Seogwipo rice bowl restaurant: ₩7,000s grilled octopus lunch, Jejju

When looking for lunch in Seogwipo, a lot of the options lean toward tourist-oriented dishes like black pork or seafood, so sometimes you just want somewhere light and easy on the wallet. This time I visited Jejju Donghong Branch (제쭈 동홍점), a lunchbox specialist in Donghong-dong, Seogwipo, where you can choose from rice bowls, sushi, pork cutlet, and lunchboxes.

Jejju Donghong Branch in Seogwipo: location, hours and parking

Jejju Donghong Branch is at 58-8 Donghongjungang-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju, South Korea, open 10:30–23:00 with last order at 21:30. Parking is available for about 16 cars in the lot behind the building, which makes it convenient for group orders or a lunch stop.

In Donghong-dong, Seogwipo, you can sometimes drive around forever looking for parking near a restaurant, so having a lot right there was definitely a relief. There's space for about 6 cars behind the building, and about 10 more behind the neighboring building, and the two lots connect, so you can pull in from either side without worrying which one is right.

The sign is easy to spot from the road too~

The inside was really clean — I originally planned to just get takeout, but the atmosphere was so nice we decided to eat in haha.

What's on the menu at Jejju Donghong Branch, and how much?

The first thing that caught my eye on the menu was the price. Rice bowls start from ₩7,000s, and with sushi, pork cutlet, and lunchboxes on top of that, it felt pretty easy on the wallet given how much eating out costs these days. It was also fun to order different things each and put them in the middle to share a taste of everything.

Grilled octopus rice bowl: smoky flavor for ₩7,000s

The first thing we ordered at Jejju was the grilled octopus rice bowl. Octopus really is better grilled! It had a nice smoky flavor, and the sauce wasn't too intense or salty — the seasoning overall was well balanced.

Octopus rice bowls can be hard to finish if they're too spicy, but the seasoning here was just right and the texture of the octopus was good too, so I scraped the bowl clean :)

But the biggest perk was being able to get this grilled octopus rice bowl for ₩7,000s. If you're wondering what to order at Jejju Donghong Branch, I'd recommend the octopus rice bowl as the signature dish!

What comes in the Jejju lunchbox?

My husband, who wanted to try a bit of everything, picked the Jejju lunchbox. It packs 3 pieces of salmon sushi, 2 pieces of shrimp sushi, 2 fried shrimp, 1 fish cutlet, side dishes, and a grilled octopus rice bowl all into one box. Perfect if you want small bites of several dishes instead of just one.

The salmon sushi was so good haha. The salmon practically melted in my mouth, it was that soft, and it tasted really fresh too.

One of the sushi pieces in the Jejju lunchbox — shrimp sushi! As you can see in the photo, you could really feel the plumpness of the raw shrimp in the texture, and it went well with the sauce drizzled on top 👍👍

The fried items overall had a nice crispy exterior. It had been a while since I'd had fish cutlet, and it was tasty — crispy outside, soft inside, with that distinct savory flavor fish cutlet has. Recommended if you want to try several dishes at once, and also great for group orders at events :)

Pork cutlet with old-school sauce: good for eating with kids

I was going to stop at two dishes, but the pork cutlet was so cheap I just went ahead and ordered it too ;; ₩7,000s and it even comes with a fried dumpling~ The breading was crispy as expected!

The meat wasn't too thin or too thick, so it was easy to eat. The sauce wasn't one of those trendy unique cutlet sauces — it was closer to the familiar old-school cutlet sauce from childhood. A good order if you're visiting with kids.

Receipt review event: 2 free pieces of salmon sushi

During my visit, they were also running a receipt review event. Get a receipt from the staff, scan the QR code they show you, write a receipt review, and you get 2 pieces of salmon sushi for free.

The salmon sushi is delicious, so I'd definitely recommend doing it! The details of the event may change depending on when you visit, so check with the staff when you're there.

What stayed with me: the friendly staff at Jejju Donghong Branch

The food was good, but what really stuck with me was the staff's service. These days you go into so many restaurants, order at a kiosk, eat, and leave without a word to anyone. At Jejju Donghong Branch, the staff smiled and were kind every time they came by the table, and it just made the meal feel nicer. It's not some grand gesture, but getting friendly, direct service from a person felt refreshing, and it made my overall impression of the place a lot better while I ate. I think friendly service is one of the key things that makes a restaurant memorable.

If you're looking for a place in Seogwipo to eat rice bowls and sushi together at a reasonable price, I'd recommend Jejju Donghong Branch. The prices are good, there's a wide range of menu options, and on top of that the staff's friendly service left a good impression. Also a good option for group orders at events or as a delivery lunch for the office :)