Hapjeong pub for fish lovers: rockfish and squid salad, Bako Jumak

Hapjeong bar with great-value Korean pub food: Bako Jumak

What kind of Hapjeong bar is Bako Jumak?

Bako Jumak (바코주막) is a good-value Korean pub near Hapjeong Station that stays open until 4am. Today I'm bringing you my review of it!

Red-and-blue traditional lanterns (cheongsachorong) hang from the ceiling, giving this one-floor pub a proper Korean tavern feel. The space runs deep and wide, so it works for a group get-together in Hapjeong too. Even with just a few people it's pretty quiet, which makes it a good place to talk.

Bako Jumak menu and prices

The menu runs from Korean beef sashimi and yukhoe (seasoned raw beef) to grilled fish, soups, snack-bar food and desserts. They even sell dujjonku (a trendy chewy-cookie dessert) alongside soju... haha.

Signature dishes

• Korean beef yukhoe/sashimi (small) ₩22,000
• Beef sashimi and yukhoe set ₩38,000
• Beef tendon soup ₩25,000

Beef and yukhoe

• Korean beef tataki ₩23,000
• Korean beef yukhoe ₩34,000
• Korean beef yukhoe/sashimi (large) ₩34,000

Meat, grilled and stir-fried dishes

• Assorted Korean pork belly and back meat (small) ₩19,000
• Assorted Korean pork belly and back meat (large) ₩35,000
• Stir-fried intestines and gizzard, spicy ₩19,000
• Stir-fried intestines and gizzard, salt-seasoned ₩18,000
• Stir-fried beef tendon (seuji) ₩24,000
• Blood sausage and assorted pork offal ₩19,000

Seafood and snacks

• Seasoned raw fish salad (makhoe muchim) ₩18,000
• Grilled pollock roe ₩18,000
• Assorted grilled fish ₩24,000
• Grilled rockfish ₩16,000
• Squid and water dropwort salad ₩17,000
• Mussel and scallop soup ₩19,000

Soups and stews

• Brisket jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle-style soup) in a stone pot ₩21,000
• Tendon and fish cake soup ₩21,000
• Zucchini stew ₩21,000

Meals and snack-bar food

• Chicken feet with rice balls ₩19,000
• Old-school tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) ₩16,000
• Samjeon (kimchi pancake, chive pancake and beef jeon) ₩22,000
• Bowl of udon ₩8,000

Desserts

• Ice cream honey hotteok (sweet filled pancake) ₩10,000
• Sugar tomato ₩8,000

Two fish nerds' picks at Bako Jumak

What we ordered at Bako Jumak this day: grilled rockfish for ₩16,000 and squid and water dropwort salad for ₩17,000.

A pub that actually serves grilled fish... it exists! I'm a total fish nerd, and this day I came with one of the few fish nerds around me, so we picked grilled rockfish and the squid and water dropwort salad as our snacks!

What does Bako Jumak's squid and water dropwort salad taste like?

Bako Jumak's squid and water dropwort salad (₩17,000) is packed with blanched squid and fragrant minari (water dropwort). Isn't the price really kind? Great value.

This Sangsu-Hapjeong Korean pub is on the quiet side, which is exactly my style, and the snacks taste good and are well priced too!!

Squid and water dropwort tossed in a sweet-and-sour dressing with assorted vegetables, topped with chili peppers that bring a spicy kick. It was a perfect drinking snack.

My spice tolerance is no joke, so I picked up one of the peppers and ate it together with the salad! This would go so well with makgeolli (rice wine) too...

Grilled fish as a drinking snack near Hapjeong Station: Bako Jumak's rockfish

This is Bako Jumak's grilled rockfish (written 볼락구이 on the menu, ₩16,000). A place that serves grilled fish in the evening, a place near Hapjeong Station where you can eat grilled fish with drinks... I'm amazed and grateful.

Two nicely plump rockfish come out crispy outside and tender inside. Squeeze the lemon slice over them, dab them in soy sauce, and they're great with beer or makgeolli. Somehow eating fish instead of meat as a snack feels lighter, like I'll gain less weight (self-justification).

Grilled rockfish and squid salad: how do they work together?

Bako Jumak's grilled rockfish and squid and water dropwort salad made a sweet pairing to eat in turns. You lose your appetite in summer, right? Oh, of course I don't mean me, but apparently that's how ordinary people are?

Anyway, the sweet-and-sour squid salad could bring back even a missing appetite, and together with the rich grilled fish the combo was insanely good. When your tongue wants a little stimulation while eating the fish, you go for the tangy squid salad, then back again. I think we ordered well.

The squid salad didn't feel like it had a huge amount of squid, but it's only ₩17,000, right.. haha. Squid is so expensive these days, they call it "golden squid" T_T The chewy bits of squid with the fragrant water dropwort were great. I love minari itself, so this was a very satisfying snack.

Bako Jumak's persimmon ice cream for reviewers

Bako Jumak gives you persimmon ice cream if you take part in the review event.. literally. They put a huge scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of a frozen persimmon, and then add oligosaccharide syrup on that?!

After drinking your fill, you sometimes crave a cold, sweet dessert like this, right? It totally hit the spot. Even people who say they won't eat any will end up taking at least one bite if you put this on the table!! haha

Who I'd recommend Bako Jumak to

Bako Jumak is open until 4am around Hapjeong, has a neat restroom inside, and the space is large, so it's good for groups and also fine for a small chat. I recommend it because the value for Korean snacks is really, reeeally great, and the huge beer is delicious!