A New Korean Barbecue Spot From the Park’s BBQ Team Spotlights the Other White Meat

Park’s BBQ is undoubtedly a familiar name for those well-versed in LA’s Korean barbecue scene, celebrated for its high-end cuts of meat like prime beef short rib and wagyu brisket. The team behind the well-regarded restaurant opened a more casual, pork-focused restaurant called K-TEAM BBQ in February.

The idea for K-TEAM came about after Jenee Kim, the owner of Park’s BBQ, and Ryan Park, the restaurant’s director of operations, traveled to Seoul and experienced the popularity of naengdong samgyeopsal. Often shortened to just naengsam, the Korean barbecue trend focuses on frozen pork sliced thinly for optimal freshness. “We noticed that it was a big trend in Korea but hadn’t seen it in the Korean barbecue scene in LA,” says Park.

The preference for thin pork belly is a blast to the past for some Koreans. Today, almost every Korean barbecue spot serves thicker cuts of fresh pork belly but nearly all Korean barbecue restaurants — even those in South Korea — served frozen pork until the early 2000s.

At K-TEAM, which is located across the street from Park’s BBQ on Vermont Avenue, naengsam is the star. In addition to frozen pork belly, the restaurant also serves fresh cuts of pork including belly, collar, and jowl — everything is cooked tableside on a rectangular cast iron grill. The menu also offers three cuts of beef, including the same ribeye from Park’s BBQ, beef tongue, and brisket. None of the meats are marinated, but servers sprinkle black pepper onto the pork for an extra kick.

The accompaniments and array of sauces provided at K-TEAM are notable. “When people eat pork belly, they usually dip it in an oil-based sauce but we have special sauces inspired by what we saw in Korea,” says Park. A salted fermented shrimp and fermented pollock roe sauce give each bite a salty punch. That sauce and the house ssamjang — fermented bean sauce — are best enjoyed as spreads inside wraps using fresh lettuce or perilla leaves. Another unique accompaniment is the herbaceous minari grilled alongside the meat; pick up a bunch and combine it with the pork for a fragrant bite that contrasts with the fatty grilled meat.

K-TEAM does not offer any set menus or special combinations. The various types of meat are available a la carte and include banchan, a steamed egg, ssam, and bean paste stew. Kim says the stew has a stronger soybean flavor compared to the version served at Park’s because of the addition of cheonggukjang, a pungent fermented bean paste. Fried rice prepared on the hot skillet with any leftover meat, kimchi, and bean sprouts is optional at the end of the meal.

K-TEAM takes over the former Ong Ga Nae space, another beloved Korean barbecue spot that closed last year. K-TEAM’s quirky interior is markedly different from its more sleek predecessor, with tiled tabletops and vintage-looking Korean signs. “We saw that there were so many hip places in Korea that were serving naengsam and we really loved the vibe,” says Kim. “We wanted to make K-TEAM feel old-school both in concept and design, and remind people of the restaurants in Korea during the ’70s and ’80s.” Oldies K-pop tunes blasting on the speakers and the metal trays used to deliver banchan further add to the throwback ambiance.

“K-TEAM is very upbeat and lively and that has appealed to a lot of younger folks,” says Kim. “A lot of the older visitors say they feel nostalgic when they eat here and are reminded of restaurants from their childhood.”

K-TEAM BBQ is located at 936 S. Vermont Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90006 and open from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m. from Monday to Thursday, and 4 p.m. to 12 a.m. on Friday to Sunday.