Local abalone stew spot in Gyeongju: Wando Cham Jeonbokjip

Gyeongju abalone seafood stew restaurant, Wando Cham Jeonbokjip (완도참전복집). Today's review is a Gyeongju seafood stew spot! While traveling in Gyeongju with my mom and a close aunt, we had an amazing abalone seafood stew at a locals' recommended pick — here's the detailed review of Wando Cham Jeonbokjip :)

Parking and opening hours at Wando Cham Jeonbokjip

Wando Cham Jeonbokjip has no parking lot, so you'll need to park along the line in front of the shop or in the nearby alleys. Also, starting in 2026, they only run lunch service!

Searching for Wando Cham Jeonbokjip turned up quite a few branches, but the one I visited seemed to be the flagship location.

Really fresh abalones filled the tank! As someone who loves abalone dishes — raw abalone, grilled abalone, abalone porridge, abalone mixed with vegetables, all of it — I was so excited to see how good this locals' recommended spot would be!

Hall and private rooms: can big groups eat here?

The restaurant is split into a main hall space and inner rooms. The hall is quite spacious, and even at 11am there were already people in the rooms and part of the hall. Since it's a spot that only serves until 3pm, I guess you have to come early if you want to eat here!

We were seated in an inner room, which can be used privately or, since the dividing walls all open up, combined for group visits! Just the room seating alone looked like it could comfortably handle a group of 30 or more.

Wando Cham Jeonbokjip menu and abalone porridge prices

Wando Cham Jeonbokjip's menu is made up of abalone seafood stew, abalone porridge, abalone mulhoe (cold raw abalone soup), abalone sashimi rice, grilled abalone, raw abalone, and course meals — and it seems most people order the abalone seafood stew and abalone porridge!

The basic side dishes came out in six kinds total, and everything was clean and neatly presented. Cheonsachae (glass noodle salad), anchovies, tot (seaweed) salad, gungchae, steamed wood ear mushroom, salad. Good to eat alongside rice.

I've had regular seafood stew plenty of times, but ordering it made with abalone was a first! The visuals were seriously a work of art 💛 The three of us ordered a small abalone seafood stew plus abalone porridge, and the combination was fantastic.

The abalone porridge is ₩12,000 for basic and ₩17,000 for the special version, and what we ordered was the basic one :)

How much abalone porridge do you get, and how thick is it?

The basic abalone porridge at Wando Cham Jeonbokjip was more than enough for the three of us to each have a bowl and still have leftovers. Honestly, I thought at first the portion looked a little small — but it definitely wasn't. Even after the three of us each had a bowl and I finished off the rest by myself, I still ended up full haha.

Such a rich, deeply flavored abalone porridge from this Gyeongju locals' favorite. I did feel it was a bit thin at first, so I added about a third of a bowl of rice, which got it to exactly the consistency I like.

Since Wando Cham Jeonbokjip specializes in abalone, ordering the abalone porridge meant it was packed with big chunks of abalone meat — so good! Sometimes when you order abalone porridge somewhere, you only get the color and aroma with no actual abalone in sight, but here the abalone meat was generously visible, which I loved :)

The combination of savory abalone porridge with chewy abalone — really so good..! It seems like most people order the abalone seafood stew plus porridge combo, and I recommend it too!

How many abalones come in each stew size?

The abalone seafood stew at Wando Cham Jeonbokjip differs by 4 abalones per size!

• Small: 4 abalones
• Medium: 8 abalones
• Large: 12 abalones

It's good to adjust your order according to your group size!

On top of the abalone there's what looked like either small octopus or baby octopus — chewy and delicious.

How spicy is the abalone seafood stew seasoning?

What especially makes this place, Wando Cham Jeonbokjip, so loved is the seasoning — spicy but never too strong! There were a lot of older folks around, and it really has a healthy sort of taste. What would you call it? It's the kind of flavor you'd get from seasoning made healthily without MSG — that impressed me a lot.

The abalone was also freshly pulled straight from the tank, so it was incredibly fresh and plump — so tasty!

Cut into bite-sized pieces and eaten with the bean sprouts — 👍🏻

There's shrimp and mideodeok (sea pineapple) in there too, and the seasoning was so tasty it made everything even better — the abalone seafood stew at Wando Cham Jeonbokjip! My aunt, who came along, also said it was spicy but not overly harsh, which made it even more enjoyable.

Cut into easy-to-eat pieces with scissors, then mixed together with rice — a perfect meal complete ✨

What to order at Wando Cham Jeonbokjip for three people

If you're going to Wando Cham Jeonbokjip as a group of three, the small abalone seafood stew plus abalone porridge combo is plenty. That's exactly what we had, and all three of us ended up full! Honestly we probably would have been full even without the porridge... but there's no way I'd skip the porridge!

It looks like delivery is available too, but since they only serve until 3pm, if you're visiting Gyeongju or nearby, I'd recommend this place — Wando Cham Jeonbokjip. There's a reason it's recommended as a Gyeongju locals' favorite abalone seafood stew spot :)