Mackerel pot rice by a glass-walled play room in Cheongju: Jeju Badang

Jeju Badang in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju: a Korean restaurant that works with kids

I was looking for somewhere to eat with my baby in Cheongju and came across 'Jeju Badang' 😊 When you're eating out with a baby, the taste of the food matters, but so does whether parking is easy and whether there's any space for the baby to play, even briefly. Jeju Badang had exactly what I wanted, so it was such a relief 😉 Let me introduce Jeju Badang in Cheongju!

Jeju Badang hours and parking

Hours are 10:30–22:00 (daily), with a break time of 15:00–17:00 and last order at 20:30. It's located between Gagyeong Xi Apartments and Gagyeong iPark 5-danji, and there's parking space in front of and behind the building, which is convenient.

Taking the elevator up to the 2nd floor, you see the Jeju Badang storefront right away — even the entrance already has a hint of Jeju vibes >_<

Inside, the place is clean and spacious, and thanks to the emotional Jeju-themed interior, it's so pretty it almost felt like being on a trip haha

Why the glass-walled play room lets you watch your child while you eat

The part I liked most about Jeju Badang‼️ It has a play room.

When you eat out with a kid, no matter how good the food is, it's hard to eat properly if your child can't sit still. But here, there's a separate space inside the restaurant just for kids to play, which was such~ a relief. 🥹

The play room has floor-to-ceiling glass, so you can check on your child playing even while eating, which eases my worries a lot 👏🏻

Lunch special mackerel platter for two, swapped to pot rice

After going back and forth over the menu, I ordered the lunch special mackerel platter for two (changed to pot rice). (I really like grilled mackerel! 🐟) The lunch special menu has several other fish options besides the mackerel platter, and you can also switch to pot rice like I did.

Once ordered, the table was filled with food. It wasn't just the grilled fish that came out — a wide variety of side dishes came along with it, which made my mouth water 🤤

The mackerel is delicious whether you flake the flesh onto the rice or eat it together with the side dishes!

Grilling fish at home can be a hassle because of the smell, so eating it cleanly outside like this was so convenient and nice haha

What's on the self-serve bar, fried chicken included

Another thing I liked about Jeju Badang was the self-serve bar! There's a self-serve bar set up inside the restaurant, so you can conveniently help yourself to any side dish you're missing 😊

There were various side dishes prepared, like namul, wrap greens, and japchae, but the one that stuck with me most was the chicken 🤣🩷 At first I thought, 'oh, there's chicken here too?' but when I tried it, it was way tastier than expected! I came here for grilled fish and ended up devouring the self-serve chicken too...

Is Jeju Badang a good family dining spot in Cheongju?

The food is delicious, the staff are kind, and there's even a play room, so I think this will come to mind whenever I'm looking for a place to eat out with my child 🥹

If you're looking for a Korean restaurant to visit with kids in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju, or if you like grilled fish and pot rice, or are searching for a family dining spot, I'd recommend visiting Jeju Badang.

Especially if you're visiting with a child like me, you'll be able to eat a bit more comfortably and at ease :)

Jeju Badang address, hours and contact

• Hours 10:30–22:00 (daily)
• Break time 15:00–17:00 / Last order 20:30
• Location Between Gagyeong Xi Apartments and Gagyeong iPark 5-danji, 28 Seohyeonnam-ro, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea, 2nd floor
• Parking available
• Groups OK, reservations OK, delivery OK, takeout OK, high chairs OK, corkage OK