What to order
Start with the Five-Layer Belly, then the Flower Belly straight off the grill. Whatever you do, save room for the ₩3,000 ghee-butter fried rice — and outside drinks are genuinely welcome here.
Vincent · South Korea
The story
Heukdon Sokcho Gogi opened on April 18, 2024, just off the Sokcho Megabox parking entrance. The couple behind it did not come from an ordinary restaurant path: he taught taekwondo at university, while she worked as a scuba-diving instructor and lectured on personal branding at Catholic Kwandong University. They met through a professor in Gangneung, then eventually built this small pork grill around one ingredient they wanted Sokcho visitors to understand — Jeju Nanchuk Matdon.
“My standard is simple: find truly good ingredients and serve them honestly to every guest.”
Owner, Heukdon Sokcho Gogi
What they stand for
Their rule is simple: find better ingredients and put them on the table honestly. The kimchi, gochugaru, rice, and as many vegetables as possible are domestic. They avoid shortcut seasonings like glacial acetic acid in their pickles, using vinegar for house-made jangajji instead. In summer, the ssam greens come from their own small field in Jungdomun; in winter, they source greens from growers they trust. Even the fried rice gets a small upgrade: house-made ghee butter, added at the end so the rice tastes richer without feeling heavy.
Behind the signature
Nanchuk Matdon is a Jeju native-based black pork breed developed through Korea's national livestock research work. The owners explain that it is raised by only six farms, managed through Jeju Dream Pork, and takes far longer to reach market than ordinary pork. They are proud of its clear, clean-tasting fat: when the pork renders on the grill, the lard looks almost transparent before it cools. The owners also point to a January 2026 MBC pork blind test where Nanchuk Matdon placed first — a reminder that this is not just another black-pork label.
Local tip
The restaurant sits by the entrance to the Sokcho Megabox parking lot on Seonsaro 5-gil, a quiet block behind the busier lake and Expo Park area. It is a practical dinner stop after Cheongchoho Lake, Expo Lawn Square, or a movie. If your group is split between seafood and meat, the owners explicitly welcome outside sashimi — bring it in, order pork, and make the table your own Sokcho-style hideout.
Seasonal note
From summer into late October, the ssam greens may come from the owners' Jungdomun field. In colder months, the greens switch to trusted suppliers. Lunch specials are separate from the after-meal noodle prices, so check whether you are ordering a lunch plate or a side noodle.
For travelers
Only a few foreign guests have found the place so far, but one visit stayed with the owners: the guest ordered one portion, communicated mostly by gestures, tried every banchan, and left nothing behind. They even wrapped the pork in bread they had brought with them. The owners laughed about it afterward — not because it was wrong, but because this is exactly the kind of table they want: curious, relaxed, and not afraid to eat the meal their own way.
