Gamjatang restaurant in Paju Geumchon: Cheongnyeon Gamjatang Sundaeguk

Cheongnyeon Gamjatang Sundaeguk Paju Geumchon-jeom ✅ 1F, 62-13 Soejaegaeul-gil, Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea ✅ Daily 11:00 - 22:00

When the days get that little bit chillier and you're craving a hearty, soul-warming soup, here's a place that grabs your attention just by looking at it — genuinely dinosaur-sized energy!

You'll gasp once at the meat piled sky-high like a tower, then gasp again at the deep, rich broth and tender meat that follows. This is Cheongnyeon Gamjatang Sundaeguk Paju Geumchon-jeom, a lunch spot in Paju's Geumchon neighborhood!

Where is Cheongnyeon Gamjatang Sundaeguk Paju Geumchon-jeom, and where do you park?

The restaurant sits in the residential district next to Paju Police Station, near Geumneung Children's Park, so it's easy to find even on a first visit.

There's a nice walking path around the children's park nearby too, perfect for a stroll to help digest after a filling bowl.

If you're driving, you can park comfortably in the alley or near the surrounding houses!

The exterior that looks like a serious local favourite

The exterior is clean and the sign stands out from a distance, doesn't it? 👀 As a well-known spot that's appeared on TV multiple times, it has real presence right from the entrance. It's actually been featured on Ugly Duckling's Family Hongja Sisters episode (Nov 10, 2019), SBS Live Today (Sep 30, 2019), 2TV Fresh Info (Nov 2, 2017), Amazing Saturday (Jun 1, 2019), and Yonhap News (Jan 25, 2020) — a proven spot recognized far and wide for its generous portions and deep flavor 👍🏻

Maybe that's why my anticipation exploded the moment I stepped through the door 🤩 We came out for a family meal today, and it turns out this Geumchon branch was actually the place my family used to order takeout and delivery from all the time before we moved — behind my back, apparently!

Inside the hall: family meals to work dinners

Step inside and a wide, pleasant hall opens up in front of you. The tables are spaced generously too, making it a comfortable layout for dining.

Amenities like kids' chairs are well set up, making it great for a family outing with children, and the big, open hall also makes it a solid choice as a Paju Geumneung dinner spot for a work gathering or get-together with colleagues!

Menu and self-serve kimchi bar at Cheongnyeon Gamjatang Sundaeguk

The basic menu is made up of the most representative, popular items.

• Cheongnyeon Gamjatang (small / medium / large / extra-large)
• Aged-kimchi gamjatang (small / medium / large / extra-large)
• Cheongnyeon Haejangguk / spicy haejangguk (+₩1,000)
• Ugeoji bone haejangguk
• Ugeoji lean-meat haejangguk
• Aged-kimchi bone haejangguk
• Aged-kimchi lean-meat haejangguk
• Cheongnyeon sundaeguk
• Steamed spine ribs → no spicy option

And there's a neatly arranged self-serve side dish bar inside the restaurant! You can help yourself to fresh kimchi, spicy fresh kimchi, or diced radish kimchi as much as you like without feeling awkward about it — so convenient. The self-serve bar was spotlessly clean too, which felt great..♥️

This time we ordered the restaurant's overwhelmingly No. 1 signature dish, the medium Cheongnyeon Gamjatang!

Once we sat down, the side dishes were neatly set out. The standard spread included crisp, appetite-boosting fresh kimchi, cool well-fermented diced radish kimchi, crunchy bean sprout salad, and a spicy fresh kimchi that's dangerously addictive!

That spicy fresh kimchi in particular is a real trick — sharply spicy, and when you wrap it around the plain meat, the savoriness explodes twofold.

Medium Cheongnyeon Gamjatang: a meat tower 3 adults couldn't finish

The moment the main dish, medium Cheongnyeon Gamjatang, arrived, my jaw dropped at the sight — the meat is stacked endlessly upward like a tower, and seeing it in person really makes your mouth fall open +_+

There were three of us this time. We definitely ordered the medium size, but even with three adults digging in, there was so much food that the tower didn't shrink no matter how much we ate — the meat just kept appearing like magic...

Scanning inside the pot, there were pork spine bones and rib bones of course, plus soft ugeoji (aged napa cabbage), fluffy potatoes, fragrant perilla leaves, enoki mushrooms and all sorts of ingredients packed in generously — a truly value-packed composition!

I took a spoonful of the broth, simmered carefully for a long time... and wow... the deep, rich umami of the stock filled my whole mouth! Spicy yet gently soothing to the stomach, this broth is genuinely excellent — perfect both as a drinking companion and as a Paju Geumchon lunch dish for curing a hangover 🥹

Easy-to-pull pork bones, and mustard sauce as the kick

So much meat clings to every single bone that it's almost too heavy to lift by hand. It's also simmered so thoroughly that the meat falls off the bone smoothly, making it super easy to eat! There are disposable gloves right on the table, so gloves on, I dove straight in and started deboning like a pro..💕

I picked up a piece of meat and dipped it in the sauce, and this place's mustard sauce is an absolute killer move! Tangy-sweet with a sharp bite that tingles your nose, it cuts right through the richness of the tender meat and leaves only the savoriness behind — the compliments just fly out ٩( ˙0˙)۶

Should I call it dinosaur-level delicious? Pull the meat off the bone, dip it with ugeoji into the mustard sauce, and pop it in your mouth — there's nothing left to envy in this world!

Finishing with cheese fried rice

Even if you're about to burst, there's one finishing move you can never skip — the essential Korean dessert, cheese fried rice time! 🧀

They stir-fry rice and roasted seaweed flakes in the leftover rich broth, then shower it with an outrageous amount of snowy cheese on top — the visual is something else.

The cheese melts down slowly, stretching endlessly every time you lift a spoonful, and the combination of savory cheese and umami-packed fried rice is genuinely wild...

The retro capsule-draw review event on the way out

After finishing our meal, we made sure to take part in the restaurant's nostalgic toy-draw review event on the way out! It brought back childhood memories, and after stuffing ourselves with delicious food and then getting a fun little prize on top, satisfaction exploded right up until the very last moment — a small dose of healing (☆▽☆)

Oh, by the way, I got 5th prize — a drink!!

The verdict on Cheongnyeon Gamjatang Sundaeguk Paju Geumchon-jeom

From the overwhelming, tower-stacked portion of meat and the melt-in-your-mouth tenderness, to the deep, rich broth, cozy atmosphere and thoughtfully set up self-serve bar — this Paju Geumchon lunch spot made me feel properly taken care of the entire visit.

Whenever you're craving a hearty, soul-soothing meal, or looking for a solid Paju Geumneung dinner spot to enjoy with colleagues, don't hesitate — make sure to visit Cheongnyeon Gamjatang Sundaeguk Paju Geumchon-jeom!