Korean set meal with braised pollack at Bomseol, Gwangju, Gyeonggi

I had some errands to run in Chowol, Gwangju, and since it was raining, I decided to get some warm Korean food at Bomseol. For family meals out, I prefer a Korean spread where you get to try a bit of everything, and Bomseol is known for its stone-pot rice and variety of banchan (side dishes), so that's why I went.

Bomseol's location and parking

Bomseol is located near Gyeongan-cheon stream, on the way from Youngeun Museum toward Jiwol-ri in Chowol-eup. It's away from the city center, so it has a quiet, peaceful feel.

There's plenty of parking space both in front of and behind the restaurant, so I could visit without worrying about where to park.

A relaxed, warm hanjeongsik atmosphere

Rather than modern and sleek, Bomseol has a relaxed, cozy feel where hanok (traditional Korean house) style and nature come together.

The wood used throughout the exterior and interior, along with the exposed rafters and hanji (traditional paper) style lighting, filled the space with a warm, nostalgic mood.

There are seats with large windows looking out onto the scenery outside. The interior is spacious with lots of tables and group seating too, so it seemed suitable not just for family meals but also for gatherings with parents or larger groups.

The waiting area has coffee and roasted corn snacks ready for guests,

and there's also an outdoor terrace with a view of Gyeongan-cheon stream and the surrounding greenery — it seems like a nice place to linger before or after a meal on a nice day.

Bomseol's menu and the price of the Bomseol table set

Bomseol offers a variety of Korean dishes including master's-recipe soy-marinated crab, master's-recipe dried gulbi (croaker), seasoned cockles, fire-braised jeyuk bokkeum (stir-fried pork), and grilled mackerel. The soy crab and gulbi are made with their own patented recipe, so they're something you can only taste at Bomseol.

There's also a new menu item I hadn't seen before called Bomseol Hansang (봄설한상, the Bomseol table set). It's 15,000 won per person and requires an order of two or more, while the other set menus can be ordered for just one person. We ordered two servings of the Bomseol table set and one grilled mackerel set.

The Korean table spread

About 10 minutes after ordering, the table filled up with braised pollack, mackerel with stone-pot rice, cheonggukjang,

and various kinds of kimchi, braised radish, lotus root salad, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), and mushroom sweet-and-sour dish. There were so many side dishes that one bowl of rice really wasn't going to be enough.

Unlimited self-bar and barley rice

There's a self-bar on one side of the restaurant, so you can freely go get more of any side dish you run out of.

There were so many kinds of side dishes, and they were all clearly made with a skilled hand, so I think we ended up going back for seconds of pretty much everything.

Best of all, there's unlimited barley rice available, so you can make as much bibimbap as you want.

Stone-pot rice and nurungji sungnyung

You can't skip the stone-pot rice at a hanjeongsik place, of course. It's freshly cooked in a stone pot, so the grains were moist and chewy — delicious even eaten plain.

There's also the charm of scooping out the rice, pouring in hot water, and turning the crust into nurungji sungnyung (scorched rice tea). The crust was properly toasted, so it made for a really savory finish.

Bomseol table set for two, 30,000 won — braised pollack

This is the braised pollack that came with the Bomseol table set. The pollack pieces were nicely trimmed and generously sized, soaked in a rich, thick sauce.

The flesh held together firmly without falling apart or getting mushy, giving it a nice chewy texture.

The sauce was sweet and salty with just the right depth of flavor — the radish, especially, had soaked up so much sauce that it was really delicious.

Putting a piece of radish and a piece of pollack on top of the stone-pot rice made it impossible to stop eating.

Grilled mackerel set, 19,000 won

We also ordered the grilled mackerel set to feed the kid. The set comes with stone-pot rice included, but if you don't need the rice, you can just add grilled mackerel alone for 16,000 won.

The grilled mackerel came out with crispy skin and moist flesh, cooked just right.

It had a good savory, salty flavor, and the mackerel itself was already well seasoned, so it was plenty tasty with rice even without adding any extra sauce.

How was it as a family meal out?

Bomseol is a place where you can comfortably enjoy a neatly set Korean table. With warm stone-pot rice, cheonggukjang, braised pollack, grilled mackerel, and a wide variety of side dishes all laid out well, it felt like a healthy family meal out. Hope this helps if you're looking for a good restaurant in Chowol, Gwangju, Gyeonggi.

Business hours

• Daily 11:00–20:30
• Break time 16:00–17:00
• Last order 19:45