Jungmun, Jeju Korean restaurant: abalone hot-pot rice set for two

What is Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap in Jungmun, Jeju?

Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap is a Korean restaurant on Iljuseo-ro in Seogwipo, Jeju, known for old kimchi braised mackerel and abalone hot-pot rice. It's frequently featured on Instagram for its garden full of roses, so it was already on my radar while planning this Jeju trip.

I'd known about it before the trip even started, since it kept popping up as a photogenic Jeju hotspot thanks to the blooming rose garden. Booking our last stay of the trip near Jungmun finally gave me the chance to visit.

But once I actually went, it wasn't just the garden that impressed me — the food was quite satisfying too. After the old kimchi braised mackerel, abalone hot-pot rice, and abalone porridge, ₩18,000 per person felt like excellent value.

Parking and how big the restaurant is

There's a dedicated parking lot for the restaurant, so it was convenient to visit by car.

We arrived around 12:30pm on a Sunday. I expected it to be busy given it was smack in the middle of lunch hour, and sure enough, even with the large size of the place, there were plenty of customers.

The restaurant is quite spacious with a lot of tables, but most were already occupied. A few empty tables turned out to be reserved for group bookings. Luckily there was an open table for us when we arrived, so we started eating without any wait. With such a big space, turnover seemed pretty fast.

Looking around from our seat, I saw everyone from families to large groups. High chairs and aprons were also available.

A wall near the restroom was lined with photos of celebrities. Many were familiar faces from TV. Seeing so many celebrity visits made me think this place is well known in Jeju, not just among tourists.

What comes as the basic side dishes

After ordering, the basic side dishes started arriving one by one.

Soft tofu, sweet pumpkin, cabbage salad, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), gim (seaweed), ssamjang (dipping paste) and soy sauce, plus several kinds of leafy greens for wraps, all came out. The basics needed for eating the braised mackerel were well covered.

Self-serve bar with abalone porridge, still there at 12:30

The self-serve bar at Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap had pork bulgogi, japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), and sikhye (sweet rice punch), and if you visit before noon for breakfast, abalone porridge is offered free. But that wasn't the end of it — heading to the self-serve bar, I found even more side dishes beyond what was already on the table.

There were so many appetizing dishes that I spent a while just deciding what to grab. We kept going back to the bar throughout the meal for more.

Even though we visited at 12:30pm, the abalone porridge was still being served. Lucky!!!

It wasn't just plain abalone porridge — it was rich and savory, loaded with abalone innards, and had plenty of abalone meat too. It was so good that I finished a whole bowl, topped with pork bulgogi, even before the braised mackerel arrived.

By the time we added the dishes from the self-serve bar, the table was completely full. We could've eaten a full bowl of rice with just this — and the main dish hadn't even arrived yet!

What two people ordered, and what it cost

Since we were two people, we ordered the old kimchi + abalone hot-pot rice set for two at ₩36,000, plus grilled abalone (4 pieces) at ₩15,000. That gave us braised mackerel with old kimchi, hot-pot rice, and grilled abalone on top.

The abalone hot-pot rice, down to the crispy rice crust

We started with the abalone hot-pot rice. Inside the stone pot wasn't just rice — there was abalone, tot (fusiform seaweed), and sweet pumpkin mixed in. With so many ingredients, even plain spoonfuls of rice weren't boring.

The chewy texture of the abalone plus the distinct texture of the tot made it feel different from a typical stone pot rice. The pumpkin also kept the flavor of the rice from being one-note. Above all, the rice itself was sticky and delicious.

Before eating, we scooped the rice out into a bowl first. Then we poured water into the empty pot, put the lid back on, and started the meal.

Old kimchi braised mackerel: how sour is the kimchi?

The main dish, old kimchi braised mackerel, had really good seasoning.

Braised mackerel can sometimes get too sweet or too intense, making you tired of it after a few bites, but this one paired well with rice.

And the old kimchi was really well fermented, with a strong sour taste. That sourness actually made me want more rice.

The mackerel itself was plump with meat. The flesh wasn't dry, but chewy, so the texture was good too.

It was delicious dipped lightly in soy sauce, and also good wrapped in old kimchi.

The braised mackerel had a strong seasoning, so it was tasty just spooned over rice, but wrapping the mackerel and old kimchi in the leafy greens gave it a fresher, cleaner edge from the crisp vegetables.

The braised radish couldn't be skipped either. Well-seasoned radish eaten with the mackerel broke down softly, carrying the full flavor of the braising sauce.

Was adding 4 grilled abalone worth 15,000 won?

We added grilled abalone, 4 pieces, for ₩15,000, and the abalone had a fairly strong buttery flavor. The chewy abalone combined with the savory butter aroma gave a different taste from the braised mackerel.

It was clearly best eaten warm. It was so good that I felt like ordering it was definitely the right decision.

Thanks to the water we'd poured into the pot earlier, a nice crust of nurungji (scorched rice) had formed. Eating the nutty, savory nurungji made me think of the old kimchi again. Nurungji with old kimchi was a whole different kind of delicious. Even after all that rice, stew, and porridge, we polished off the nurungji too.

After the meal, we also grabbed a bowl of sikhye from the self-serve bar. Ending on the sweet punch made the meal feel properly complete.

The rose garden in mid-September

After finishing the meal, instead of heading straight to the car, we walked around the garden to help digest. This was actually the space I'd been most curious about even before visiting.

We visited in mid-September, so it wasn't quite peak rose season. The flowers were fading a little, so it wasn't the garden overflowing with roses that I'd seen on Instagram.

Even so, the garden itself was quite pretty. If we'd come at peak bloom, I imagine it would've been even more spectacular in person than in photos. We took our time wandering around, taking photos, strolling like a post-meal walk. If we'd only come for the food, it would've felt a bit lacking, but with the garden too, we could enjoy both a meal and a stroll in one place. If you visit Jeju during peak rose season, the garden would be even more rewarding.

Is Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap worth it? Final verdict

Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap was one of the better-value meals of the trip. For ₩18,000 per person you get old kimchi braised mackerel with abalone hot-pot rice, and on top of that, the self-serve bar had pork bulgogi, japchae, and several more side dishes.

I'd always felt that prices in Jeju were on the higher side during past trips, but this time around I found there are actually quite a few restaurants offering good value for the price. Among them, Jungmun Godeungeo Ssam-bap let us experience a pretty garden, a hearty meal, and a reasonable price all in one visit.