Seongsan restaurant with sweet blue crab seafood stew: Jejurowoon

Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch is a braised hairtail (galchi-jorim) and grilled tilefish restaurant at 101 Sinyang-ro, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo, Jeju. Heading east on this Jeju trip toward Seopjikoji and Seongsan Ilchulbong, we stopped in here — and honestly, it was so good that my husband gave it a thumbs-up as the true best restaurant of the whole trip!

Where is Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch, and what are its hours?

This Seongsan galchi-jorim spot, Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch, is at 101 Sinyang-ro, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo, Jeju, and is open daily from 08:00 to 21:30. Last order is at 21:00, and it's open year-round, so breakfast is possible too.

We were looking for somewhere to eat near Seongsan Ilchulbong, and since we were on a Jeju trip, we wanted something properly Jeju-style. We were surprised the place was packed the moment we walked in, and after tasting the food, I understood why — this ended up being the best restaurant my husband picked on the whole trip.

What is the dining room and seating like?

Inside Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch, it's clean with both 4-person and 8-person tables. This photo was taken after some guests had left. There was even a family eating together in matching T-shirts — they looked so cute, haha.

Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon menu and set prices

• A Set / ₩24,000 per person — braised hairtail + grilled tilefish + glutinous hot stone pot rice + soy crab + seafood stew or sea urchin seaweed soup
• B Set / ₩21,000 per person — braised mackerel with kimchi + grilled tilefish + glutinous hot stone pot rice + soy crab + seafood stew or sea urchin seaweed soup
• C Set / ₩16,000 per person — grilled tilefish + glutinous hot stone pot rice + soy crab + seafood stew or sea urchin seaweed soup
• D Set / ₩18,000 per person — black pork stir-fry + glutinous hot stone pot rice + soy crab + seafood stew or sea urchin seaweed soup

After debating what to order, we figured since we were already here, might as well go with the A set! It comes with braised hairtail, grilled tilefish, glutinous hot stone pot rice, soy crab, and a choice of seafood stew or sea urchin seaweed soup. I wanted both, but ended up picking the seafood stew... and wow, that broth was seriously delicious.

Why was the blue crab seafood stew broth so good?

The seafood stew that came with the A set was loaded with plump crab, shrimp, mussels, clams, mushrooms, and vegetables. It was so generously piled that I didn't know what to eat first — the whole table looked like it was about to collapse. It looked amazing, and unsurprisingly, the broth was the best part.

And the crab was so plump — the moment my husband took a bite, he raved that the crab was sweet, and kept picking away at every last bit of meat, haha. Turns out the reason the broth tasted so good was this crab!

Can the soy crab be shipped by courier?

Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon's soy crab (ganjang-gejang) comes out as a side dish, and it's seriously generous! My husband usually can't handle soy crab because of the fishy smell, but he said this was so good, haha. Since it's sold separately at ₩40,000 a container, we ordered some by courier for both sets of parents.

How were the braised hairtail sauce and the fish itself?

With so much food and everything tasting good, it's hard to say what the main dish even was, but the braised hairtail bubbling away in its own pot was probably it! It looked so appetizing from the start. My husband picked out all the meat with his chopsticks, haha. The hairtail flesh was thick too, so it was easy to pick apart with chopsticks.

Most importantly, the sauce on the braised hairtail wasn't spicy at all and had no MSG-ish taste — just right to eat with rice. The sauce had soaked well into the fish, so eating it with rice was pure bliss.

Braised hairtail has a completely different charm from mackerel. I was always Team Mackerel before, but this tender hairtail was so good too. Placing a piece of hairtail on the sticky hot stone pot rice and soaking it in the sauce made it impossible to stop eating!

Grilled tilefish and the nurungji from the pot rice

At first glance, the grilled tilefish looked a little dry, but wow, it was actually so tender! The inside was soft and the outside was moist too, so I kept picking away at the meat, haha. The nurungji (scorched rice) at the bottom of the hot stone pot rice was so nutty too. I got so full I thought I might burst. This place is truly the real deal!

Would we go back to Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon in Seongsan?

We cleaned out the braised hairtail, seafood stew, grilled tilefish, and soy crab. If we're ever back in Seongsan, this is the Seongsan galchi-jorim restaurant, Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch, we'd return to. I'd recommend it even more for a family trip! The owner was friendly and the food was so delicious — it was such a happy meal.