Gwangmyeong jjukkumi restaurant with white sauce: Jeongipum

Today I want to tell you about a real favorite of mine, a place near Gwangmyeong Station that's gotten a ton of buzz — Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch. Every single time I go, the place is loud and packed with customers, which just proves it's the real deal. This time too, I ate jjukkumi (spicy stir-fried octopus) until I was absolutely stuffed!

What to order at Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch

Extra-plump griddled jjukkumi with loads of noodles and beef belly! This time we ordered griddled jjukkumi with extra noodles (sari) and beef belly (usamgyeop).

Parked the car! And apparently the owner just got married!!

As soon as we reached the entrance, the place was — as always — packed with customers. Luckily we arrived just slightly past the lunch peak, so we didn't have to wait long before getting seated. The smell of griddle-fried goodness was already filling the air inside, and my mouth was watering before I even sat down.

You can make a reservation too, and I'd recommend doing so.

There was no need to agonize over the menu — we went straight for the signature combo: griddled jjukkumi with extra noodles. The basic griddled jjukkumi is already great on its own, but loading it up with savory beef belly and a generous pile of noodle add-ons is truly the secret to enjoying this place at 200%!

Can you spot all the minari (water dropwort)?

Plump jjukkumi with extra noodles and beef belly

A little while later, the main ingredients arrived piled high on a huge griddle, along with the basic side dishes. My jaw dropped the moment I saw it — the first thing that caught my eye was the sheer size and freshness of the jjukkumi.

Complimentary steamed egg.

At most other jjukkumi restaurants, the octopus tends to lose water and shrink down as it cooks, ending up small and shriveled. But at Jeongipum, the more it cooks on the fire, the plumper and bouncier it gets. The bite is genuinely incredible — it practically pops in your mouth. At a time when prices for everything are climbing scarily fast, you almost wonder, 'Can this really be the price for such fresh, high-quality, generous portions?' The sheer amount is honestly moving.

The beef belly mixed in was also really tender — great meat quality. As the spicy juices from the jjukkumi and the savory fat from the beef belly mingled naturally on the griddle, a shallow, rich broth formed, and with rice cakes and minari piled in on top, there was plenty of fun in picking through it all.

Is the white sauce enough for spice-shy diners?

Honestly, I'm famously spice-shy — I usually can't handle spicy food, and I put my chopsticks down the moment something gets even a little hot. So whenever I go somewhere known for spicy griddle dishes, I'm always quietly worried about my stomach or about it being too much for me.

But Jeongipum Jjukkumi has this strange power to make even someone like me eat without any worry — in fact, I end up inhaling it. It's not that tongue-numbing, unpleasantly artificial capsaicin heat; it's a deep, sweetish spiciness that just clings to your palate.

And of course, the spice level is adjustable.

The house special sauce here is a total gem. When it gets too spicy, you just dip into the white sauce — it goes perfectly with the jjukkumi and beef belly, and honestly with every single noodle add-on too. It's a spiciness that people who can't handle heat can still enjoy comfortably — a pleasant kind of spicy that pretty much everyone can like.

How to build a Jeongipum Jjukkumi perilla leaf wrap

The real key to enjoying Jeongipum Jjukkumi even more is combining the basic side dishes wisely. Every single side dish here is seasoned just right, so when you wrap them together with the main jjukkumi, the synergy is incredible.

Here's how to eat it!

• Gently lay a fresh, fragrant perilla leaf on your palm.
• Place a sheet of savory laver (parae-gim) on top for extra flavor.
• Add a moderate amount of crunchy bean sprouts and seasoned radish (musaengchae).
• Top with well-cooked plump jjukkumi and savory beef belly along with the sauce.
• Finally, pile on plenty of popping flying fish roe, add white sauce, and wrap it all up into one big bite!

Eating it this way — one big wrapped bite — the subtle aroma of perilla leaf and laver spreads first, then the crunch of bean sprouts and radish, the popping texture of flying fish roe, and the bouncy sweet-spicy jjukkumi all come together, and it genuinely feels like a festival in your mouth. Once you start eating this way, you just keep wrapping more, and end up refilling the perilla leaves and laver several times.

Wrap!

So delicious.

Finish with the cheese-bomb fried rice

Finishing a griddle meal and skipping the fried rice would be disrespectful to Jeongipum Jjukkumi! No matter how full I am, fried rice is always a must. We didn't hesitate — we ordered the cheese fried rice, with cheese scattered on top like snow.

The owner stir-fries the rice right on the griddle in the leftover special sauce until it's savory and fragrant, then piles a generous mountain of cheese on top. Once the cheese melts down soft and gooey, you scoop it up in big spoonfuls — the spicy seasoned rice meeting the stretchy, savory cheese makes for a perfect finish. Scraping up every last bit of the slightly crisped rice stuck to the bottom of the griddle feels like having the whole world in your hands.

Consistent friendliness no matter when you visit, generous portions, and a special sauce so addictive you'll never forget it once you've tried it — Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch has it all, and it's exactly why it's a standout restaurant near Gwangmyeong Station.

If you're looking for a genuinely great restaurant near Gwangmyeong Station, or if you're having one of those days where you want to chase away stress with a satisfying, pleasant kind of spicy, I definitely recommend stopping by Jeongipum Jjukkumi.

Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch location: 19 Yangji-ro, 1st fl, unit 161, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea