Kid-friendly pork belly restaurant in Yeosu Hakdong: Gasyukgo Hakdong

Among the pork belly restaurants in Busam-dong, Hakdong, Yeosu, this one felt clean and comfortable — and because they grill your meat for you, the whole meal was easy.

Yeosu is famous for gat kimchi (mustard leaf kimchi) as a local specialty, so wouldn't a Yeosu BBQ restaurant serve it too? That question sent me searching, and it led me to Gasyukgo Hakdong (여수갓육고 학동점), where I ate very well.

Where is Gasyukgo Hakdong in Yeosu, and what is the restaurant like?

Gasyukgo Hakdong sits right on the corner of the main road through Busam (Hakdong), 59 Seonso-ro, Yeosu-si, Jeollanam-do — easy to spot and pleasant inside. You don't need to wander down any side alleys to find it, which makes it very accessible.

It's right at the entrance of the alley, so it was easy to find. Even within Busam, it's positioned on the main road, so you don't need to weave through back streets to reach it.

Even though I visited after the main peak hours, plenty of people were still coming in. Watching groups pick it as their first stop before drinks with friends made me want to make it my own 'first-round' spot too.

The grills are all clustered on one side, which made for a nicely designed table layout. I visited with a reservation, but even for walk-ins, I'd recommend booking through Naver first — apparently the Naver event is worth it, with a gift of gat kimchi jjigae or gat kimchi!

Why didn't I know about this sooner? Booking through Naver gets you a coupon — and it's genuinely more than a drink, it's a side dish and kimchi gift, so everyone should grab one.

What is on the menu at Gasyukgo Hakdong?

Overall, prices at Gasyukgo Hakdong aren't steep, which makes it a good spot for a group dinner too. Rather than spreading across many cuts, the menu focuses tightly on its signature items.

Rather than offering a wide range of cuts, they focus on the dishes they do best. True to the name 'Yeosu Gasyukgo' (gat + gogi, meaning mustard leaf + meat), the menu clearly centers on gat and meat.

Side dishes at Gasyukgo Hakdong: gat water kimchi and three sauces

The basic table setting at Gasyukgo Hakdong felt notably clean and considered. It comes with gat mul kimchi (mustard leaf water kimchi), gat kimchi, ssam-mu (pickled radish), scallion salad, and three sauces — wasabi, toha-jeot (tiny shrimp salted sauce), and shiitake-wasabi pickle.

Personally, I liked this lineup a lot. Instead of a pile of unnecessary side dishes, it was a set of sauces that let you focus on the meat itself.

Among Yeosu pork belly restaurants that serve gat kimchi, I doubt there's another with a gat mul kimchi this clean. You can also enjoy it the classic way — with ssam-mu and scallion salad alongside your meat.

Wasabi, toha-jeot, and shiitake-wasabi pickle — you could call these the new rising-star sauces for grilled meat these days, and all three paired beautifully.

A fluffy steamed egg in a stone pot came out as a free side, which made dining with a child even easier. It stayed fluffy and never got too salty to the last bite — I could see ordering it again on its own.

Lots of people grill kimchi right on the main grill, but here there's a separate dedicated plate on the side of the grill for grilling various kimchi without burning it — which made it taste even better. I finished every last bite.

How does the 500g half platter taste — samgyeopsal, yukhyangsal, mokssal?

My order that day was the Gasyukgo half-order mixed pork (samgyeopsal, yukhyangsal, mokssal) at 500g, plus chapaghetti, doenjang sul-bap, Gasyukgo fried rice, and two canned drinks. The platter comes as a full-order or half-order combo, and the half-order was plenty for two people.

The meat arrives neatly arranged on a plate shaped like a turtle ship, set right on the table — but since staff grill it for you, we just got to admire it with our eyes first.

At Gasyukgo Yeosu, staff grill the meat themselves, so I never had to touch the tongs. They grill it precisely but also know when to step back and give you space, so even introverted diners can relax and enjoy the meal.

I asked about the yukhyangsal cut, curious what it was, and learned it's close to the skirt steak area. The texture resembled beef, which many diners would likely prefer.

They kept up that same precision right through to the end, placing each cut onto our plates one at a time and explaining exactly which part it was and which sauce paired best — it felt like an omakase experience.

Not a hint of smoke the entire time, and they even tidied up neatly at the end. Feeling this looked-after in the Busam area was genuinely rare, and it put me in a good mood before I'd even eaten.

Salt pairs best with the yukhyangsal, wasabi with the samgyeopsal, and shiitake-wasabi pickle with the mokssal.

True to a restaurant known for its gat kimchi, it goes great with the meat too — I even used the gat kimchi like a wrap. Honestly, I barely touched the lettuce wraps after that.

Eating with kids: jjapaghetti made without chili flakes

The chapaghetti at Gasyukgo Hakdong normally comes with chili flakes, but since it was for my child, I asked them to leave it out. The noodles were cooked perfectly, not mushy, with the sauce well absorbed — good enough that my 5-year-old finished the whole bowl.

Gasyukgo fried rice, doenjang sul-bap and the free corn ice cream

The dessert fried rice at Gasyukgo comes in a single serving. You don't need to order two or more portions — one is available on its own, though keep in mind the portion is pretty generous.

They stir-fry it thoroughly, but the finishing touch is really what makes it shine.

With a generous amount of dried seaweed flakes and mayo sauce, every bite had that nutty seaweed flavor plus a crispy texture from being pressed down and browned on the grill like a crust.

If you're a fan of doenjang sul-bap (soybean paste rice soup), you have to order it. Made with a clam and blue crab base, the broth had a spicy kick that stayed clean and savory rather than heavy. I'd come mainly for the meat and fried rice, but this was good enough that I think it could sell as a standalone doenjang jjigae.

On your way out, be sure to grab an ice cream — they hand out free corn ice cream, and the corn flavor is rich enough to be a nice palate cleanser.

Gasyukgo Hakdong hours, address and visit info

• Name: Gasyukgo Hakdong
• Address: 59 Seonso-ro, Yeosu-si, Jeollanam-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 17:00–23:00 (last order 22:30)
• Other: Reservations, groups, pets welcome, kid seating, regional currency accepted