Gumi restaurant near Park Chung-hee's birthplace: Irojeong loach set

• 🌍Location; 32 Bakjeonghui-ro, Gumi-si, Gyeongsangbuk-do
• ⏰Hours; Daily 11:00–21:00 (break time 15:30–17:00)
• 🚗Parking; Available

Irojeong Gumi Geumosan Direct Branch, a Korean restaurant near Park Chung-hee's birthplace

Near President Park Chung-hee's birthplace in Gumi, Gyeongbuk sits a Korean food gem — "Irojeong Gumi Geumosan Direct Branch". This place is run by a master of Namwon-style loach soup (chueotang), so you can enjoy a proper, restorative meal here!!

On a weekend trip to Gumi, I found this restaurant near President Park Chung-hee's birthplace. It's known for being the first in the country to serve a full loach soup course made with sanghwang mushroom, and it was packed with customers ~ The parking lot is spacious, so parking was easy too.

Since it hadn't been open long, it was clean and tidy, with rooms on both sides that looked great for gatherings. There were also baby chairs and a play room —

Irojeong menu and prices

Sanghwang mushroom loach soup

• Imyeonsu + hot-cooked pork sanghwang loach soup set ₩12,000
• Hot-cooked pork sanghwang loach soup set ₩14,000
• Mackerel + hot-cooked pork sanghwang loach soup set ₩20,000
• Sanghwang loach soup ₩11,000

Wild ginseng black goat dishes

• Wild ginseng black goat set ₩30,000
• Black goat soup ₩18,000

Side dishes

• Korean beef seaweed soup ₩11,000
• Whole loin pork cutlet ₩10,000
• Assorted ginseng-loach fritters ₩12,000
• Hot-cooked pork, half plate ₩12,000
• Hot-cooked pork, full plate ₩24,000
• Imyeonsu fish fillet ₩7,000
• Mackerel fillet ₩7,000
• Snow wild ginseng black goat suyuk (medium) ₩70,000
• Snow wild ginseng black goat suyuk (large) ₩90,000
• Potato shred pancake ₩10,000
• Whole octopus seafood pancake ₩20,000
• Turmeric rice ₩1,000

What's on Irojeong's self-serve bar

There's a self-serve bar with extra side dishes, wheat noodles, and seasonings, so it was easy to use — there was also fruit for dessert!!

The 12,000-won imyeonsu and loach soup set, plus shredded potato pancake

We ordered the imyeonsu + hot-cooked pork sanghwang loach soup set (₩12,000) and the potato shred pancake (₩10,000). The side dishes came out plated elegantly on a tray. Fried loach and fried sweet potato came as basics, so we got to try them : ) The crispy fried loach was so good we ended up ordering more haha

The imyeonsu + hot-cooked pork sanghwang loach soup set comes with grilled imyeonsu fish and hot-cooked pork, and the portion is quite generous ~ Along with the basic side dishes, we got to enjoy hot-cooked pork, fried loach, and grilled fish all together. The pork suyuk was tender and soft enough to eat on its own. It came with dried radish strips, and eating them together made everything more savory : )

The main sanghwang loach soup and turmeric rice

The main dish: sanghwang loach soup. Even the rice wasn't plain white rice but turmeric rice. The whole spread was a proper restorative meal. The Namwon-style loach soup, simmered with domestic sanghwang mushroom and domestic loach, had a thick, rich flavor that was excellent!! You could add perilla powder and minced garlic to taste, but I actually preferred it plain — it was clean and suited my palate ~ Mixing in the turmeric rice and finishing the bowl made me feel healthier already.

Fried loach: the dish we ordered twice

Fried loach comes as a default side, but it was so good we ordered it again. It comes with ginseng too, so you get fried sweet potato + fried loach + fried ginseng together. The portion is generous and it's fried nice and crispy — dipped in soy sauce, it's absolutely delicious —

We ordered the imyeonsu with hot-cooked pork set and the portion was enormous. We went with an elementary school kid, and even just two orders were plenty for the three of us. It had been a while since I'd had imyeonsu fish, and the soft, tender flesh was so tasty ~

I was expecting a regular potato pancake, but the potato shred pancake was a visual standout from the start. Dipping the crispy potato shreds into sweet ketchup gave it a whole different flavor ~

Irojeong's own café, where every dessert is free

Don't leave just because you've finished eating!! Irojeong has its own dedicated café. It's right near the entrance, and it's packed with desserts @@ Best of all, all of it is free!!

The old-fashioned rice crackers (yetnal gwaja) were crispy and sweet, so I couldn't stop reaching for them. Paired with the sweet pumpkin sikhye (rice punch), it was the perfect match!!

There's also sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch), sikhye, and even the health-boosting sipjeondaebo tea, and you can just sit comfortably at a table and enjoy it before heading out :) It was a place where round one — the meal — and round two — the café — could both be perfectly wrapped up!!

On my way out, the shine muscat grapes were cheap so I bought a box, and I regretted only buying one once I got home ;;; They were truly sweet and delicious!! I finished the whole box in a day haha

A must-try restaurant near Geumosan, Gumi — a hanjeongsik near President Park Chung-hee's birthplace, "Irojeong Gumi Geumosan Direct Branch"