Late-night eel restaurant in Cheongju with bokbunja wine: Samhwa Susan
In short
Samhwa Susan is a charcoal-grilled river eel restaurant in Nami-myeon, Seowon-gu, Cheongju, with a sign out front that reads "Self Grilled River Eel." On a late-evening visit for two, the order came to 1 kg of eel for 50,000 won, a table setting for two at 8,000 won, an extra clam soup for 1,000 won, a bottle of Seonun bokbunja wine, and a self-serve ramyeon that was free in exchange for a receipt review. The eel at Samhwa Susan was pleasantly chewy, but the clam soup and the bokbunja wine were the unexpected winners.
Good to know
- Location
- Near Hana Geriatric Hospital; the sign reads "Self Grilled River Eel"
- Hours
- Tue–Sun 11:10–21:00 (last order 20:00)
- Closed
- Every Monday
- Eel, 1 kg
- 50,000 won
- Table setting
- 4,000 won per person (includes fresh kimchi salad and clam soup)
- Extra clam soup
- 1,000 won
- Seonun bokbunja wine
- 13,000 won
- Soju
- 5,000 won
- Self-serve ramyeon
- 4,000 won, free with a receipt review
- Origin
- Everything domestic except the kimchi, according to the restaurant
- Price reference
- ₩50,000 ≈ $37 · ₩4,000 ≈ $3 · ₩1,000 ≈ $0.7 (2026-09-15)
as written by the visitor on Sep 15, 2026
Today I went to a famous restaurant in Cheongju with my boyfriend. It's apparently pretty well known for eel, because even late at night the place was packed haha. I've been to a lot of eel restaurants, but this might be the first one I've seen where 1kg only costs ₩50,000!!
Big space, wide drink selection, cheap prices, great atmosphere — that's why "Samhwa Susan" keeps drawing crowds. Let me introduce it now~
Where is Samhwa Susan, and what are its hours?
Samhwa Susan is in Nam-i-myeon, Seowon-gu, Cheongju, near Hana Senior Hospital. It's open Tue–Sun 11:10–21:00, last order at 20:00, closed every Monday.
The sign says "Self Grilled River Eel," so I actually had trouble finding it at first, haha.
The inside was completely full — true to its reputation as a great eel spot in Cheongju, the seats were packed with families and couples alike!
What is in the self-serve corner: ramyeon, drinks and side dishes
The self-serve corner at Samhwa Susan had ramyeon (instant noodles), alcohol, and various side dishes. The ramyeon is only ₩4,000, but it's free if you leave a receipt review, so make sure to do that!
What we ordered: 1 kg of eel for 50,000 won
Samhwa Susan's menu features "charcoal-grilled eel"! ₩50,000 for a kilo — I've usually paid 60-70,000 won, so seeing this price made me go "whoa."
The table setting was ₩4,000 per person, and it comes with fresh kimchi salad and clam soup. By the way, everything is domestic except the kimchi. We debated what to order and ended up with the menu below!
- Eel, 1kg — ₩50,000
- Table setting for two — ₩8,000
- Seonun bokbunja wine — ₩13,000
- Soju — ₩5,000
- Clam soup, extra — ₩1,000
- Self-serve ramyeon — free (receipt review)
The eel came sliced into bite-sized pieces and grilled for us, and the portion looked pretty generous.
Side dishes and the clam soup at Samhwa Susan
The side dishes were chives, fresh kimchi salad, ginger, kimchi, and lettuce, and the fresh kimchi salad was salty in a really good way. Good enough to eat with just rice.
I'm not sure about anything else, but my personal kick was the clam soup. It's only ₩1,000 extra, and it's clean and refreshing — it went surprisingly well with the eel? Honestly, I've never had clam soup alongside eel at any other eel restaurant before, but I have to admit they know what they're doing haha.
Seonun bokbunja wine: a clean, light sweetness
What am I doing? So much for cutting back on drinking. We ordered the bokbunja (black raspberry wine), and honestly I'd call this place a great bokbunja spot, not just a great eel spot in Cheongju. The bokbunja I usually drink is too heavy and too sweet, but this one had a clean taste that I really liked.
How the charcoal eel tastes when the staff grill it for you
A staff member grilled the eel to make sure it cooked properly, and I was starving the whole time. I tried hard to gauge how done each piece was as they grilled it one by one haha.
Finally, the first bite! The eel, grilled to a nice golden brown, was really chewy? I used to mostly have the crispy-outside-soft-inside kind, so the chewiness was actually a nice change.
I personally love eating things with kimchi, so I tried it wrapped in lettuce with kimchi and ginger too. The eel is delicious on its own, but it was even better with the extras.
It was grilled evenly all the way through, and I finally understood why the tail part is considered the good part. It was especially chewy.
The free self-serve ramyeon you get for a receipt review
I couldn't resist, so I left the receipt review and boiled up some ramyeon. It seemed like the kind of clean flavor that calls for a shot of soju, so we decided to try it that way!
It's getting colder these days, and eating a bowl of the kind of ramyeon that reminds you of the Han River made the soju go down way too smoothly. I was planning to head straight home after this, but honestly, I didn't want to go home at all.
Is Samhwa Susan worth a second visit?
Personally, I'd recommend this as one of the eel restaurants worth trying! Among the famous eel spots in Cheongju, not many are this affordable — ₩50,000 for a kilo is on the cheaper end, the sides are free if you leave a receipt review, the sides themselves aren't too heavy, and it's budget-friendly overall, so I think I'll come back and eat here again! haha
Where it is
269 Daerim-ro, Nam-i-myeon, Seowon-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea충청북도 청주시 서원구 남이면 대림로 269 셀프풍천장어
