Cheongju Korean lunch special for fish beginners: Jeju Badang

Lately there's been one meal that kept flickering in my mind whenever I couldn't decide what to eat for lunch — a fish dish that's hard to make at home! I heard there's a Gagyeong-dong restaurant in Cheongju serving a hearty spread with real Jeju vibes, so my boyfriend and I went to try the lunch special :)

Where is Jeju Badang, and where do you park?

Jeju Badang, a Korean restaurant in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju, sits on the 2nd floor of a building across from Gagyeong Xi 1-danji, heading from Gagyeong e-Pyunhansesang toward Gagyeong I-Park 5-danji! The address is 28 Seohyeonnam-ro, 2nd floor, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk.

Parking at Jeju Badang is available on the building's own lot, so there's no need to worry about where to park :) There's no parking payment either, which was great — nothing to think about after the meal!

Take the elevator up to the 2nd floor and Jeju Badang is right on your left.

Inside Jeju Badang: the dining room and the kids' play room

Walking into this Gagyeong-dong restaurant, the interior reminded me right away of Jeju's stone walls!

The calm, tidy atmosphere felt more comfortable than lively — a good space to eat at ease :) The tables were also spaced generously apart, so I could eat without worrying about the next table over ♡

What I especially loved was that they had baby chairs and even a play room, so families with kids can eat comfortably without feeling self-conscious! There were all kinds of books, colored pencils, blocks, a slide, and even a violin haha

Jeju Badang's lunch special menu and ordering two sets by tablet

At Jeju Badang, you order via the tablet at each table. The lunch specials include grilled mackerel set (plain rice/pot rice), grilled atka mackerel set (plain rice/pot rice), Jeju boneless hairtail stew (plain rice/pot rice), and braised mackerel (plain rice/pot rice). My boyfriend and I visited together and ordered two dishes — grilled mackerel set with pot rice, and Jeju boneless hairtail stew with pot rice!

Also, the hairtail, black tilefish, and horned turban shell are all genuinely domestic Jeju-caught, so you get to enjoy the fish dishes even more :)

Side dishes and the self-serve bar with unlimited chicken and japchae

After ordering, the side dishes came out first! Cucumber muchim, bean sprout muchim, oyster mushroom muchim, eggplant muchim, sautéed mushrooms, zucchini muchim, plus a hot seaweed soup and spicy stir-fried pork :) If you run out, you can grab more from the self-serve bar, and if something isn't there, just ask the staff!

The self-serve bar has chicken and japchae too, along with ssam vegetables, kimchi, pickled onions, fish soy sauce, salad, and other side dishes, all neatly laid out. Being able to enjoy delicious food unlimited made it even better :)

After ordering, Jeju Badang's lunch special arrived as a full, hearty spread! Tasty side dishes, fish dishes, and steaming pot rice ,, ♡ It felt so good even before eating, like I hadn't had a healthy, delicious Korean meal in a while.

Pot rice and sungnyung (scorched rice tea) at the table

The moment the lid came off the pot rice, steam rose up and the glossy, shiny grains looked absolutely delicious at a glance. They scooped out the rice separately and poured water into the pot to make sungnyung haha

Jeju boneless hairtail stew: no bones, deeply soaked seasoning

The dish I was most looking forward to — boneless hairtail stew! Seeing the hairtail sitting deboned in the thick, glossy sauce made me swallow before I even took a bite hehe

The sauce was spicy in an appetite-driving way, and it seemed like it would go perfectly with plain white rice! The flesh was plump, too — as soon as I lifted a piece with my chopsticks, you could clearly see the natural flake of the hairtail :)

Taking a bite, the flavor leaned toward savory umami, so it was delicious either mixed into rice or just piled on top. What I loved most was how well the seasoning had soaked into both the fish and the radish ♡

Grilled mackerel set: half a fish, crisp outside and moist inside

And here's the grilled mackerel set I ordered. It comes with half a mackerel grilled — the outside was nicely browned, and with the excess fat drained off, it tasted light and clean!

Crispy outside, moist and soft inside — this mackerel set really was that combination! It was tasty dipped in fish soy sauce, and just as good piled on top of rice. Both the hairtail stew and grilled mackerel were completely free of any fishy taste, even for a fish-cooking beginner like me haha. I think even young kids would eat it happily without any resistance!

Finally, they scooped a spoonful of the sungnyung rice grains and topped it with flaked mackerel — and that was the exact taste my mom used to feed me as a kid..! Nutty yet clean, and the mackerel's rich fattiness went perfectly with it.

After-meal gangjeong, drinks and paying at the counter

The self-serve bar also has after-meal gangjeong (Korean sweet rice snack), peach iced tea, plum tea, and a coffee machine ready to go :)

At the checkout counter there was even floss, candy, toothpicks, and deodorizer, which I appreciated haha. It's a great spot for a family meal out in Cheongju, whether you're bringing kids or your parents :) ♥ If you're looking for a Korean restaurant, hairtail stew, or pot rice spot in Cheongju, how about Jeju Badang in Gagyeong-dong~?