Gimhae Jangyu kalguksu restaurant open on Chuseok: Seosan Dongjuk

This place hasn't even been open that long, but it's already got everyone talking — literally everyone I know had been except me, haha. So I finally dragged my husband and a friend who lives in Yangsan along, since neither of them had been yet.

Where is Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu, and how big is it?

Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu is a clam kalguksu specialty restaurant at 19 Deokjeong-ro 201beon-gil, 1F, Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. Even from the outside, it looks pretty spacious for a kalguksu place.

The inside isn't just this one section either — there's another hall on the opposite side. Since more people were seated over there, I only snapped a photo of this side, haha. We went at almost 2pm for a late lunch, so there were only three or four tables occupied.

But it seems like at peak hours this whole huge hall fills up and there's even a wait. A place that's just opened already having a line — I'm starting to see why my friends have been raving about it, haha.

Only three dishes on the menu: what do they cost?

The menu at Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu is totally simple. Dongjuk kalguksu at 9,000 won, oh-nak-sae seafood pancake at 15,000 won, and dongjuk clam soup at 12,000 won — that's it, three items!! For someone like me who agonizes over menu choices, this lineup is perfect, haha.

You order at a kiosk, and we got three servings of dongjuk kalguksu plus one oh-nak-sae seafood pancake. (Both the kalguksu and the pancake let you add or remove cheongyang chili.)

After ordering, the basic side dishes came out right away~

The self-serve bar was neatly split into a staff section and a customer section.

My friend, who's obsessed with kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), piled a whole plate of it from the self-serve bar, and my husband grabbed some green chilies, and then we waited reverently for the food. Maybe because it had been a while since we'd had such a late lunch, the wait felt really long, haha.

Oh-nak-sae seafood pancake: squid, octopus and shrimp, just as the name says

The oh-nak-sae seafood pancake finally arrived first. Oh~ true to its name, it was piled with squid, octopus, and shrimp.

The size was really impressive too, though it's hard to get a sense of scale from photos or video, haha.

The dongjuk kalguksu came out right after, and this bowl's size wasn't a joke either.

With the big pancake next to the big kalguksu, both looked deceptively normal-sized since they were both huge, haha.

Comparing it against a paper cup gives you a better sense of the real size, haha.

How does the dongjuk clam broth taste?

I quickly scooped some into a small plate and took a bite — oh, the dongjuk (surf clam) broth is really rich and delicious, ㅜㅜ. It's clean-tasting but still has that distinctive refreshing, deep clam flavor, the kind that makes you keep spooning up the broth.

There were three different dipping sauces for the pancake, so I tried each one — for my taste, the plain soy sauce was the best. But honestly, the pancake itself was insanely crispy, haha. Loaded with seafood and packed with umami, it was so good even without any sauce at all!!!

How many clams in a bowl, and the free rice

When the kalguksu first came out, I thought, 'Hmm, doesn't look like there's much clam in here?' But even after fishing out clams the whole time...

By the time we were nearly done, this many clams were still left, haha. The bowl is so big that the clams had apparently been hiding underneath the whole time, haha. With that much clam left and the broth this good, my stomach was full but I figured a bowl of rice mixed in would be perfect, so I checked the extra menu...

And the rice was... 0 won!!! Free, haha! I mean, the kalguksu portion was already huge, and the rice is free on top of that, haha.

With broth this good, there was no way I could just leave it...

I stirred in about half a bowl of rice, piled on the remaining clams, and took a spoonful — oh, this was delicious too, haha. It has a different feel from eating it with the noodles, and even though I was already pretty full, I ended up polishing off the broth completely, haha.

Dining room feel and Chuseok holiday hours

There were phrases posted around the restaurant that seemed to reflect the owner's philosophy, which I found memorable, and since it's a newly opened place, everything felt clean and shiny overall, which I liked. Above all, the food was delicious and the staff were kind, so I could see exactly why it's already gone viral despite only just opening. It's not for nothing that it's gotten a reputation as a top kalguksu spot in Gimhae and Jangyu, haha.

On the way out, there was a sign posted at the entrance saying they'd stay open through the Chuseok holiday without closing.

Since they're open even on the holiday itself, this could be a good spot for anyone who's not traveling anywhere for the holiday and needs to eat alone, or anyone who's exhausted from all the holiday cooking and wants some hot broth to settle their stomach — a bowl of kalguksu on Chuseok sounds pretty good, haha.

Free iced water set out along Yulha Stream

While out for a weekend meal near Seosan Dongjuk Kalguksu, I walked along the Yulha Stream and spotted this!!!

Not right in front of the restaurant, but across the road along Yulha Stream, there was a whole stack of ice water bottles set out. I wondered what it was for, and it turned out they'd been left there free for anyone walking or exercising to take! Not just for the restaurant's own customers, but for literally anyone strolling along the stream — that's genuinely not an easy thing to do. And next to the water bottles, there was even a separate bin set up for empty plastic bottles.

Most people were taking just one bottle each, but I did see one grandfather roll up on a scooter and load up a huge stash of them ㅠㅜ. It was set out as a kind gesture by the owner, and I hope that kind of goodwill doesn't end up feeling like an entitlement to some people. I already sensed it at the restaurant, but the owner really does seem like a warm person. The food was delicious, and seeing this made me feel even more drawn to the place, haha. I really hope a business run with this kind of heart keeps doing even better!