.

Menu and prices: no table charge, no corkage fee

At Hwayangri Jeongyuk Sikdang, the table charge and corkage are both free! They have every cut ready, from pork to Korean beef.

There used to be green onion kimchi, but that's disappeared since my last visit. Still, plenty of side dishes to go with the meat, and when I asked, they brought out wasabi and lettuce wraps separately.

Even the charcoal looks good~

Why the grill changed to a bong-seokswoe rod grill

The grill itself was different from my last visit — now it's a bong-seokswoe (rod-style grill). They coated it once with a swipe of pork fat first. They explained that the intense heat of the rod grill combined with the radiant heat from real charcoal cooks the meat fast, cutting down moisture loss so the meat tastes even better!

Bong-seokswoe grilled pork platter, 54,000 won

The bong-seokswoe grilled pork platter I ordered at Hwayangri Jeongyuk Sikdang costs ₩54,000. That color on the meat is insane. This cut still had the skin on, like samgyeopsal (pork belly), which made me like it even more. Mushrooms and kkwarigochu (shishito-style peppers) came along too, so I could grill them alongside the meat.

Does the staff grill the meat for you?

One more thing that changed since my last visit: a staff member grilled the meat for us directly. Grilling service, now available!!!! From what I remember, there was no grilling service before. This time, they grilled everything perfectly.

They browned it just right, so I trusted them completely and let them handle it. Professionals really are different haha.

The pork, browned right down to the skin — one bite and the outside was chewy while the inside stayed juicy. The skin especially was crispy-chewy, exactly my style.

They set the finished pieces off to one side, so we could keep eating comfortably.

I tried it with onion, garlic-marinated saeujeot (salted shrimp), myeoljeot (salted anchovy), and more, but personally I liked it best dipped in plain salt or wasabi. The meat itself was so good that I ended up preferring it without any extras — the meat's own flavor won out!

Side orders: bibim naengmyeon, doenjang sulbap and yukhoe

Bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles), ₩7,000. I remembered it being delicious before, so I ordered it again this time too. The seasoning sauce was spot-on, with a nutty sesame oil aroma, and it paired perfectly with the meat.

Doenjang sulbap (soybean paste rice), ₩10,000. Every table around us had ordered it, so we did too. It came loaded with tofu and meat, but the best part was that it wasn't salty. The reason I usually prefer doenjang jjigae over doenjang sulbap at Korean BBQ places is that the rice version tends to be too salty. This one had deep flavor without being salty, so I could fill up on rice after the meat without any regrets.

Yukhoe (Korean beef tartare), 100g for ₩15,000. The seasoning was loaded with garlic, exactly the style you want as a drinking snack! I love yukhoe, and it disappeared in just a few bites — I wished I'd ordered 200g instead! A satisfying way to finish the meal~

Is Hwayangri Jeongyuk Sikdang worth it? Final verdict

Overall, the meat quality was great, and having staff grill it for us made the whole meal so easy — a solid restaurant in Gwangjin. Being a corkage-free Korean BBQ spot near Konkuk University, it's great for enjoying wine or champagne, and works well for dates or group gatherings too. Even after all this time, it was still delicious, so next time I want to try other cuts. Hwayangri Jeongyuk Sikdang — yummy~