Chicken thigh skewers & sundubu jjigae at Jumak Inho, Gwangju

If you go bar-hunting in Gwangju, Dongmyeong-dong or Chungjang-ro tend to come up constantly — but today's spot sits a bit outside that circuit: Jumak Inho on Geumnam-ro.

Honestly, judging by location alone, it's not exactly a high-foot-traffic street, so my first thought was "there's a bar here?" But when I looked it up, the ratings were surprisingly high and the reviews kept praising the food. After eating there myself, I got it.

It's a small bar run by a solo chef, and the quality of every single dish was impressively good — a great Gwangju spot for pairing food with traditional Korean liquor.

Jumak Inho basics, and why the menu changes

Jumak Inho runs completely different menus for day and night. Lunch is 11:00–14:00, dinner is 17:00–22:00, and last order is 20:30. Lunch is guk-bap (soup and rice), while dinner turns into a bar serving anju and traditional liquor.

No reservation needed for lunch, just walk in. For dinner, you can book through Naver Reservation.

One unusual thing: the menu keeps changing based on seasonal ingredients throughout the year. So what I ate might not be on the menu when you visit — I'd recommend checking the shop's Instagram before you go.

• Address: 161-3 Geumnam-ro, 1st floor, Dong-gu, Gwangju
• Hours: 11:00–22:00
• Last order: 20:30
• Break time: 14:00–17:00
• Closed: Every Sunday
• Parking: Alley parking
• Note: Naver Reservation available, solo-chef kitchen

An honest visit to Jumak Inho, a Geumnam-ro favorite

I visited on a Saturday afternoon with a friend. I go to Dongmyeong-dong often, but this was my first time in the Geumnam-ro area, so it felt fresh. It was quiet with almost no people around, which I loved. "There's a restaurant here?" I thought as I walked in.

A clean, well-designed interior

The place was much cleaner than I expected. With a name like "jumak" (old-style tavern), I pictured something rustic and old-fashioned, but it was nothing like that — calm and tidy, a great spot for two people to quietly drink together.

Since it's a solo-chef restaurant, the owner runs everything alone, from the cooking to the floor. He was genuinely kind — happy to explain the liquors and dishes casually, and the overall service left me leaving in a good mood.

The interior had a warm wood-tone feel, and the good natural light suited the design perfectly. Given how full of traditional liquor and great dishes this place is, the interior fit like a glove, haha. Being on Geumnam-ro also keeps things relaxed and uncrowded — great for gatherings since it's less chaotic, haha.

Once seated, you order via QR code here, haha. Convenient! There's also a spot to set your bag down next to the table — small, but you can tell the owner put thought into it.

Tableware and water get set up. Haha, the dishware is pretty too. Very traditional-feeling.

The basic side dish was fried nurungji (crispy scorched rice), which was warm and delicious, haha.

From traditional liquor to cheongju, distilled soju, and makgeolli

First we ordered makgeolli. Traditional liquor is the main draw here, after all, so we ordered it along.

What's fun about Jumak Inho is the sheer variety of drinks — way more than expected. As a place aiming to be a "modern jumak," they don't sell the usual diluted soju or beer you'd find at a typical bar. Instead they focus on traditional Korean liquor — cheongju (refined rice wine), distilled soju, makgeolli, and more, all lined up. Even people who don't know much about traditional liquor could have fun picking one to try.

I ordered two glasses of traditional liquor that day and paired them with the food — and yeah, these anju pair far better with traditional liquor than with plain soju.

Cold pork jowl (naengjeyuk)

Personally, one of the most memorable dishes of the day. Normally "jeyuk" makes you think of a hot, spicy dish, but here it's pork jowl served cold instead — naengjeyuk.

The chewy, savory character of the pork jowl was still there, but eating it cold made it much less greasy and cleaner than expected. Really solid as a drinking snack. One bite, one sip of traditional liquor — and I got exactly why this place centers its menu around Korean liquor.

Grilled chicken thigh

The grilled chicken thigh (dakmokssal-gui) was great too. The distinctive chewy texture of chicken thigh meat came through well, and the seasoning wasn't overdone, so I kept reaching for more.

At most bars, drinks are the main event and the food is just serviceable — but at Jumak Inho, I felt like the food alone was worth a return visit. Being a solo-chef operation, you can really feel the care put into every single dish.

Every dish was full of care and genuinely delicious. And it paired so well with the traditional makgeolli that we ordered another bottle in a different flavor, haha — a national-award-winning makgeolli, haha!

Sundubu jjigae

And you can't drink without some soup. We also ordered sundubu jjigae (soft tofu stew), and after working through the meat dishes, that hot broth hit the spot perfectly.

Overall, the dishes lean toward letting the ingredients' own flavor shine rather than heavy seasoning, cleanly made — a great lineup for slowly drinking traditional liquor.

For a quiet drink of traditional liquor in Gwangju

Honestly, judging by location alone, Jumak Inho isn't on a main strip that people specifically seek out. When I visited, it wasn't packed with customers either — which made it all the more surprising that the ratings and reviews online were so strong.

After eating there myself, it made sense. Clean space, good atmosphere, kind owner, and above all, the food's taste and quality were genuinely solid. On top of that, instead of the usual soju and beer, you get to choose from traditional liquor, cheongju, distilled soju, and makgeolli to pair with the food.

I'd recommend this to anyone who wants proper anju and a glass of Korean liquor in a quiet setting rather than a flashy, crowded bar. Next time I'd like to come back for the lunch guk-bap instead of dinner. If you're looking for a slightly different kind of bar in Gwangju, Jumak Inho on Geumnam-ro is worth a visit.