Green tea rice barley gulbi and puffed rice dessert at Bomseol

Let me introduce a Korean restaurant in Chowol, Gwangju, Gyeonggi. It's a place where you can enjoy a wide variety of hanjeongsik (Korean set meal) dishes, all generously portioned. Everything on the menu is tasty and beautifully presented, so it's popular with families. The place I visited is Bomseol.

Bomseol hours and location in Chowol, Gwangju

Bomseol is located at 51 Hyeonsan-ro 385beon-gil, Chowol-eup, Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea. It's open daily from 11:00 to 20:30, with a break time from 16:00 to 17:00. There's a private parking lot, so it's easy to park even if you drive.

What Bomseol looks like from outside

Here's the exterior of Bomseol. Maybe because it's tucked away in a quiet spot, it had a peaceful, cozy feel. I think a hanjeongsik restaurant really benefits from being in a place like this.

Even the entrance gives off strong 'this is a good restaurant' vibes.

Inside Bomseol: hall and group seating

The interior was really spacious — a totally different feel from what you'd guess from outside. They had group seating too, and the overall atmosphere was lovely.

It seems like a great place to eat while looking out the window.

How do you order at Bomseol?

Here's the menu at Bomseol. You need to order one meal per person. The Bomseol set seemed to be the most popular — it comes with a variety of banchan and unlimited barley rice. The barley gulbi set is also very popular.

Our order was one master barley gulbi and one bulbeombeok (spicy stir-fried pork).

The table was set the moment we ordered. There were so many banchan, and they all looked delicious. The braised radish was especially good, and the fried eggplant was clean and tasty too.

Cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) came out. It wasn't overwhelming at all — actually quite mild and smooth.

How was the bulbeombeok (spicy stir-fried pork)?

Here's the bulbeombeok stir-fried pork. It passed on looks alone. It looked really spicy, but it actually wasn't — instead you got a strong smoky, charred flavor. I understood right away why it's called 'bulbeombeok' (fire-drenched).

The savory flavor was excellent. The meat quality was good and it paired perfectly with the sauce. Total rice thief.

Master barley gulbi with rice in green tea

Here's the barley gulbi (dried yellow croaker). It's honestly a dish that's hard to find often. It's easy to ruin, but apparently they've even patented their own preparation method. Maybe that's why it tasted so clean, with zero fishy smell.

I think even people trying barley gulbi for the first time would love it. Really savory, and seasoned just right.

It came in a stone pot, so I got to enjoy it warm and hearty.

You can enjoy it as sungnyung (scorched-rice tea) too.

Boseong green tea comes alongside so you can enjoy it with the barley gulbi.

The barley gulbi is tasty on its own, but pouring green tea over the rice and eating it together really was the perfect combination. Once I tried it, I immediately understood why you're supposed to eat it that way. You really have to try barley gulbi.

The spicy stir-fried pork went so well with plain white rice.

Unlimited barley rice and the self-serve banchan bar

One of Bomseol's best features is unlimited barley rice.

You can help yourself to as much barley rice as you like, and there's gochujang (red pepper paste) and sesame oil so you can easily make bibimbap. And the sesame oil and gochujang are surprisingly tasty too.

On top of that, there's a self-serve banchan corner where you can help yourself freely. I could really build a proper bibimbap here. There were so many kinds of banchan, and they're all mild enough to be perfect for mixing into bibimbap.

The variety of banchan was really impressive. If you like Korean food, you'll love every single one.

There's even more banchan on the side. You can make your bibimbap exactly to your taste.

I mixed in the spicy stir-fried pork too. If you do the same, it tastes even better.

Dessert: coffee and warm ppeong-twigi (puffed rice snack)

After finishing the meal, there's a rest area next door where you can grab a coffee.

And you can also enjoy plenty of warm ppeong-twigi (puffed rice snack). Dessert really was perfect too.

Bomseol address and parking

Bomseol is located in Chowol, Gwangju, Gyeonggi. There's a private parking lot, so parking is easy and convenient.