Fall octopus platter near Seorak IC on the way to Chuncheon: Paldang

September–November, fall octopus season, right at Seorak IC

Everyone, everyone, guess what — fall octopus (jjukkumi) season is already heeeere. September through November!! (Ahh, bye-bye summer, hello fall ^^)

After the fishing ban lifts, jjukkumi gets plump and wonderfully tender!! I was on my way to Chuncheon and got sooooo hungry that I went looking for good spots near Seorak IC — and found this jjukkumi place! It's Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi!

I feel like I've been coming to Seorak IC a lot lately haha. I stopped by Ananti Cōde, stopped by Gureumsan Café, and somewhere along the way Seorak IC became pretty familiar to me lol. This time I went to eat grilled jjukkumi, so off to Pal.dang.Jik.hwa.Bul.Jjuk.kum.i I went!!

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi location and hours

• Address: 150 Hanseo-ro, Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do (설악면 창의리 115-4)
• Hours: Thu–Tue 11:00–21:00
• Last order 20:00
• Regular closing day: Wednesday (every week)

Parking for 20+ cars, a hall big enough for 100 people

First, the exterior of the place!

The parking area is super spacious too, so it's very comfortable! Room for over 20 cars!!

Ooh, I'm going for the grilled jjukkumi hot plate!! Heading straight in!! Wow, the dining hall is seriously huge — I think it could seat close to 100 people!!

We were so hungry we showed up before 5pm lol, so we were the very first customers of the dinner shift!!

It's fine ♡ ♡jjukkumi doesn't make you gain weight♡ Now let's look at the menu~

Order for two: grilled jjukkumi platter + steamed egg, extra glass noodles

There were two of us, so we ordered the grilled jjukkumi platter + steamed egg for two! Plus extra glass noodles!! Haha, of course — when you eat a meal like this you have to go all out like it's your last one!

The self-serve bar is solid too

Oh, Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi's self-serve bar is really well put together too!

Haha, we ordered already, so we have to eat from the self-serve bar first~

Looking at this now, I stared for a while trying to figure out whether I photographed the seaweed or the empty plate from the self-serve bar lol

The grilled jjukkumi hot plate — delicious even wrapped in just seaweed

The steamed egg arrives! And theeen — finally, the grilled jjukkumi arrives!!

Tada~ it's being stir-fried nicely. Ahh... it's all cooked!! Now what do we do? Eat it!!

Ahh... these four photos look the same but they're all different~ lol Wrap, wrap wrap, wrap wrap wrap, wrap wrap wrap wrap!!

Even just wrapped in seaweed alone, it was so delicious.. (a can't-go-wrong combo!!) That wraps up round one. Grilled jjukkumi: defeated!!

Round two: flying fish roe fried rice

Round two starts with fried rice!! The owner tossed it around going shake-shake, and it was done in no time!! Seriously fast hands~ quick quick quick!

Tada.. ahh.. fried rice is a must — a must, no question.

You've got to wrap the rice in seaweed too.. lol Mayo is kind of cheating but not-fattening x it is fattening, but what can you do when it's this good ㅠㅠ

That's how I perfectly demolished a meal in Seolak, Gapyeong! A satisfying dinner of in-season jjukkumi, done and done!!

Pairs well with other spots near Seorak IC

So many people come out to the Seorak IC area these days. Golfers, stop by Shinedale CC on your way; and for families visiting Begonia, Stay Healing Park, or the mystery zoo, this is a jjukkumi spot that works for everyone, young and old alike~

Next time I go back to Ananti Cōde, I'm definitely getting takeout from here~ that's how good it was!! hahaha Oh wait, almost forgot the map~ (seriously, stop forgetting things)

Gapyeong Seorak restaurant, Seorak IC jjukkumi restaurant, Gapyeong jjukkumi restaurant — put these three keywords together and you get Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi!!

Highly recommend haha. I think I'll come back again on my way in and out of Seoul haha. I really wish more places like this would open in Janghak-ri, pleeease!!