Jungma-dong eel restaurant, weekend dinner: Deokeun Jangeo

I'd been craving eel for a while, so I visited Deokeun Jangeo, an eel restaurant in Gwangyang's Jungma-dong area.

Where is Deokeun Jangeo Gwangyang Branch, and where do you park?

Deokeun Jangeo Gwangyang Branch is at 101 Hangman 9-ro, Gwangyang-si, near Gwangyang Port. There's a spacious parking area both under the building's piloti and outside, so driving there isn't a hassle at all.

This Jungma-dong eel spot sits near Gwangyang Port. It's a brick building that's easy to spot even from a distance.

There's plenty of parking both under the piloti and outside the building, so you can park comfortably.

How it works: pick your eel on the first floor, grill it on the second

Deokeun Jangeo Gwangyang Branch is split between the first floor, where the eel is sold, and the second floor, where you eat. You choose the eel you want and pay on the first floor, then carry it upstairs to grill it yourself.

Again — pick your eel and pay for it downstairs, then head up to the second floor to grill it yourself.

Can you see that the eel is under ₩6,000 per 100g? At this Jungma-dong eel restaurant you can get good-quality eel for a reasonable price.

After picking our eel we headed straight upstairs haha.

Full house on a weekend evening: a 30-minute wait

The second-floor dining room at Deokeun Jangeo Gwangyang Branch is quite spacious, and it seemed like a great spot for family meals out or group dinners. Even with that many tables, the place was completely full when we went on a weekend evening, T_T. We waited about 30 minutes before getting seated.

For reference, Deokeun Jangeo has an ocean view, so you can enjoy the scenery outside while you eat! Since I visited in the evening I couldn't really see it though haha.

Self-serve side dish bar and spicy eel sauce

Once you're seated, basic side dishes come out first, and you can top up anything else you need at the self-serve bar.

The self-serve bar had plenty of side dishes and wrap vegetables. There's also a spicy eel sauce that isn't given by default, so I'd recommend trying it — it's a real treat haha.

What else you can order on the second floor

Up on the second floor, you can also order additional meal items. The menu included eel soup, eel tteokgalbi (grilled short rib patties), bibim-naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles), mul-naengmyeon, nurungji (scorched rice), rice, and flying fish roe rice balls — quite a variety.

How to grill the eel, following the kiosk instructions

At Deokeun Jangeo you grill the eel yourself, but the kiosk had clear step-by-step instructions, so it wasn't hard at all.

• Place the skin side on the grill first, then lift it once so it doesn't stick
• Sprinkle on a moderate amount of pink salt
• Once the back is golden, flip it over and grill the white flesh side for about 2 minutes
• Once the white flesh is golden too, cut it into bite-sized pieces
• Stand the pieces up side by side and cook the cut edges evenly — done!

The grill is huge, but isn't the eel really big too? Two of us were completely full after just one eel lol.

Grill both sides until golden, then cut it up and cook the sides — done!

How the eel tasted, and finishing with mul-naengmyeon

The eel at this Jungma-dong spot had a nice nutty flavor once grilled golden, and it went really well eaten with wraps and side dishes.

After eating a good amount of eel, we finished with mul-naengmyeon. After enjoying the rich, savory eel, the cool noodles felt like a clean, refreshing reset for the palate.

Why Deokeun Jangeo Gwangyang Branch works for two people

The eel at Deokeun Jangeo was plump and delicious, and with the ocean view alongside, the atmosphere while eating was great too. It was a nice place to visit as a pair and eat at a relaxed pace, and since we could get a filling meal without worrying about the price, I'd love to come back the next time I'm craving eel. Between the tasty eel and the good view, I'd recommend this as a go-to eel restaurant in Gwangyang's Jungma-dong area!