Friends' lunch shabu-shabu buffet in Jeongja-dong, Suwon: Sodamchon

I came here for a lunch meetup with friends near Hwaseo Station in Jeongja-dong. If you live in Suwon's Jeongja-dong, you probably already know Sodamchon, but let me introduce it properly anyway haha^^

Where is Sodamchon Suwon Jeongja Branch, and where do you park?

Sodamchon Suwon Jeongja Branch is on the 4th floor of Gyeongseong Building, 171 Jeongjacheon-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do. If you're driving, use the Seonil Building parking lot!

• Address: 4th Floor, Gyeongseong Building, 171 Jeongjacheon-ro, Jangan-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 11:00–21:00 (last order 20:20)
• Parking: Seonil Parking Building (across from Lotteria), 90 minutes supported (check 1–2 cars per table in advance)

I went looking for this shabu-shabu spot near Hwaseo Station in central Jeongja-dong. First-timers might get a bit confused about the location. Look for the building with a big Twosome Place on the first floor and you'll find it easily. Sodamchon is on the 4th floor of Gyeongseong Building — if you go toward the front of the building and only see stairs, don't panic! 😊 Walk around the back toward the parking lot and there's a separate elevator just for Sodamchon. Follow the photos above in order and you won't have trouble finding it.

Taking the elevator up to the 4th floor, a freshly remodeled, clean restaurant appeared.

Seating, individual sharing plates and the sauce setup

Walking straight into Sodamchon Suwon Jeongja Branch, there's a spacious waiting area, and the friendly owner helped us to comfortable seats^^

We were seated at a neatly pre-set booth, and I especially loved the individual sharing plates prepared for each person. There were so many kinds of sauces it could be confusing at first, but each one was labeled, which made it easy — great for scooping spring roll or shabu-shabu ingredients onto your own plate and dipping. Since this is food meant to be shared among several people, the hygienic, thoughtful setup for guests really stood out.

After sitting down, I ordered comfortably from the tableside kiosk, then took a walk around the restaurant.

High chairs and a kids zone for families

Since I did an opening-run visit before the crowds arrived, I got to leisurely capture the restaurant's look. There were baby chairs for family guests, and hangers to hang up coats tucked thoughtfully all around. Seeing so much care put into even small details made me think 'they really put thought into this place.'

There was even a small cinema set up just for young guests. It's not easy to keep an eye on kids while eating shabu-shabu and spring rolls, so having a separate kids-only zone like this must make things much easier for parents. Especially on days like Chuseok when the whole family gathers, this seems like a great place for everyone from kids to adults to visit together. 😊

What's on the self-serve salad bar?

And of course, the salad bar can't be skipped^^ Sodamchon's salad bar had a huge variety — vegetables and mushrooms perfect for spring rolls, sweet pumpkin salad, rice cakes, dumplings, sujebi (hand-torn noodle soup), glass noodles, and even tteokbokki. On top of that, there was post-meal bread, yeolmu (young radish) water kimchi, and various kinds of fish cakes! Not just variety — everything tasted great too, so it was genuinely fun picking things out.

I wanted to pile my plate to overflowing, but for the environment's sake I decided to take just enough and make several trips instead.

Spring roll refills, half-and-half broth and a porridge finish

And it's no secret that I refilled spring rolls more than five times! 😆 They were seriously delicious. Sodamchon's raw vegetables are cut finely enough that they're not a hassle to eat, so the texture doesn't get in the way, and wrapped up in a spring roll they had just the right crunch.

And shabu-shabu can't be missing either. The broth can be split half mild and half spicy, and the meat can be split half brisket, half pork shoulder^^

We also cleared the healthy vegetable kalguksu thoroughly, and finished off with the porridge that no shabu-shabu meal is complete without.

Can you tell how light and comforting it tasted — that familiar homey flavor? I scraped the pot all the way to the bottom, doing my part for the environment haha 😆

The return-visit coupon handed out at the register

While paying at the counter, I noticed the owner — who also sponsors children's charities — was promoting a Chuseok dining special. These days families eat out a lot for Chuseok. The kids' pricing isn't a burden either, and it's a place both adults and children can enjoy, so it seemed like a great spot for a family meal out. After paying, I also made sure to grab the beef-add-on coupon good for my next visit. 😊

Coffee and ice cream after the meal

Right after finishing the meal, coffee was exactly what came to mind! And right next door there was a stylish space that felt just as nice as a dedicated coffee shop.

There was a convenient automatic coffee machine, letting you choose between ground coffee or instant mix depending on your taste. There was also a machine for iced drinks, plum tea, and ice cream. Honestly, I expected this to just be a simple post-shabu-shabu dessert, but the coffee and ice cream both turned out to be as high quality as a proper dedicated shop ☕🍦

There were stainless steel cups ready for enjoying drinks cold, and individual hygienic spoons for the ice cream too.

I'll wrap up this post here with Sodamchon, where even the dessert was perfect^^ I think I'll be back again and again.