Horse meat course for both sets of parents in Jungmun, Jeju: Marijoa

Jeju horse meat specialty restaurant, course dining: Marijoa Seogwipo Jungmun Branch

Why Marijoa in Jungmun for a dog-days horse meat meal?

With the weather getting hotter lately, I feel like my energy has been dropping for no reason. I've been thinking I should eat something good for my body. We just had Chobok, Jungbok and Malbok (the three hottest days of summer), and on Jungbok and Malbok I took my parents out to a place they absolutely loved — Marijoa, a horse meat restaurant in Jungmun. Out front there's a sculpture shaped like a horse to greet you, and the parking lot is pretty spacious so I could park without worry.

📍215 Ieodo-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, South Korea ⏰Daily 12:00 - 21:00 🚗Parking available in front of the restaurant

Where Marijoa is: near Olle Trail Route 8 and Daepo Port, plus the interior

Jungmun Marijoa sits along Olle Trail Route 8, so it's a good stop if you're out walking the trail. It's close to Jungmun Tourist Complex and near Daepo Port, so it's easy to find.

The interior has two spacious halls. Given the nature of horse meat dining, I thought it'd be great for bringing elders or for group gatherings. Every table was neatly set, making it perfect for reserving on a special day.

Marijoa Seogwipo Jungmun Branch menu and course prices

This place is apparently quite famous for its horse meat course. The popular ₩39,000 Joa Course per person comes with everything: horse extract, horse sashimi, horse yukhoe (raw seasoned beef-style dish), horse meat sushi, horse meat braised ribs, horse meat cutlet, horse meat grilled, and horse meat shabu-shabu. There's also the Mari Course at ₩50,000, which adds a black jireum (special cut) on top. We ordered the Joa Course for three people^^

A great-value horse meat course — from extract to sashimi, yukhoe, cutlet, grilled meat and shabu-shabu: the Joa Course

After ordering, the side dishes came out. They were clean, mostly namul (seasoned vegetable) dishes, and they gave us little dishes of sesame oil and soy sauce — the nutty smell of the sesame oil was really nice.

The course starts with a horse bone extract toast

The dishes of the course came out one by one in order. The first was the horse bone extract, served one glass per person, so we all toasted together to our families' health ^^

Horse meat lettuce wraps, yukhoe, sashimi and sushi

After the extract, the course moved on to a light meat-and-lettuce wrap to cleanse the palate. Once refreshed, we started with the savory sashimi first. It had a chewy texture and a nutty meaty flavor similar to Korean beef — an easy dish even for people trying horse meat for the first time.

One of the most delicious dishes — horse meat yukhoe

The seasoning on the yukhoe here was so well done that my husband and I agreed it was one of the tastiest items of the whole meal.

Next came chadolbaegi (thin-sliced brisket) full of unsaturated fat, which was even better dipped in the oil-based dipping sauce — the nutty flavor really came alive.

The chewy sashimi and the sushi 💗 — every single dish felt refined and satisfying to savor.

Horse meat cutlet, braised ribs and the complimentary flying fish roe stone pot rice

After the raw dishes, it was time for the cooked dishes. Horse meat cutlet was something I'd never heard of, and it was fun realizing they even make cutlet out of horse meat.

Horse meat braised ribs, plus the complimentary flying fish roe hot stone pot rice, made for a really hearty spread.

The dish I was most curious about — horse meat cutlet!! This was something even kids would eat happily. Crispy horse cutlet topped with a sweet sauce ☆ Compared to regular meat, it had no fatty taste, just pure savoriness, which actually suited my taste better.

The braised ribs made from horse meat had tender meat soaked in a sweet sauce, and it was perfect for mixing into rice.

Grilled horse meat cooked with horse fat

Next came the grilled horse meat, which seemed to be cooked differently from regular pork or beef, so I was curious to try it.

The key with horse meat is grilling it together with horse fat, which is rich in unsaturated fat.

Lightly grilled meat on both sides, topped with a bit of the fat — the combination of melting nutty fat and the meaty aroma spreading softly made this grilled horse meat all the more delicious.

Horse bone broth shabu-shabu and a porridge finish

Horse meat shabu-shabu enjoyed in horse bone broth

If I had to pick the most satisfying part of the whole course, it would be the last dish — the horse meat shabu-shabu in horse bone broth.

This broth, made from something I'd never tried before, felt like a true recovery food just from the rich, long-simmered flavor alone. Add in the tender horse thigh meat, and it was the perfect closer to the whole course.

The deep, clean broth felt like it was warming every corner of my body, and I kept wanting more. I imagine it'd be even more amazing after swimming ^^

While enjoying the shabu-shabu, you can add porridge or kalguksu noodles as an extra dish. We asked for porridge. It's simmered in the deeply boiled horse bone broth, so it was delicious all on its own.

Is Marijoa's course a good fit for dining with parents in Jungmun?

These days when I really crave proper recovery food, this was a proper full course spread to enjoy in Jungmun. Horse extract, yukhoe, sashimi, grilled meat, cutlet, braised ribs, and finally the shabu-shabu ^^ Even the Joa Course alone was so full and satisfying. This is the horse meat specialty restaurant I'd confidently recommend when you want to eat something special in Jungmun ^^