Jongno 3-ga Korean BBQ with outdoor AC and kimchi refills: Tapgol

Outdoor frozen pork belly near Jongno 3-ga Station: a weekday evening at Tapgol Gongwon

Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch is an outdoor frozen pork belly place you can walk to from Jongno 3-ga Station. On a Thursday evening, my husband and I moved over to Jongno 3-ga for dinner after seeing an exhibition in Dongdaemun!

The evenings have gotten cool lately, perfect weather for enjoying an outdoor patio (yajang) 🍂 We've walked the main Jongno 3-ga street so many times we were tired of it, so we were wandering around wondering where to eat when suddenly the smell of grilling meat pulled us in hahaha. We found an outdoor BBQ spot that matched the weather perfectly!!

We visited on a weekday evening so luckily we got seated with no wait, but apparently it's a hot spot lately so there might be a wait on weekends or holidays! It's also a great route if you see an exhibition in Dongdaemun and then grab dinner near Jongno 3-ga on Line 1, so here's my review of Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch.

Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch: location, hours and seating

• 📍 111 Supyo-ro, 1st floor, Jongno-gu, Seoul, South Korea
• ⏰ Daily 17:00–01:00
• 💺 Table seating
• 🅿️ No parking
• Group-friendly
• WiFi available

The restrooms are separated for men and women!

Outdoors but air conditioned? The open-air setup at Tapgol Gongwon

Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch has no indoor seating — it's a true outdoor-only patio! The atmosphere is seriously wild, right? hahahaha I'm totally an atmosphere person so I love this kind of outdoor patio vibe, and this place really hit my taste.

I worried it might be hot since it's outdoors, but no need to worry at all! Even though it's outside, the air conditioning is blasting so strong that sitting there you actually think 'wait, isn't it cold?'

A cool evening + outdoor patio + BBQ combo is irresistible. But what's really surprising is — why isn't this place more well known yet? Outdoor patios like this deserve to be shouted about!! hahaha If you love outdoor patio dining in this kind of weather, you have to check this place out.

What we ordered: 3 servings of frozen pork belly and 3 bottles of soju

🧾 Frozen pork belly x3 / Soju x3

The free side dishes — green onion kimchi is the surprise standout

The basic side dishes come out quite varied! Pepper, well-ripened kimchi, bean sprouts, radish salad, green onion kimchi, bracken fern, salted squid, plus wasabi, ssamjang (dipping sauce), chili peppers, and garlic — a solid spread.

For me, the green onion kimchi was genuinely a surprise standout hahaha. It was perfectly ripened, tangy and delicious! It tasted even better with the meat, so we ended up asking for a refill 🤣 If you like kimchi-type sides with your BBQ, definitely try the green onion kimchi.

What's in the basket beside the table

There's a basket set up next to each table! Inside are soju glasses, beer glasses, paper cups, chopsticks, spoons, and even wet wipes.

Having everything you need right there meant we didn't have to ask staff for each thing one by one — so convenient! Especially at an outdoor patio where you need to juggle a lot of stuff, it was nice having everything neatly set up right next to the table.

The self-serve side dish bar

If you run out of any basic side dish while eating, you just grab more yourself from the self-serve bar! No need to feel awkward about it — you can refill as much as you want, comfortably, haha. Side dishes disappear fast when you're eating BBQ outdoors, so having a self-serve bar was really convenient.

How to grill frozen pork belly and wrap it in bracken fern

The frozen pork belly at Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch is sliced thin, so it cooks fast. We laid it on the grill, flipped it evenly, and sprinkled on some pepper as it cooked haha.

Watching the pork belly turn golden brown and delicious, there was no way we could skip soju hahaha. So we immediately ordered another bottle. Frozen pork belly with soju at an outdoor patio — truly irresistible!

This time we tried something a little special — a bracken fern wrap! Since the bracken fern came already blanched, we skipped grilling it and just wrapped it straight with the pork belly. The soft texture of the fern combined with the pork belly worked surprisingly well together!

Why Tapgol Gongwon's outdoor tables are better after dark

Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch sits right across from Tapgol Park's east gate, so it wasn't hard to find at all! Visiting in the evening especially, the surrounding atmosphere added to it and the outdoor patio vibe really came alive hahaha.

It seems like a lot of people still don't know about this new BBQ spot, so if you find a place like this and bring your girlfriend, you're bound to get some points for having good taste 🤭❤️

Is Tapgol Gongwon Jongno 3-ga Branch worth a visit?

• ✅ A genuine outdoor patio vibe right in front of Tapgol Park — the atmosphere is wild
• ✅ A perfect spot for frozen pork belly and soju on a cool evening
• ✅ The meat is clean with no off smell, even frozen