Jeonju Korean restaurant with cheesy octopus: Jjukkumi Sinhwa

There’s dedicated parking, and the hours are 11:15–21:00. Break time is 15:00–17:00, last order is at 20:00, and it’s closed on Sundays.

A famous Inhu-dong spot in Jeonju that my sister-in-law goes to all the time!!! We went to Jjukkumi Sinhwa too, haha. We arrived first and were almost done eating when my sister-in-law came separately with her husband too, haha. That’s how good it is~ I’d heard so much about Jjukkumi Sinhwa from her!!

How is the parking at Jeonju Jjukkumi Sinhwa?

The parking lot is huge!!

A spacious interior and private rooms

Jjukkumi Sinhwa has such a strong neighborhood-favorite feel~ The “sin” means spicy!!! What an exciting-looking sign~~

The interior was quite spacious. We went around 6:30 p.m. and it looked like this, but by 7 p.m. it was completely full.... Truly a certified neighborhood favorite!!

There are private rooms like this too, haha. It seems really great for group gatherings!! The tables had been left open for a group.

Ordering volcano webfoot octopus and cheese fried rice

Please refer to the menu~ Webfoot octopus is the only main menu!! You know a place with just one menu is usually good, right~ Lots of people were getting takeaway too, so we meant to as well, but we were way too full after eating everything and just left, haha.

This is the basic table setting~ I thought this was all there was, but!!

Fluffy steamed egg arrived!!! We had it to settle our stomachs before the main dish came, haha. So hot hahaha.

The main dish is here!! Such an exciting full spread.

Volcano webfoot octopus ₩18,000 per person / Extra cheese ₩3,000 / Cheese fried rice ₩3,000

Volcano webfoot octopus wrapped in thin-sliced pork belly

Oh... you can see little glimpses of the red webfoot octopus sauce, but it’s wrapped in thin-sliced pork belly. Just looking at it, you know it can’t possibly be bad. Sizzle!! The owner cooks it for you. This waiting-for-it-to-cook time feels incredibly slow.

We nudged the extra cheese over to the side. The red, glossy webfoot octopus was so plump... The key is keeping plenty of sauce in the pan! It looked like you could smell the spice just from the visuals, and the octopus was big and meaty too—so appetizing 🤤

Once the cheese melted softly over the top, the visuals alone were insane 🤤 The spicy flavor with loads of rich, smooth cheese~ the pairing worked so well 🫶🏻 The bean sprouts are self-serve, so I refilled them three times, haha. They were crisp and toned down the heat perfectly. I went up three times and started worrying the owner was watching ㅠㅠ

Dip it in the garlic sauce too and it becomes a whole different flavor! It was subtly addictive 🤤 No, not subtly... it was openly addictive, so I refilled this too, haha.

The heat of the webfoot octopus, the richness of cheese, and the fragrant perilla leaf kept me reaching for more, haha. It was an especially delicious combination, though wrapping each bite was a little bothersome ㅠㅠ Adding the rich, juicy flavor of beef brisket made this pairing a great match too 🤤

Cheese fried rice made with the leftover sauce

We stir-fried the leftover webfoot octopus sauce with plenty of cheese. I debated hard about not eating it because I was seriously too full, but my partner kept saying let’s eat it, let’s eat it, so we did. I would have regretted skipping it, haha.

Rich cheese melted into the spicy sauce, making it the kind of thing you keep eating even when you’re full 🤤 Fried rice really is the Korean K-dessert!! It’s dessert, haha.

So full... I mean, really, really full~!!!