Bucheon pocha jjukkumi with beef brisket and steamed egg: Yajju Yajju

Where is Yajju Yajju? Chunui Station, Bucheon, 40 years after I worked here

I visited Chunui Station in Bucheon, one of the central stops on Line 7. This is the neighborhood where I worked back when I was about 40 years younger than I am now, so it felt familiar the whole time I was looking around. Some things from those days are still here, but looking around, a lot has changed. Coming back after so long, old memories came flooding back, and I couldn't help but think about how much time has passed.

The fishing ban lifted on September 1st, so jjukkumi (webfoot octopus) has been so delicious lately. That's why I came to Yajju Yajju Main Branch, a jjukkumi restaurant near Chunui Station.

The entrance: pink oil drums and signs that make you laugh

The pink oil drums catch your eye at the entrance of Yajju Yajju Maekom Jjukkumi Main Branch. Getting closer, I noticed each drum has a funny phrase written on it. 'I wish you'd be a regular.' This one already gets to me a little. But the next one made me laugh out loud: 'Alcohol is our enemy, let's drink it away!!' Calling alcohol the enemy and then saying to drink it away — pretty funny. At the end there was an even bolder, more cheeky phrase, so the mood is fun from the entrance onward. I couldn't help but laugh just walking by and spotting these funny lines. It was an entrance that put me in a good mood before I even walked in.

Inside Yajju Yajju: oil-drum seats, high chairs and aprons

This is the inside of Yajju Yajju, a lunch spot popular in Sinjungdong. Walking in, I felt the cozy, familiar mood typical of a pocha (Korean street-food pub), but the interior was neatly kept. Round tables and drum-can seats gave it an old-school pocha feel, and each table had a burner set up nicely. What caught my eye especially was that baby chairs and aprons were all ready to go. Families visiting with kids, or anyone worried about food splashing, could use the place comfortably. Overall it was well kept and had a comfortable mood for eating and chatting.

Menu at Yajju Yajju: Jjudak, Jjubo, Jjusam, Jjuu and spice levels 1 to 4

Looking at the menu at Yajju Yajju, a jjukkumi restaurant in Bucheon, it's built around jjukkumi as the base with several combinations to choose from. Along with the Yaju set, there's Jjudak, Jjubo, Jjusam, Jjuu, and more — various menus that pair jjukkumi with chicken thigh meat, bossam (boiled pork wraps), pork belly, and beef brisket short rib.

You can choose spice level 1 through 4. Even level 1 is noted as spicier than Shin Ramyun, so if you can't handle spicy food, keep that in mind. Side dishes and toppings are varied too. You can add pork belly and neck, chicken thigh meat, beef brisket short rib, white shrimp, and there are also dishes like herbal bossam, gochujang pork stir-fry, fish cake skewer soup, and steamed egg.

There was a fun event running too. Write a Naver receipt review and you get a rice ball, a drink, or a meat dumpling. Beat a staff member at rock-paper-scissors and you get a dumpling or a drink — and if you beat the owner too, you get both. Worth trying just for fun. Tables also had QR code wifi instructions, which was convenient.

A burner was set up in the middle of the table too, so it was nice being able to keep the food warm as we ate.

Side dishes, including chilled cucumber soup

The basic table setting was neatly prepared too. Perilla leaves and seaweed, flying fish roe, mayonnaise, and pickled radish with corn came out, along with a cool cucumber cold soup. Topping perilla leaves with spicy jjukkumi, roe, and mayo especially seemed like it would be a great flavor combination. The pickled radish and corn were good for switching up the palate along the way.

Jjukkumi is an ingredient containing taurine, so it's worth paying attention to not just for taste but for nutrition too. Above all, I could feel the restaurant's intention to use good ingredients and serve guests carefully so their time and money wouldn't feel wasted.

Yajju Jjuu: top-grade jjukkumi with beef brisket and thin-sliced pork belly

This is the Yaju Juu we ordered. A combination of top-grade jjukkumi and beef brisket short rib.

The instructions for how to eat it deliciously, attached to the Yaju jjukkumi, also caught my eye. It clearly explains what to pair the jjukkumi with. Seeing even this small detail taken care of made me think the owner has real sense.

The jjukkumi had a great chewy texture, and the beef brisket added a savory flavor, so the two together worked really well. Bean sprouts, chives, and sliced garlic were mixed in too, and cooking them together added a crunchy texture and aroma. I tried the jjukkumi on the perilla leaves and seaweed that came as a side, and also wrapped it in pickled radish with brisket, roe, and mayo. Adding various pairings to the spicy jjukkumi and savory brisket let us enjoy the same dish in slightly different ways each time. My partner, who normally loves jjukkumi, ate it happily too. Chatting and eating slowly together, the plate was mostly empty before we knew it.

Steamed egg, the side that tames the spice

I also ordered steamed egg to eat alongside the spicy jjukkumi.

The steamed egg was warm and soft, so it went well with the spicy jjukkumi. A spoonful at a time made the spiciness feel much gentler. I was glad I ordered it along with the jjukkumi.

Finishing with flying fish roe fried rice

Finish the jjukkumi and eat the cheese fried rice!

After enjoying the jjukkumi and beef brisket, the essential final course you can't skip is flying fish roe fried rice. Seaweed flakes and roe are generously piled onto the leftover sauce and stir-fried, and a savory smell hits your nose.

With generous flying fish roe and seaweed flakes — almost half rice, half roe — it's so loaded with roe that each bite pops in your mouth, a pure delight. The sauce soaks well into every grain of rice, giving it a chewy texture with maximized savoriness.

Location, hours and parking near Chunui Station

• Address: 229-11 Bucheon-ro, 1st floor, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
• Hours: Daily 10:00–02:00
• Parking: No parking available, nearby lots recommended