Extra braised cutlassfish at a Yongdam, Jeju fish grill: Naneun Jigeum

During our Jeju trip, I wanted a proper Korean meal with my kid, so I went to Naneun Jigeum Saengseoni Meokgo Sipda Yongdam Airport Branch.

168 Yongmun-ro, 1st floor, Jeju-si, Jeju, South Korea / Hours 09:30–21:00 (last order 20:30) / Parking available - Top Mart public lot across the street / Baby chair available

Since we were in Jeju, I figured I had to eat galchi (cutlassfish) at least once — I wanted both grilled and braised, so I looked for a place where we could have a generous helping of both at once.

A charcoal fish grill in Yongdam-dong, minutes from Jeju Airport

Naneun Jigeum Saengseoni Meokgo Sipda Yongdam Airport Branch isn't far from Jeju Airport, so it's easy to find as a Jeju Airport restaurant for your first or last meal of the trip. The name — 'I want to eat fish right now' — really sticks in your head once you see it. Right from the entrance it says charcoal-grilled fish specialist, and you could check the menu and prices from outside too.

Where do you park at Naneun Jigeum?

We came by car, and there was space on the roadside right next to the restaurant, so we parked there.

You can also use the Top Mart public parking lot across the street for free.

The self-serve banchan corner and the dining room

Inside Naneun Jigeum Saengseoni Meokgo Sipda Yongdam Airport Branch, there's a self-serve corner where you can grab extra side dishes. There were bean sprouts, seasoned vegetables, and various kimchi — all good with fish — so it was easy to help ourselves if we wanted more. Being able to add all sorts of banchan made it a comfortable Jeju Airport restaurant to eat at with a kid too.

On one side, you could see the fish laid out and ready to go. A lot of people specifically hunt down restaurants in Jeju for galchi or fish dishes, and seeing the fish prepped right there made me feel like I'd picked the right menu for the day.

There were several kinds of fish ready, from croaker on, but since our kid was eating too, we went with grilled galchi. Grilled fish isn't heavily seasoned, and once you pick the meat off the bones it's easy for a kid to eat — great for a family meal out.

A menu printed like a newspaper

There was a menu on the table, but instead of the usual format, it was made to look like a newspaper — pretty fun. The content is aimed at guests coming for fish near Jeju Airport, so I ended up reading it while we waited. A small detail, but one that made this Jeju Airport restaurant memorable.

Grilled cutlassfish in the dad's set: two thumbs up from the child

We ordered the dad's set, choosing grilled galchi for the grilled fish option. The golden-brown galchi arrived on a fish-shaped plate, and just looking at it made me want rice immediately.

The outside was grilled to a nice golden brown while the inside stayed soft — picking the meat off with chopsticks and putting it on rice was a perfect match.

I deboned it carefully for my kid and gave them galchi meat with rice, and they really ate it up. After tasting it, they gave me a thumbs up and said it was delicious — seems like it hit the spot for a kid's palate too. If you're looking for a place to eat grilled galchi with a kid, this is worth remembering as a Jeju Airport restaurant.

Choosing kimchi jjigae as the stew

For the stew that comes with the dad's set, we chose kimchi jjigae (kimchi stew). It arrived bubbling hot, and having a warm, spicy spoonful in between bites of grilled fish was a great combo.

Putting galchi meat on rice and then having a bite of kimchi jjigae — a satisfying spread for anyone who loves Korean food.

Why the extra serving of braised cutlassfish was worth it

And then there's the braised galchi, which we couldn't skip this time. For the dad's set we chose braised galchi and added one extra serving of it.

We added it because we wanted to eat plenty from the start, and in the end that turned out to be the right call. It came with thick-cut radish, and the red sauce coated the galchi and radish so well that the rice kept disappearing.

Being able to eat grilled galchi and braised galchi together at one table was the part we liked most, since we'd been looking for exactly that kind of restaurant near Jeju Airport.

One full spread when the family wants different things

With grilled galchi, braised galchi, kimchi jjigae, and the basic banchan all laid out together, it was a genuinely generous spread. The kid and I ate the grilled fish plainly, while the adults added braised galchi and kimchi jjigae on top — good for a family whose tastes differ.

Mixing rice into the braised galchi sauce with the radish made a bowl of rice disappear fast. Black pork and sashimi are great in Jeju too, but having a proper meal of warm rice and fish partway through the trip was hearty and satisfying. Our kid ate way more galchi than expected and gave it a thumbs up, making this an even more memorable Jeju Airport restaurant to visit as a family.

If you want to eat both grilled galchi and braised galchi during your Jeju trip, this is a satisfying place to have both at once. If you're near Yongdam close to the airport and looking for a hearty meal with a kid, consider Naneun Jigeum Saengseoni Meokgo Sipda Yongdam Airport Branch, a solid Jeju Airport restaurant.

Like us, if you build the dad's set with grilled galchi, braised galchi, and kimchi jjigae, and add an extra serving of braised galchi, you can enjoy both the grilled and braised versions generously.

Best of all, it's not just a menu adults enjoy — our kid ate the grilled galchi really well and even gave it a thumbs up, so we all left happy after a good family meal.