Korean restaurant in Hwaseong for a filling Ossam set meal: Ossamgak

Craving a generous Korean meal, I visited Ossamgak, known in Dongtan Mok-dong for its stir-fried squid and bossam (boiled pork wraps). It felt like a great spot for either lunch or a hearty dinner, since you can enjoy spicy stir-fried squid and tender garlic bossam all at once.

Ossamgak location and parking

• Location: 1F, 20 Wangbaesan 3-gil, Dongtan-gu, Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do (경기 화성시 동탄구 왕배산3길 20 1층)
• Hours: daily, 11:00–21:30
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• Last order: 21:00
• Chuseok closure: September 25–28
• Naver reservations available

For parking, use the entrance to Dongtan 2 Mok-dong Public Parking Lot. There are spaces for around four cars in front of the restaurant too, but they are not especially plentiful, so I recommend the public lot! The restaurant also supports 1 hour 30 minutes of free parking there, which is useful to know if you are driving.

Inside Ossamgak and post-meal coffee

Ossamgak was clean overall, with fairly generous space between tables, so the atmosphere was nice too. The standard tables seat four, making it good for a family visit! Best of all, the restroom is inside the restaurant.

High chairs are available as well, so I thought it would be a solid choice for anyone looking for a place to dine out in Dongtan with children.

After the meal, each person gets one free coffee. A Dongtan Mok-dong restaurant where you can enjoy things right through to the finish ☕

Ordering the Ossam set meal for two

The menu at Ossamgak in Dongtan is fairly simple. There is the Ossam set meal, which lets you enjoy stir-fried squid and garlic bossam together, as well as a slightly cheaper, more budget-friendly lunch special. Since it was our first visit, we ordered the signature Ossam set meal for two. It was ₩38,000 for two. Since you can taste both the stir-fried squid and garlic bossam at once, I recommend the Ossam set meal for first-time visitors.

Ordering was easy at the kiosk, and it was convenient that we could pay at the table. You can choose the spice level for the stir-fried squid, and for the garlic sauce served with the bossam, you can choose whether to receive it separately or have it placed on the meat. I am a total lightweight with spicy food, so I picked the regular flavor for the stir-fried squid!

After ordering, the basic banchan (Korean side dishes) arrived first. There were around five kinds, and I enjoyed them all.

The set also came with doenjang jjigae (soybean-paste stew). It had lots of tofu, and I liked its savory flavor: not overly salty at all. With plenty of ingredients, it was a great stew to eat with rice. (I scraped the bowl clean..) Then, finally, the mains arrived!

The stir-fried squid came on the left and the garlic bossam on the right. It looked generous from the start, and seemed like quite a lot even for two people.

What was the regular-flavor stir-fried squid like?

I do not handle spicy food very well, so I ordered the regular spice level. It was spicy with a subtle char-grilled aroma, and I enjoyed it even more than I expected. Above all, the squid was substantial, and the vegetables and cabbage mixed in were delicious too.

Rather than being overly intense, the seasoning was perfect with rice, and I could easily finish a whole bowl. I also recommend mixing the japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) served as a side dish into the stir-fried squid sauce. A soft-cooked egg and gim garu (seaweed flakes) are provided to eat with the stir-fried squid, too.

Add them to your rice and mix everything with the stir-fried squid to make quick work of a meal. If you like mixed rice, I really want to recommend this combination.

Bossam with sweet garlic sauce

And the garlic bossam I had been looking forward to was truly delicious too. Even just visually, it was generous enough that it did not feel lacking compared with a dedicated bossam restaurant. I worried the garlic sauce on top might be spicy, but it was less spicy than expected—sweet, tasty, and nicely garlicky. Eaten with the bossam, it added a gentle garlic aroma and was delicious without feeling heavy.

It was delicious with the ssam (wrap greens) and kimchi served alongside it, and putting the garlic sauce on the meat matched the clean flavor of the bossam well. The stir-fried squid was spicy while the garlic bossam was tender and mild, so alternating between the two kept the meal delicious right to the end.

When you want a generous Korean meal

Even with two of us, there was quite a lot, and we left full. With both stir-fried squid and garlic bossam in one set, it struck me as a great place to visit when you want a generous Korean meal.

The stir-fried squid has adjustable heat, and you can enjoy garlic bossam alongside it, so I would recommend this place for families or anyone who wants to try several dishes at once.