Jeju black pork and yeolmu noodles for a first meal: Pork80

This time, the timing finally lined up with my friends after ages, so we went on a trip to Jeju! Haha

Why we went looking for black pork as our first meal in Jeju

What is the very first thing you have to eat the moment you arrive in Jeju? Jeju black pork, of course! Haha We rented a car at the airport and looked for a black pork place nearby that we could go to right away, and that is how I found Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch (포크80 제주공항점).

They serve Nanchukmatdon, a native Jeju black pork, and it looked perfect for our first meal because it is close to the airport and offers parking support. Honestly, there are so many good places to eat in Jeju that I searched forever trying to decide where to go. But since our plan was to pick up a rental car and head out as soon as we landed, location and parking were the biggest things for us.

I have only been driving for a year, so I am still not totally comfortable behind the wheelㅠㅠ Starting a trip somewhere with difficult parking just feels stressful, you know? But Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch was near the airport and offered parking support, so it felt like a total ray of lightㅠㅠ

The route there was not difficult either, so even a beginner driver like me could get there without feeling pressured!! Haha

Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch location and parking

Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch is not far from Jeju Airport by car, so the location works nicely for your first day in Jeju or for a final meal before heading to the airport, haha. Parking is seriously important for rental-car travelers, and I liked that parking support was available here. I think people who are still not confident drivers like me would not need to worry too much about parking either, haha.

The restaurant atmosphere and Nanchukmatdon certification

I did not know this, but it is a restaurant Choi Ja had visited for filming? Haha

Pork80 is a certified restaurant selling Nanchukmatdon produced by member farms of the Nanchukmatdon Research Association!

What is Nanchukmatdon?

Nanchukmatdon is said to be a breed developed to improve commercial productivity while preserving the meat characteristics and black-coat genes of Jeju native black pigs, a genetic resource unique to Jeju.

The restaurant was generally very clean, and I liked how orderly it felt even though it is a barbecue place.

There was plenty of space between the tables, so it seemed great for a first travel meal with friends and fine for families too—and this is how the meat arrives, haha.

And what I really loved here was not just the food: the owner was so thoughtful and kind! Haha I will write more about that later, lol.

The menu and our order for three

There were three of us, and this is what we ordered!

• Nanchukmatdon platter (600g) ₩72,000
• Yeolmu-guksu (young radish green noodles) ₩8,000

Side dishes and the first-round grilling service

When you order Nanchukmatdon, they provide a grilling service and cook the first round for you! Thick black pork can turn tough or burn easily if you cook it wrong, so having it cooked deliciously from the start was so convenient as a diner.

The side dishes were served neatly overall, and I liked that they were well suited to eating with the pork. They even serve seasoned raw crab here!!

The seasoned raw crab was sweet and tasty, so I kept reaching for it even before the meat came out, lol. There were perilla-leaf pickles too, plus lots of different accompaniments for the meat, so we could eat right to the end without getting tired of it.

Nanchukmatdon 600g, from matcha salt to mel-jorim

Finally, the Nanchukmatdon arrived! Even the color of the meat looked clearly good! Haha

I thought, since we are in Jeju, we absolutely have to eat black pork—and Pork80 really felt like a proper Jeju native black pork barbecue experience.

A staff member cooked the first round, and because a professional was doing it, the doneness was absolutely spot-on. Nicely browned outside, yet still juicy inside?

There is a reason people say grilling is half the battle when it comes to meat, lol. I am really terrible at grilling meat. I am jealous of people who are good at it..... haha

The owner had written out detailed instructions on how to eat the black pork, so I tried it step by step like that too, haha.

First, I tried it dipped in matcha salt, and it was nice because I could really taste the nutty flavor of the meat itself. You know how truly delicious meat is good without a lot of seasoning? It was exactly that kind of feeling.

Next, I put fresh wasabi on it. It cut through the richness a little while bringing out the flavor of the meat even more, and that was delicious too ><

My favorite combination was topping the pork with grilled scallions and dipping it generously in mel-jorim, a braised anchovy sauce. I really recommend this combination!!!!

When people hear meljeot, they may worry it will taste a little fishy. I was a bit worried too because I remembered one I had somewhere else before that was a little fishy...? But the meljeot here was not fishy at all; it was nutty and full of savory umami.

I even tried the anchovies in it and was surprised by how nutty they were. My friend and I kept saying, “Oh? This is pretty good?” as we dipped more and more, haha.

Thoughtful service that stayed with me

The thing I absolutely wanted to write about at Pork80 was how kind the owner was, hahaha. One of my friends had long hair, and a strand had fallen into the sauce?? We had not even noticed, but the owner quietly brought over tissues and even a hair tie.

Then, when we were having trouble separating the perilla leaves, the owner separated them one by one so each of us could eat them easily. We had not even said we were hot, but they quietly turned on a fan too... Is that not seriously top-tier thoughtfulnessㅠㅠ

It seemed like the grilling service was normally only for the first round, but I slightly burned the meat while cooking the second round, lol. We were murmuring among ourselves that we had messed it up, and the owner quietly came over, cut the meat for us, and grilled it deliciously again. Pork80 really does everything—delicious food and kind service.... A place like this is bound to stay in your memory for a long time!!!

Yeolmu-guksu with the black pork

As we ate the meat, we started craving something refreshing, so we ordered yeolmu-guksu! Taking a bite of it after the pork felt like it completely reset my palate.

It was tangy and cool, so it was perfect alongside the black pork.

I put a little yeolmu-guksu on a piece of pork and ate them together, and that combination was so good too. It just kept going down with no chance to feel too rich, lol.

Meat alone can feel a little heavy, but the yeolmu-guksu balanced it out in between, and I thought, wow, we really did well ordering this.

These things are subtly important, right? They even had mouthwash ready in the restroom!! From the moment we started eating, I had thought the owner was really thoughtful, haha. You could feel that they cared about even small details like this. Food matters, of course, but when these considerate touches are good too, it somehow makes the whole meal feel even more satisfying.

Free ice cream if you leave a Naver review! Haha They made sure to take care of dessert too!

Even the final parking registration was perfect! Haha

Things to know before visiting

There was not really anything that disappointed me, haha. Still, because it is near Jeju Airport, it may get busy depending on the time of day. If you are fitting it into your trip itinerary, I recommend reserving ahead or allowing a little extra time.

And while Nanchukmatdon is not especially cheap, it was a thoroughly satisfying choice if you want a proper first meal as soon as you arrive in Jeju.

Final thoughts on our first meal of the Jeju trip

I would recommend Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch to anyone who wants to eat Jeju black pork. It is close to the airport, making the route convenient, and the parking support made it easy for rental-car travelers too.

Most of all, the staff grilled the Nanchukmatdon themselves, so we could eat it at its best, and the combination of meljeot and grilled scallions was really delicious.

Personally, though, what stayed with me the longest was the owner’s thoughtfulness and kindness. We visited for our first meal of a Jeju trip with friends, and both the food and the mood were so good that it made the very start of the trip feel satisfying, haha.

A great black pork restaurant to eat at as soon as you arrive in Jeju! Pork80 Jeju Airport Branch had a wonderful combination of Nanchukmatdon, meljeot, yeolmu-guksu, and kind service, haha.