Bucheon eel hotpot rice wrapped in seaweed: Gochang Pungcheon Eel

Today I was hunting for good restaurants in Bucheon, Gyeonggi, and ended up at Gochang Pungcheon Eel, known for its eel hotpot rice.

If you're looking for a place for an eel dinner with coworkers in Bucheon, this one's worth checking out. They serve more than just grilled eel — you can also get it as hotpot rice, so that's what I ordered.

Where is Gochang Pungcheon Eel, and is there parking?

Gochang Pungcheon Eel is located at 17-28 Gilju-ro 121beon-gil, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, Unit 134. It's about 288m from Exit 8 of Sangdong Station on Line 7.

Parking is available at Gochang Pungcheon Eel, and it's free.

The tables and chairs were clean and spaced out nicely. Since I had reserved ahead, they had my name written down to hold my seat.

Gochang Pungcheon Eel menu and prices

Gochang Pungcheon Eel best menu

• Salt-grilled eel (300–310g) ₩35,000
• Soy-grilled eel (300–310g) ₩35,000
• Gochujang-grilled eel (300–310g) ₩35,000
• Eel jangsu-tang ₩10,000

The eel is domestic Japanica eel from Gochang. There were also various side dishes on offer, like jangsu hotpot rice, grandma's doenjang stew (fermented soybean paste stew), naengmyeon (cold noodles), and nurungji-tang (scorched rice soup).

As for drinks, bokbunja (black raspberry wine) is their top recommendation — apparently it pairs really well with eel.

It said the eel is domestic Japanica eel from Gochang. They only use premium freshwater Japanica eel raised for 20 months or less, grilled over bijangpan charcoal made at 1,200°C.

There's a Naver receipt review event — you get bibim guksu (spicy mixed noodles) or a Ppiddo scratch lottery ticket, one per table.

Hours, reservations and group seating

• Hours 11:30–23:00 / last order 22:00
• Birthday and anniversary perks
• Group-friendly
• Takeout, delivery, and reservations available
• Separate restrooms for men and women
• Wifi, baby chairs
• Private room, minimum 8–10 people
• Venue rental available (except Fri/Sat, minimum 30 people)

Side dishes and soup at Gochang Pungcheon Eel

White cups, small plates, and utensils were already set out on the table.

The shredded ginger side dish was thinly sliced and had a pretty color. Seaweed came out alongside it too.

The rinsed aged kimchi went better with eel than regular kimchi would have.

Broth plus hotpot rice, haha, perfect combo, right? Some people just can't eat rice without soup! The broth's seasoning was spot on, so enjoy it, haha.

What is the eel hotpot rice like?

A hot pot~! With eel sitting right on top of the rice. The surface of the eel was grilled to a beautiful color, and the sauce had soaked in deeply. Chopped green onion was scattered on top, so I could smell its aroma along with the eel. When I scooped some rice with my spoon, a big chunk of eel came up with it.

The sauce had soaked into the rice really well too, so I tried a piece of eel together with the rice. Wow... this place gets the eel grilling just right. No fishy taste at all, and it was nice and soft.

The sauce was sweet-and-salty and paired really well with the eel's flavor. And of course, hotpot rice is the way to go!!! It has that distinct texture that goes great with eel.

The eel hotpot rice was also great with a bit of shredded ginger and wasabi on top, wrapped in seaweed. If you want to eat eel and rice together, I'd recommend ordering it as hotpot rice.

Is Gochang Pungcheon Eel worth a visit?

Overall, it was great to try eel hotpot rice, which gives a totally different experience from just eating grilled eel. Wrapping the eel-topped rice in seaweed was, in particular, the tastiest way to eat it. This place is a solid pick if you want to eat both grilled eel and hotpot rice for a filling meal, or if you're looking for eel for a family gathering or work dinner.