Gwangju restaurant with yukhoe yubu-chobap, no drinks: Ju Myeongdang

I heard there's a Korean bar-restaurant in Dongmyeong-dong, so I went for dinner with my mom haha. Neither of us drinks well and I had to drive, so today was all about a good dinner instead of drinks!

Where is Ju Myeongdang, and where do you park?

Ju Myeongdang is above the Saigon Jang restaurant near the entrance to Dongmyeong-dong.

• 📍 Ju Myeongdang
• Address: 15-2 Jangdong-ro, 2nd floor, Dong-gu, Gwangju, South Korea
• Parking: National Asia Culture Center annex parking lot / 1 hour free with a visit
• Parking lot address: 10 Jebong-ro 110beon-gil, Dong-gu, Gwangju, South Korea
• Last order: 00:30

Parking is always a worry in Dongmyeong-dong, so it was convenient to be able to use the ACC annex lot.

Inside Ju Myeongdang: a second-floor Korean bar with mood from the stairs up

You can feel Ju Myeongdang's own atmosphere from the moment you climb up to the 2nd floor. It kind of feels like a drama-worthy Korean bar haha.

The Imo Babsang and Samchon Suljang sets are the main offerings here.

Inside, the lighting was a bit dim with big, kitschy paintings hung up. My favorite kind of plant interior was on full display too — there was a huge plant that made the place look even prettier.

There were also room-like separated spaces and tables for larger groups, so it looked good for group gatherings or company dinners too. Booking a room in advance would probably make for a more comfortable meal.

Even the table we got seated at was cute right from the artwork lol.

Through the wide window you could see the Dongmyeong-dong street, so it was fun to people-watch outside while eating dinner.

Of all the table setting, this long spoon was the most fascinating lol. I'd never seen a spoon like this before. Perfect for scooping up a whole mouthful of broth in one go!

Ju Myeongdang menu: Imo Babsang, Samchon Suljang and Myeongdang Gujeolpan

The signature menus are Imo Babsang, Samchon Suljang, and Myeongdang Gujeolpan.

• Imo Babsang: a meal set with straw-fire char siu bossam, straw-fire seasoned galbi, and beef yukjeon, plus kimchi jjigae, seasonal bibimbap, and cold noodles
• Samchon Suljang: beef yukjeon, straw-fire galbi, fried peppers, doenjang sulbap (soybean paste soup rice), and yukhoe yubu-chobap (raw beef tartare fried tofu rice)
• Myeongdang Gujeolpan: same-day butchered muntigi, kombu-cured salmon, Jeju flounder, and hanwoo (Korean beef) yukhoe all at once

We don't drink, but the Samchon Suljang set looked the tastiest, so we ordered that one haha.

What comes with the Samchon Suljang set, from doenjang sulbap to cheese potato pancake

After waiting a bit, a full tray came out like this! Having several things served all at once like an omakase just made me happy hehe.

This doenjang sulbap deserves a lot of the credit for why I picked the Samchon Suljang lol. It's slightly red and spicy from the chili powder, but the broth is refreshing and packed with hearty ingredients.

There's even rice mixed in, so eating it hot was delicious. Yum~

The main event was the straw-fire galbi! It came out perfectly tender and grilled, so we just snipped it up with scissors and ate. No need to grill it yourself, so it was convenient too haha.

The yukjeon (beef pancake) was warm and soft! The fried peppers that came with it were crispy on the outside and generously filled inside, so I kept picking at them.

And then the highlight, yukhoe yubu-chobap. The sesame oil aroma wafts up right away.

I thought that was the end, but then the cheese potato pancake came out too. This chewiness is out of this world lol. The chewy potato pancake topped with plenty of cheese was so good, so good.

The fresh kimchi-like geotjeori that came with it was really tasty too. Good with the yukjeon, and also great for cleansing your palate between bites of galbi!

Straw-fire galbi wraps with beef yukjeon

Eating time, start. Time to wrap things up properly! Putting the straw-fire galbi on vegetables with a bit of ssamjang, the sweet galbi and crunchy vegetables went really well together.

Eating the yukjeon together with geotjeori was savory and a little spicy — perfect with makgeolli!!

Yukhoe yubu-chobap: beef tartare pockets that taste like radish-salad bibimbap

Inside the fried tofu rice was rice that felt like a mu-saengchae (radish salad) bibimbap. It has that proper Korean flavor, and with yukhoe piled on top, it was delicious lol.

We ate the cheese potato pancake up before it got cold too. With the Samchon Suljang alone giving us galbi, yukjeon, doenjang sulbap, yukhoe yubu-chobap, and potato pancake, it was a filling meal for two. Even though it's called a drinking set, it worked out fine coming just for dinner without alcohol like we did. 👍👍👍👍👍

Is Ju Myeongdang worth it for dinner without alcohol?

Ju Myeongdang, the Dongmyeong-dong favorite where my mom and I got to enjoy a variety of Korean dishes! The atmosphere is pretty too, so it's good for a dinner date or when looking for a Dongmyeong-dong bar, and the meal menus are solid too, so it was also good for us who just came for dinner like we did.

And on the way out, we even got to watch free fireworks lol. Full stomachs and fireworks too — Ju Myeongdang, the Gwangju favorite that gave us a proper mood reset, hehe :)