Seogwipo kids’ restaurant with seaweed soup: Seongsan Bada Punggyeong

Day four of our Jeju trip! After checking out of our accommodation, we went to Seongsan Bada Punggyeong Jeju Seongsan Ilchulbong Branch for lunch.

A lunch restaurant near Seongsan Ilchulbong with three kids

It was right on the coastal road in front of Seongsan Ilchulbong, so it was easy to find, and there was parking out front, which made it fine even with three kids in tow. More than anything, we were planning to head to Manjanggul Cave after lunch that day. We were looking for a hearty lunch around Seongsan and decided on this place.

When we walked in, lots of diners were already enjoying their lunch!

As you would expect from such a popular, well-known restaurant, one side had a dedicated waiting area with plenty of chairs. I was impressed by the consideration for families waiting indoors comfortably with children during busy peak times. They also have high chairs, so there is no need to worry about coming with little ones!

And the sign on the wall was funny, too.

Order according to the size of your hunger, not the number of people.

It felt like a very confident message. But next to it was an even more eye-catching sign.

Order a braise and get whole grilled cutlassfish free.

Huh? Whole grilled cutlassfish for free when you order braised cutlassfish? 👀 Well, we couldn’t not try that. 😳 With adults and three children, we studied the menu for ages. We debated the large small Bada Punggyeong Braise (2 people / ₩39,000) or the large medium (3 people / ₩59,000), then said, “There are three kids too, so let’s just get plenty!” and ordered the large medium. After ordering, though, I noticed something else I loved at the self-service bar.

Unlimited self-service seaweed soup and children’s tableware

It was unlimited warm miyeokguk (seaweed soup) from the self-service bar! I ladled out a bowl, and the broth was rich and delicious. It had a subtle peppery, spicy kick that I really enjoyed, but amazingly, when I mixed rice into the seaweed soup for our five-year-old middle child, they ate it so well! They kept stirring rice into it and taking spoonful after spoonful—so adorable.

And for anyone going with young children, they had children’s trays, spoons, and forks ready as well.

For us, traveling around with three kids, these little things are quietly precious... 🩷 Soon, the side dishes began arriving one by one.

From kimchi to salad, stir-fried mushrooms, seasoned eggplant, braised black beans, and a seaweed side dish served with chojang (sweet-tangy chili vinegar sauce)! As the owner passed by, he pointed to that side dish and said, “That’s wild stone seaweed. It’s precious, so please have lots of it~”

So I immediately picked up a piece, dipped it in chojang, and tried it. The crunchy texture and ocean aroma were so much tastier than I expected! The older sister who came with us especially loved the stone seaweed. Seeing that, I think the stone-seaweed incident(?) began. Hahaha.

Bada Punggyeong Braise loaded with cutlassfish and mackerel

Then finally, the main dish arrived! The Bada Punggyeong Braise came out. It had big pieces of cutlassfish and mackerel, plus plenty of radish. Radish is just so good once it has soaked up all that seasoning, right? 🤤 As the owner brought over the braise, he told us, “It tastes even better if you keep spooning the broth over the cutlassfish,” so we diligently kept ladling broth over it.

The cutlassfish flesh was thick, and the seasoning was sweet and spicy. Putting the fish on rice with the radish was truly delicious.

The whole grilled cutlassfish bone-removal show wowed the kids

But it wasn’t over yet. The whole grilled cutlassfish that comes with a braise order arrived! Wow... it was seriously long. Hahaha. A whole, long cutlassfish stretched across the table, and the kids went, “Woooow~~” and made a huge fuss.

Then the owner gave us an instant bone-removal show. In no time at all, only the flesh was left. The kids kept watching in amazement, and we watched going, “Oooh~~” too. 😂 With the bones removed like that, it was much easier to feed the children. The grilled cutlassfish was mild and nutty, delicious on its own, and when we flaked some onto the kids’ rice, they ate so well again.

Stone seaweed Everest, eaten to the very end despite being stuffed

As we ate, there was so much food that we thought, “The large small probably would have been enough?” Hahaha. But we had already ordered it, so we had to enjoy it! The braised radish was soft and tender, the seasoning was tasty, and we mixed cutlassfish and radish into rice, flaked the whole grilled fish... and eventually even ordered another bowl of rice. 😂 We really ate until we burst at lunch that day.

And... if it had ended there, it would simply have been a wonderfully filling meal. But one last incident happened. Hahaha. We had nearly finished even the extra rice, with literally about one spoonful left. We were already so full that we were saying, “I really can’t eat anymore...” Hahaha.

But then the older sister’s son, who had been watching his mom enjoy the stone seaweed, suddenly said, “Mom! I’ll get you more stone seaweed!” and confidently headed to the self-service bar. We just said, “Aww~ thank you~,” but when we saw what he brought back a little later, the older sister and I were both speechless for a moment. 🤣🤣 I mean... why did he bring so much stone seaweed? Hahaha. I’m only slightly exaggerating when I say he piled it on our already-finished table like Mount Everest.

There was just one spoonful of rice left, we already felt ready to burst, and his sweet filial thoughtfulness in bringing more for his mom was so lovely... But we couldn’t just leave that mountain behind either... The older sister and I were both truly overwhelmed. 😂 Then I happened to notice the sign on the wall.

Extra side dishes are self-service. But if you leave them, you have to stay and work.

So I quickly joked to him, “If you don’t eat all of this, you’ll have to stay here and wash dishes before you go~!” His eyes went wide and he froze right there. 🤣 In the end... we couldn’t ignore the son’s devoted thoughtfulness, and the mom’s sense of responsibility(?) kicked in, so even though we felt like we might burst, we finished every bit of that stone-seaweed mountain before leaving.

Honestly, it was so funny. Thanks to that, we will remember that lunch not only for the braised cutlassfish and whole grilled cutlassfish, but even longer as the Stone Seaweed Everest Incident. 😂 If you are looking for a good place near Seongsan Ilchulbong for a couple, a family, or a meal with children, I recommend Seongsan Bada Punggyeong. Visiting with kids like we did was comfortable thanks to the children’s tableware and self-service seaweed soup; above all, getting whole grilled cutlassfish with a braise order made for a generous meal. The owner’s cutlassfish bone-removal show also fascinated the kids, which made it fun for families too. 😊 After our hearty lunch, we set off for our next stop, Manjanggul Cave.