Cheonan jjukkumi restaurant with a self-serve banchan bar: Bulnaneun

Where is Bulnaneun Jjukkumi Yuryang Direct Branch in Cheonan?

Today I want to write about a Yuryang-dong, Cheonan favorite famous for its jjukkumi (spicy stir-fried webfoot octopus) — 'Bulnaneun Jjukkumi.' This is a place my family visits often, a genuine favorite, and this time I went for dinner with my mom again.

Here's the location of Bulnaneun Jjukkumi Yuryang Direct Branch. It's in the area where Yuryang-dong's restaurants and cafés cluster, so it's great to eat here first and then head to one of the big Yuryang-dong cafés afterward.

Parking and how big the restaurant is

Here's the exterior of Bulnaneun Jjukkumi. There's a big parking lot right in front, so you don't need to worry about parking! Both the restaurant and the lot are spacious, so it's the kind of place I end up going to often when there's a bigger group, haha.

A banner saying they aim to make 'a plate you'll remember.' And honestly, the food really is delicious and the staff are friendly, so it does end up being a good memory.

The main hall, the private room and the weekday evening mood

Here's the inside of the restaurant. Walking in and heading left, there's a big hall. (Even though it was a weekday evening, there were a lot of customers!)

Going right from the entrance, there's a private room, which is great for groups. I used it once with friends before and it was comfortable and nice, haha.

There was also a clean restroom inside.

How to order: spice levels and prices

Ordering was done at the table via tablet, and you could order 2 servings or more per menu item/spice level. The jjukkumi stir-fry comes in three spice levels — mild, medium, hot — so whether you're spice-shy or a spice pro, you can order to your taste, haha.

We ordered the jjukkumi stir-fry + hot pot rice + 2 shrimp (medium spice) for ₩17,000, two servings.

They were also running a Naver receipt review event. Prepay and write a photo review, and you get a free drink!

Self-serve banchan bar and cold cucumber soup

The banchan (side dishes) came out — lettuce, radish salad, bean sprouts and cabbage salad, all great mixed in with the jjukkumi stir-fry.

We also got cold cucumber soup, perfect for a refreshing summer meal.

It was cool, tangy, and delicious. When the jjukkumi stir-fry got a bit too spicy, a sip of the cold soup helped bring it down a notch, haha.

You could grab more of the tasty banchan from the self-serve corner.

Cheongyang chili peppers and garlic were also at the self-serve bar, so if you like adding those, make sure to grab some!

What comes with the 17,000 won jjukkumi, hot pot rice and shrimp set

The jjukkumi stir-fry arrived. Sprinkled with sesame seeds, it looked so good.

Jjukkumi stir-fry + hot pot rice + 2 fried shrimp (₩17,000). Plump fried shrimp, jjukkumi stir-fry, and warm rice from the pot — great value for ₩17,000.

Huge, plump fried shrimp.

How to mix the hot pot rice, step by step

First we scooped out some rice, poured in water and set it aside. Then we put the jjukkumi stir-fry and various vegetables to taste on top of the rice and mixed it gently.

And just like that, a great-looking dish comes together, ㅠㅠ. I love bean sprouts and I love jjukkumi, so mixing it all together had me drooling... Take one bite and first the smoky char flavor hits, then the spiciness follows.

The jjukkumi is chewy and springy, while the bean sprouts, lettuce and radish salad are all nice and crunchy — the texture is really great. Every big spoonful still had a good-sized piece of octopus tagging along, so you get to enjoy it all the way through. (There's so much jjukkumi that you don't need to ration it.)

The plump fried shrimp were freshly fried, still warm and crispy — great for tempering the spice too!

(Diet failed.)

Finishing with scorched rice tea (sungnyung)

Even when full, you've got to have the nutty scorched rice tea (sungnyung), haha. This time too I left a bit extra rice on purpose so I could pour in water and get a full bowl of it~!

Finishing off with that nutty scorched rice tea left me completely stuffed, hahaha. But everything was so tasty I couldn't help finishing it all...! Ordering the jjukkumi stir-fry in medium-to-hot spice, with fried shrimp and hot pot rice, is such a great combo. When it gets a bit spicy, having fried shrimp plus scorched rice tea resets your palate completely, haha.

Who should eat at Bulnaneun Jjukkumi Yuryang?

On the way out there's a coffee vending machine, great for a coffee for dessert. (Or there are plenty of good cafés nearby, so it's easy to move on.) Cheonan's jjukkumi stir-fry favorite 'Bulnaneun Jjukkumi' — the food is tasty, the prices are fair, and with the spacious restaurant and parking lot, it's also great for group gatherings. I'd recommend it to anyone looking for a gathering spot or a Korean restaurant favorite in Yuryang-dong.

(This is a photo I took on a previous visit, haha.)