# Friday freshwater eel restaurant in Gwangju: 658g at Yuil Jangeo - By Eunha (https://superchart.com/en/@daejeon-midday-kettle/) - Written Sep 17, 2026 - Local places › Restaurants › Gwangsan, Gwangju - Sponsored: This post was written following a sponsored visit to the restaurant. - English edition: https://superchart.com/en/@daejeon-midday-kettle/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/ - Also in: [한국어](https://superchart.com/ko/@daejeon-midday-kettle/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/index.md) ## In short Yuil Jangeo is a freshwater eel restaurant on Donggok-ro in Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, where you choose your eel at the fish counter, pay, then grill it at your own table. On a Friday at 6pm the visit brought 658g of freshwater eel, a table setting for two adults, and eel soup for dessert, and the pre-grilled eel was still plump once it finished cooking. At 5,900 won the dessert eel soup was good enough on its own to make Yuil Jangeo worth a return visit. ## Good to know - **Address**: 343 Donggok-ro, 1st floor, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju - **Hours**: Daily 11:00–21:00 - **Reservations**: Private rooms can be booked through Naver Reservations - **How ordering works**: Choose your eel at the fish counter, pay, then eat at your table - **Table setting fee**: 4,000 won per adult, 2,000 won per elementary school child - **What was ordered**: 658g freshwater eel, table setting for two adults, dessert eel soup (rice included) - **Dessert eel soup**: 5,900 won - **Parking**: Large lots in front of and behind the building - **Takeout**: Live or pre-grilled eel to go, courier delivery available - **Price reference**: ₩4,000 ≈ $2.9 · ₩2,000 ≈ $1.5 · ₩5,900 ≈ $4.3 (2026-09-17) *as written by the visitor on Sep 17, 2026* I went to Yuil Jangeo, a freshwater eel restaurant in Gwangju that people say is both genuinely delicious and great value, haha. My expectations were sky-high going in, and it really was that good ><. It's super close to Gwangju Songjeong Station and also close to Naju, so the access was great, the staff were kind, and both the eel and the eel soup were completely delicious. Highly, highly recommend — here's my honest review of Yuil Jangeo! ![Grilled freshwater eel table setting at Yuil Jangeo](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-01-rll2x-1200.webp) ## Where is Yuil Jangeo, and what are its hours? Yuil Jangeo is on the 1st floor of 343 Donggok-ro, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, open daily 11:00–21:00. It's just 5 minutes by car from Gwangju Songjeong Station! Close to Naju too, haha. Rooms can be reserved through Naver Reservations. This is Yuil Jangeo! The building is seriously huge, haha. ![Exterior of the Yuil Jangeo building on Donggok-ro, Gwangsan-gu](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-02-14ej0-900.webp) ## Friday at 6pm: wait time and booking a private room I arrived right at 6pm on a Friday and there was no wait yet, haha!! By around 7pm the place was packed with people ~~ Rooms can be reserved on Naver, so for family gatherings or work dinners I'd recommend booking ahead, haha. There's a wide parking lot in front of and behind the building, so it was super convenient, haha. The restaurant itself was really spacious! The hall had wide spacing between tables so you could eat comfortably ~~ >< There are also several rooms! Room bookings fill up fast, so reserve ahead, haha. ## Choosing your eel at the counter and the table setting fee At Yuil Jangeo, you pick your eel at the fish counter, pay, and then eat at your table, haha. ![Yuil Jangeo usage guide and table setting fee notice](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-03-s9wh8-900.webp) Since the eel is priced at wholesale, there's a separate table setting fee: ₩4,000 for adults, ₩2,000 for elementary schoolers. Both raw and pre-grilled eel can be packed to go, and courier delivery is also available. The eel is sorted into portions by number of people, haha. The eel is seriously huge!! Big ones taste better ~~ the condition looked really good ><. ![Live eel portioned by number of diners at the fish counter](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-04-qa43i-794.webp) ![Freshwater eel at Yuil Jangeo displayed by size](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-05-35dpu-900.webp) ![Picking eel at the Yuil Jangeo fish counter](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-06-m3kgg-900.webp) ![A hand-picked, extra-large freshwater eel](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-07-17rou-900.webp) ### What we ordered at Yuil Jangeo - Freshwater eel 658g - Table setting for 2 adults - Eel soup for dessert (rice included) ## Side dishes and the self-serve bar Picked the biggest eel, paid, then headed to the table! Here's how the table was set up, haha: scallion kimchi, perilla leaf and lettuce wraps, pickled onion, radish pickle, kimchi, cold cucumber soup, garlic, ginger, and more! ![Yuil Jangeo's basic table setting with scallion kimchi and wrap vegetables](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-08-apvqm-900.webp) ![Side dishes including cold cucumber soup and pickled onion](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-09-1o9gk-900.webp) You can grab more side dishes at the self-serve bar, haha. There's more lettuce and perilla leaf, and tons of sauces too ~~ ![Yuil Jangeo self-serve bar with lettuce and perilla leaf](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-10-29smo-900.webp) ![Various sauces set out at the self-serve bar](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-11-l7m66-900.webp) There are also disposable aprons, plus cups and tableware set up at the table, haha. ![Cups, tableware, and a disposable apron set up at the table](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-12-1svgt-900.webp) ![Kiosk screen for ordering extra menu items](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-13-19qhn-900.webp) You can order extra dishes via kiosk! There's a wide range — eel soup, eel tteokgalbi (grilled eel patties), naengmyeon (cold noodles), nurungji (scorched rice), and more. Plenty of alcohol options too, and eel soup, wild garlic leaves, and sauces can also be packed to go, haha. They're running a Naver receipt review event too ~~ ## Grilling the pre-cooked eel: still plump when done The eel at Yuil Jangeo comes pre-grilled once already. It's set up ready for grilling, haha. Because it's pre-grilled, even though the eel is thick it cooks fast! Usually eel shrinks a lot once grilled, but here — maybe because it's aged and pre-grilled in advance — the eel stayed completely plump even after fully cooking, haha. ![Pre-grilled freshwater eel set up ready for grilling](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-14-fl0yb-900.webp) ![Grilled eel that stayed plump even after fully cooked](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-15-1cjgb-900.webp) ## Is the 5,900 won dessert eel soup worth it? I also ordered the dessert eel soup! It comes with rice, and they gave more side dishes for the meal too. The dessert eel soup is ₩5,900, but the portion and quality are amazing... you have to try this!! It's loaded with eel and the broth is rich and savory, so delicious, haha. ![Dessert eel soup served with a bowl of rice](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-16-1tpte-900.webp) ![Rich eel soup broth loaded with plenty of eel](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-17-1xlkq-900.webp) ## How the freshwater eel tasted Once the eel was fully grilled, we started eating >< There were many sauces and things to pair it with — wraps, ginger, radish pickle, wild garlic leaves and more — so you could eat different flavors according to your taste ><. It's freshwater eel but not greasy at all, genuinely delicious, haha. Even eaten plain, the eel was savory, clean, and full of flavor!! ![A piece of freshwater eel dipped in sauce](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-18-77o51-900.webp) ![Grilled eel served with ginger and wild garlic leaves](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-19-13f0o-900.webp) ![Eel grilling to a golden brown on the grill plate](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-20-1q3sm-900.webp) Wrapped some in lettuce too, haha. And the portion was really huge ~~! The eel was big so the texture was great too ㅠㅠ this is a genuinely good restaurant. ![Eel wrapped in lettuce](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-21-1mo5c-900.webp) ![A plate still heaped with grilled eel](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-22-t5wdl-900.webp) ![Grilled eel and eel soup laid out together on the table](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-23-1plcg-900.webp) ![The Yuil Jangeo table near the end of the meal](https://img.superchart.com/images/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner-24-1k406-900.webp) ## Final verdict on Yuil Jangeo If you're looking for a great eel restaurant in Gwangju, definitely check out Yuil Jangeo, haha. Highly recommend! The condition of the eel is genuinely great ~~ and the price for the portion size is really affordable, haha. This is a place I definitely want to visit again!! ## Where it is - Yuil Jangeo (유일장어) - 343 Donggok-ro, 1st floor, Gwangsan-gu, Gwangju, South Korea - 전남광주통합특별시 광산구 동곡로 343 1층 - 35.1131541, 126.7794405 - Google Maps: https://www.google.com/maps/search/%EC%9C%A0%EC%9D%BC%EC%9E%A5%EC%96%B4/@35.1131541,126.7794405,17z --- Superchart · https://superchart.com/en/@daejeon-midday-kettle/gwangju-songjeong-eel-friday-dinner/ · https://superchart.com/llms.txt