Seongsan restaurant on Sinyang-ro for braised hairtail: Jejurowoon

It had been ages since I'd been to Jeju. There's so much to eat on a Jeju trip, but I felt like I couldn't leave without a proper bowl of braised hairtail at least once. While we were exploring the Seongsan area this time, we ended up at Jejurowoon Cheonghaewon (제주로운청해원).

It's pretty close to Seongsan Ilchulbong, Seopjikoji, and Aqua Planet Jeju, so it was an easy meal stop to slot into a Seongsan sightseeing day.

Where Jejurowoon is and when it opens

The restaurant is at 101 Sinyang-ro, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, on the 1st floor.

There's a big standing sign right by the road reading 'braised hairtail (갈치조림),' so it wasn't hard to find even on a first visit. The hours posted outside were 8 AM to 9 PM.

The menu wasn't just braised hairtail — there was a whole lineup of Jeju classics, including braised mackerel with kimchi, grilled tilefish, black pork stir-fry, and seafood stew.

What comes with the 24,000-won A set at Jejurowoon

What we ordered was the A set braised hairtail.

At ₩24,000 per person, the set centers on braised hairtail but also comes with grilled tilefish, hot pot rice, soy marinated crab, and either seafood stew or sea urchin seaweed soup — a pretty generous spread for one meal.

A full table, starting with the braised hairtail

When the food came out, the table was even fuller than I'd expected.

The main dish, braised hairtail, came out generously in a pot — big chunks of hairtail sitting in a red sauce, so the visual alone told you what you were in for.

Spooning the sauce over rice was great, and it really felt like the braised hairtail experience we came to Jeju for.

According to the in-store sign, the restaurant uses 100% Jeju-caught hairtail. There was also a separate notice explaining that, since it's wild-caught, a fish hook might occasionally turn up.

The seafood stew that came alongside was also good. As you can see in the photos, it was loaded with seafood, so it was nice to spoon up the broth in between bites of the braised hairtail.

The real star: Jejurowoon's grilled tilefish

We'd come here for the braised hairtail, but the dish my wife loved most that day turned out — surprisingly — to be the grilled tilefish.

She already likes grilled fish, but after one bite she kept saying how genuinely good it was. Crisped up golden on the outside, soft and easy to flake on the inside — perfect with rice.

The braised hairtail was delicious too, but according to my wife, the real winner of the day was the grilled tilefish, haha. Before we knew it, only the bones were left. She kept repeating it — she had no idea grilled tilefish could taste like this, no idea it could be this good. I tried it myself, and honestly, it was excellent. So soft, no fishy taste at all, and really savory. Genuinely might be the best grilled fish I've had.

Finishing with sticky pot rice and nurungji broth

Something else I personally loved was the hot pot rice.

After scooping out the rice, you pour water into the pot, and by the end you get warm nurungji (scorched rice tea). After eating our fill of spicy braised hairtail with rice, finishing with warm nurungji felt like the proper way to close out the meal.

There were plenty of side dishes too, which made it feel like a proper full spread rather than just braised hairtail on its own. If you're looking for a filling, satisfying restaurant for braised hairtail while traveling around Seongsan, Jeju, I'd definitely recommend this place.