Soy-glazed grilled eel date night in Bucheon: Gochang Pungcheon Eel

Gochang Pungcheon Eel (고창풍천장어) is an eel restaurant at 17-28 Giljudong-ro 121beon-gil, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, just 288m from Sangdong Station Exit 8. It's open daily 11:30–23:00 with last order at 22:00, and parking is free for 2 hours in the building's parking tower on floors 2–5, then ₩2,000 per 30 minutes after that.

• *Fri (9/25) closed for Chuseok
• *Sat (9/26) Chuseok holiday hours 11:30–23:00

It was September and I was craving eel, so I went looking and found this Sangdong Station favorite — Gochang Pungcheon Eel. It's one of the top two eel places I've ever eaten at!! Let's get into the review.

How to walk to Gochang Pungcheon Eel from Sangdong Station, and where to park

Gochang Pungcheon Eel, the Sangdong Station eel favorite, is just a 2-minute walk from Sangdong Station Exit 7, so it's very easy to reach! It sits in the middle of the restaurant row behind Saveзone. If you're driving, there's parking in the building too, so it's convenient either way.

• 🅿️ Free parking available
• Address: 536-8 Sangdong, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, Gukcheon Building
• Parking tower on floors 2–5 of the building
• 2 hours free, then ₩2,000 per 30 minutes

The terrace seats at Gochang Pungcheon Eel

There are seats outside with that outdoor pojangmacha (street tent bar) vibe! Eating eel outside on a cool autumn day sounds pretty romantic.

A second-generation eel restaurant in Bucheon

Gochang Pungcheon Eel opened in 2003, so it's already 20 years old! To mark the anniversary, they did a remodel, so now you can eat in a cleaner, more pleasant space.

Inside Gochang Pungcheon Eel: private room and group bookings

The interior was clean and pleasant! There was a stand of disposable aprons on one side of the restaurant, so you could eat hygienically.

• Venue rental available: minimum 30+ people (except Fri, Sat)

There's also a private room further inside! Other guests were using it when we visited, so I couldn't get photos of the inside. The room seats a minimum of 8 up to 10 people! It's a great spot near Sangdong Station for family gatherings, company dinners, and all kinds of group meetups. I reserved ahead through Naver, and I'd recommend it — booking in advance means no waiting and a much easier visit!

How to reserve Gochang Pungcheon Eel on Naver

• 1. Regular seating
• 2. Private room

You can also use coupons when you reserve!

• Hot pot rice + doenjang stew coupon
• [60th birthday party] banner service coupon
• Corkage-free coupon (ice provided)
• [70th birthday party] banner service coupon
• [Wedding invitation gathering] bokbunja highball coupon
• [Birthday gathering] bokbunja highball coupon
• Gochang Pungcheon Eel eel soup coupon

I used the eel soup coupon.

Gochang Pungcheon Eel menu and what we ordered

The menu was divided into grilled dishes, side dishes, and drinks! After some deliberation, we ordered the following.

• Soy-glazed grilled eel ₩35,000 x2
• Jangsu eel soup ₩10,000
• Rice ₩1,000
• Soju ₩5,000 x2

There's a Naver receipt review event! One person per table can participate, and you can choose either bibim guksu (spicy cold noodles) or a Sppeeto scratch lottery ticket.

Since I'd made a Naver reservation, my name was already on the table! So thoughtful. Let's sit down~

Side dishes, fried eel bones and the pre-meal eel porridge

These are the basic side dishes. You get wrap vegetables like lettuce and perilla leaves, along with seasoned chives, green onion kimchi, baek kimchi (white kimchi), pickled radish, and garlic.

I loved that a soft steamed egg (gyeran-jjim) came included as standard! All the side dishes were homemade and clearly made with care.

Fried eel bone! I'd never tried this before — thinly fried eel bones came out super crispy, fun to chew. Savory and totally addictive, a real delicacy.

Let's try the pre-meal eel porridge~ It was soft and warm, with a subtle savory eel flavor that really woke up the appetite!

How does the soy-glazed grilled eel taste? Staff grill it over charcoal

Our soy-glazed grilled eel arrived! They apparently only use premium japonica freshwater eel under 20 months old. Sweetish teriyaki-style sauce was generously coated on the eel. It comes pre-seared, and then they grill it over charcoal right at the table!

Another thing I loved about the grilled eel here — the staff grill it for you. Thanks to that, I could just relax and enjoy the meal.

With an expert's touch, it came out perfectly cooked, right at the peak of deliciousness! They also explained everything kindly.

Tail and body cuts. I tried it plain first, without dipping in sauce! The sweet, salty soy glaze was worked deep into the eel, and it had a chewy, springy texture with a soft interior — the more I chewed, the more the charcoal aroma and savory flavor came through.

Dipping it in the teriyaki-style sauce made the flavor of the soy-glazed eel even richer.

Best way to eat grilled eel: with ginger

Eating it with julienned ginger keeps you from getting tired of the flavor — you just keep going! Dip it in the sauce, then eat it with the fragrant, sharp ginger~

Best way to eat grilled eel, part 2: with baek kimchi, chives and green onion kimchi

Nicely sour, well-fermented baek kimchi, fragrant chives, and sharp, well-fermented green onion kimchi. Just like the ginger, these cut through the richness of the eel! A subtle savory depth plus a bit of spice makes it a combo you can't stop reaching for.

Jangsu eel soup with a bowl of rice

Eating grilled eel without eel soup would feel incomplete! As mentioned earlier, the eel soup is ₩10,000, but if you use the coupon when reserving, it comes complimentary. We added a bowl of rice and shared it together.

Ladled out by a very kind server! We added the rice into the soup~ The eel soup is simmered for about 12 hours, so the broth was rich and deep! The savory eel flavor came through strongly in the broth — this is straight-up health food.

Cleared the whole meal at Gochang Pungcheon Eel, thoroughly full and satisfied.

Final verdict on Gochang Pungcheon Eel

• Has a private room, great for all kinds of gatherings.
• Terrace seating gives that outdoor street-food vibe.
• High-quality eel.
• The owner and staff are extremely friendly!!
• Various coupons and a review event.

If you're looking for a great eel restaurant near Sangdong Station in Bucheon, check out Gochang Pungcheon Eel!! It was good enough to rank among the top two eel restaurants I've tried, and the owner and staff were so friendly that it made for a really pleasant meal.

Five stars~