Bucheon Korean restaurant charcoal pork set: Kim Myeongju

I had errands around Bucheon City Hall that day, and I’d been running around without a proper meal all day, so I was seriously starving... 🥹 At first I thought I’d have something light like a salad, but for some reason that day I really wanted a proper home-style table with warm rice and lots of side dishes.

So while looking for a good Korean restaurant near Sinjung-dong Station, I stopped by Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang (김명주뜰안채밥상), Jungdong Branch.

I went in alone for one meal, but when I left I was thinking, “I need to bring my parents back here” 🤍 From the side dishes to the cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) and yellow rice, the spread was much more substantial than I expected.

Is it easy to walk from Sinjung-dong Station and park?

Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang, Jungdong Branch is about 385 m from Exit 3 of Sinjung-dong Station, or a three- to four-minute walk. I came over after finishing my errands at Bucheon City Hall, and it was an easy route for a meal around Jungdong too.

More than anything, parking can quietly become a concern when you drive around here, right?

You can park on the building’s first floor, and if it is full, they say you get one hour of support at the nearby Jungdong Park Town parking tower. Public transit is convenient and parking is available, so I thought it would be a nice place to bring parents for a meal too.

Seating for solo meals through family gatherings

The first thing I noticed when I went in was how spacious the restaurant was! The tables were not crammed together, there was plenty of space between seats, and some were separated by partitions, so it was comfortable for eating.

Even though I was visiting alone, I did not feel self-conscious or uncomfortable :) There were partitioned seats and comfortable sofa-style seats, so dining alone did not feel burdensome at all. There are also private rooms and group tables, plus high chairs, and while I ate I kept thinking this would be a good place to bring parents or have a family meal.

Side-dish sales corner and display shelves

On one side of the restaurant, there was information about buying side dishes and a display of various packaged items. It was not just a place to eat and leave—there was quietly quite a bit to look around at.

Tteuranchae table sets and set-meal menu

You order using the tablet at each table. The basic Tteuranchae table set is ₩13,000 per person, but you cannot order only that; you either add a main à la carte dish or order one of the set meals that includes it.

• Grilled mackerel set ₩28,000
• Seasoned cockle set ₩28,000
• Stir-fried webfoot octopus set ₩31,000
• Charcoal-grilled meat set ₩31,000
• Soy-marinated raw crab set ₩31,000
• Barley corvina set ₩31,000

From mackerel and barley corvina to soy-marinated raw crab and charcoal-grilled pork, there was a whole range of dishes Korean-food lovers would enjoy, so the choices were quite varied.

A self-serve bar for more side dishes and cheonggukjang

And one of my favorite things here was the self-serve bar. The table already comes with plenty of side dishes, but you can go back for more of whichever ones you like. At a Korean set-meal restaurant, I sometimes feel a little awkward asking for more even when one side dish is delicious, so it was so convenient to take as much as I wanted myself. As someone who loves rice and Korean food, I love a self-serve bar like this... 🤍

What came with the charcoal-grilled meat set

I ordered the charcoal-grilled meat set that day!

Doesn’t the full table look so generous? 😳 I had only come in wanting a warm home-style meal, but with rice, cheonggukjang, rows of side dishes, and a main dish too, it was much more filling than I expected.

There was such a variety, from kimchi and seasoned vegetables to japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), fried eggplant, and other side dishes, so it was fun to have a spoonful of rice and choose a different dish each time. Best of all, the sides were not automatically salty or overly strong; they were seasoned just right to eat with rice, so the overall combination worked really well.

Charcoal-grilled pork with rice 🤍

A generous serving of seasoned pork came out, and it was delicious either on its own or over rice.

I had the charcoal-grilled pork over rice and wrapped it in lettuce or napa cabbage too. Rather than feeling like I was eating only one main dish, I could have little bits with different sides, so it stayed satisfying without becoming tiring, and the japchae and seasoned vegetables were all nicely balanced too.

The hot cheonggukjang I kept reaching for

And the cheonggukjang here was seriously delicious 🤍 I’m someone who needs one hot soup when I eat Korean food, so I was so happy the moment it arrived. Having the bubbling-hot cheonggukjang with rice gave me exactly the filling home-cooked feeling I had wanted that day. A spoonful while eating meat, another while eating rice—I kept reaching for it. And since you can have more cheonggukjang too, I think people who love it will be really happy.

Finish the pot rice with nurungji

After serving out the pot rice, I poured in water and let it sit for a little while. By the time I had finished the rice, I opened it and it was perfectly ready like warm nurungji (scorched-rice tea) soup 🤍 Pot rice only feels properly complete when you finish with the nurungji... haha

I went alone and thought of my parents

I visited for one filling meal, but there were dishes adults tend to like, such as barley corvina and soy-marinated raw crab, the side dishes were plentiful, and the restaurant was spacious with comfortable seating, private rooms, high chairs, and parking. It seemed quite good for a family meal.

There was also separate information for Tteuranchae Cafe in the same building, so it looked convenient to move there after eating. Most of all, the staff were kind when I visited, so I was able to eat comfortably even on my own :) I had found Kim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang, Jungdong Branch simply because I wanted a filling meal after errands near Bucheon City Hall, but I was more satisfied than expected. Next time, I want to bring my parents and try the barley corvina or soy-marinated raw crab too.