Jeju restaurant for grilled mackerel with kids: Onjeong Jorim Hyeopjae

It's been a while, but here I am right in front of Hyeopjae Beach in Jeju! Wanted to share my review of Onjeong Jorim, a wallet-friendly hairtail stew spot. Hairtail stew (galchi jorim) is one of those must-eat local dishes when you come to Jeju. On this trip I stopped by the gorgeous emerald-water Hyeopjae Beach and actually found a really good, really affordable hairtail stew place!

Where is Onjeong Jorim Hyeopjae, and what are its hours?

Onjeong Jorim

• 328 Hallim-ro, Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, South Korea
• Daily 10:00–22:00
• Use the Hyeopjae Beach parking lot in front of the restaurant

If I had to pick one food you absolutely can't skip on a Jeju trip, it'd have to be hairtail stew. Today I'm introducing Onjeong Jorim, where you can stop by Hyeopjae Beach and eat hairtail stew with an ocean view right in front of you.

It's located right in front of the Hyeopjae Beach parking lot, so it's super easy to find.

They also have Catch Table reservations set up. The day we visited was a weekday before lunch, so the place was pretty quiet.

Ocean-view window seats and the mood inside Onjeong Jorim

Walking into Onjeong Jorim, the whole place felt very clean and well kept overall. If you sit at the wide windows shown in the photo, you get to enjoy hairtail stew with an ocean view, haha.

The basic side dishes at this wallet-friendly Hyeopjae hairtail stew spot are seasoned bean sprouts, stir-fried fish cake, and kimchi.

What we ordered at Onjeong Jorim: 15,000 won per person

Today's order was hairtail stew and grilled mackerel. Since we came with the kids, we ordered two servings of hairtail stew and two of grilled mackerel :) At ₩15,000 per serving, this really feels like a genuinely affordable, honestly-priced restaurant for Jeju.

How does the hairtail stew taste? Start with the radish

Onjeong Jorim's hairtail stew passes the visual test, haha. The hairtail is great and all, but the radish that's been so well braised in the sauce — why is that the first thing your hand reaches for? Once you taste it, you get why!

The sauce isn't artificially spicy or sweet — it has a deep, savory flavor, and put on top of white rice, it's a certified rice thief.

Pick the hairtail flesh off, put it with the soft, well-cooked braised radish and its rich sauce on top of white rice for a bite, or wrap it in seaweed — either way it's really tasty!

Grilled mackerel: the dish the kids ate most

The grilled mackerel came out golden brown and looking great. Honestly, when I saw the size, I thought at first we'd ordered the wrong thing by mistake — it was bigger than I expected (Jeju prices are usually high, but not at Onjeong Jorim).

The outside was grilled crisp while the flesh inside stayed glossy and moist. No fishy taste at all, just clean and light, so the kids ate it up really well. Put a piece of the mackerel flesh on seaweed and dip it in the sauce they give you — honey to your mouth! If you're visiting Jeju with kids, I'd recommend trying the grilled mackerel at Onjeong Jorim along with the hairtail stew!

Naver review event: free hallabong juice

They give you fresh-squeezed hallabong (Jeju tangerine) juice if you write a Naver review of Onjeong Jorim Hyeopjae, so it's worth taking part >.<

Is Onjeong Jorim Hyeopjae worth it? Who should go

• Great restaurant near Hyeopjae Beach, Jeju
• Affordable hairtail stew in Jeju
• Great restaurant to go with kids in Jeju
• Good grilled mackerel restaurant in Jeju
• Ocean-view restaurant in Jeju

If you're looking for a not-too-spicy but deeply flavored hairtail stew sauce and crisp-outside, moist-inside grilled mackerel, I recommend Onjeong Jorim in Jeju. It's on the west side of Jeju by Hyeopjae Beach, so it makes a great travel stop — we went for a walk at Hyeopjae Beach after, and it was so, so good, Jeju >.<