Mokpo sashimi restaurant: seafood set and red seabream at Jeonghwane

My friend came to visit Mokpo, and I spent a while wondering where to take them — then decided on Jeonghwane, a raw fish restaurant at Bukhang Hoe Center that's already famous as a Mokpo must-try. Mokpo means fresh seafood and generous side dishes, right? I wanted to show my out-of-town friend the real taste of Mokpo, so I dug through reviews of several Mokpo restaurants and landed here. Spoiler: both my friend and I left completely satisfied!

Where is Jeonghwane, and where do you park?

Jeonghwane is located at 641-21 Gohadae-ro, Mokpo-si, Jeollanam-do, on the first floor of Mokpo Hwaleohoe Plaza, open daily 10:00–20:30 (last order 20:30, dining possible until 22:00). There's a free outdoor parking lot. Mokpo Bukhang Hoe Center is packed with raw fish restaurants, so it's a must-stop course for anyone who loves seafood in Mokpo.

Among them, Jeonghwane is already famous as a favorite spot of trot singer Park Ji-hyun. The restaurant occupies two units, 18 and 19, in Mokpo Hwaleohoe Plaza, and with all that space you get a huge variety of seafood and sashimi cuts. The free outdoor parking is spacious too, so it's easy to drive in and visit comfortably!

How ordering at Jeonghwane and eating at the third-floor chojang-jip works

We ordered the bansang course and red seabream. Once you order and pay, they hand you a number plate — you take it up to the 3rd floor chojang-jip (a space where you eat the raw fish you bought downstairs, paying only for seasonings, sides, and stew)!

Upstairs, you hand the number plate to the owner, tell them your party size, and just sit wherever they guide you. That's it.

The table setting fee is ₩4,000 per person, maeuntang (spicy fish stew) starts from ₩10,000, and paying ₩20,000 corkage lets you bring in outside alcohol — great if you want to bring your favorite drink to enjoy with your meal at this Mokpo raw fish restaurant! At the chojang-jip you only pay for the table setting fee, alcohol, and stew.

What comes with the bansang seafood set at Jeonghwane

After a bit of a wait, the bansang course arrived first. Classic Mokpo restaurant style — the table practically buckled under the spread, no joke?? As the owner kept setting dishes down one after another, I started to wonder if I'd accidentally ordered a full hansang (whole-table feast) instead of a bansang, and double-checked the receipt.

Just to name the seafood:

• Grilled octopus skewers (nakji horong)
• Scallops
• Steamed abalone
• Grilled fish
• Sea squirt
• Fan mussel
• Abalone sashimi
• Sea cucumber (gaebul)
• Sea pineapple (dol-meongge)
• Whelk
• Blood cockles
• Mixed raw fish salad (hoemuchim)
• Clam soup

— a really generous and complete spread. Tasting each one, everything was so fresh there was barely any fishy taste. I could immediately tell why it's a famous Mokpo restaurant. The chewy gaebul and the faint ocean aroma of the dol-meongge, plus the sweet scallops and fan mussel — these are seafoods I rarely touch at other raw fish restaurants, but Jeonghwane clearly cleans and prepares them right when you order, so there wasn't a hint of fishiness and everything was delicious.

Red seabream sashimi: half skin-off, half maskkawa

While happily knocking back soju with the bansang, the red seabream sashimi arrived. We ordered it half skin-off, half maskkawa (skin briefly seared and left on) style! One look and you could tell the fish was fresh with a firm, dense texture. The maskkawa part especially was great — the skin gets slightly cooked, giving it an even chewier bite. The regular sashimi portion was sliced to just the right thickness, not too thin, so we got to enjoy that springy texture properly haha.

Ending the meal with a small maeuntang

By the time we'd enjoyed the bansang and the red seabream, we were already stuffed — but you can't skip maeuntang at a raw fish restaurant! Just to taste it, we ordered a small size. Once it was bubbling and we tried the broth, it was spicy and packed with a deep, rich flavor from the fish bones. The maeuntang alone was solid enough to go through a couple bottles of soju as a side dish, and for anyone who needs rice with their meal, it was good enough to finish two bowls of rice — a great finish.

Is Jeonghwane worth it on a Mokpo trip?

I wanted to show my out-of-town friend real Mokpo seafood flavor and a generous full-table spread, so we visited Jeonghwane at Bukhang Hoe Center. From the hearty bansang course to the ultra-fresh red seabream sashimi and the deep-flavored maeuntang, everything came together so well that I really understood why it's a famous Mokpo restaurant.

I'm already thinking I'll bring family or other friends straight to Jeonghwane whenever they visit Mokpo. If you're looking for a can't-fail Mokpo restaurant or a Mokpo raw fish restaurant with fresh seafood and a satisfying spread, definitely visit Jeonghwane at Mokpo Bukhang Hoe Center!