Yeongdeungpo seafood restaurant for free corkage: Gaetbeol-ui Jogae

Gaetbeol-ui Jogae Yeouido Main Branch (갯벌의조개 여의도본점) is a place where you can enjoy a generous clam hot pot and unlimited barley rice. Corkage is free too, so it is great for bringing along a drink you love to share.

Gaetbeol-ui Jogae near National Assembly Station: location and corkage

• Hours: Daily 11:00–22:00
• Location: 2F, Kukdong VIP Building, 15-1 Gukhoe-daero 70-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul; about a 5-minute walk from Exit 1 of National Assembly Station
• Corkage: Free, with no bottle limit

There are two Gaetbeol-ui Jogae branches in Yeouido. The Yeouido Main Branch and Yeouido Station Branch have very similar names, so I recommend double-checking the branch before you go! The one I visited was the Yeouido Main Branch; head up to the second floor of the Kukdong VIP Building near National Assembly Station and you will find it right away.

If you are driving, use the Kukdong VIP Building parking lot. Parking is free when you dine at the restaurant. The parking entrance is beside Twosome Place. It does not show up very well on navigation apps, so I have included a photo of the entrance!

Partitioned seating and rooms for 2–16 people

Inside, it was bright, clean, and comfortably maintained throughout. I also liked that each table had partitions, giving it some separation from neighboring tables.

There are private rooms, so it looks great for a quiet drink, a work dinner, or a gathering with friends. Rooms accommodate from 2 to 16 people, so if you want a private meal, I recommend reserving ahead through Naver. They also say the entire restaurant can be rented out.

Giant clam hot pot and lunch dishes

From vongole kalguksu (knife-cut noodles with clams), an easy lunch option, to cockle bibimbap, rice bowls, and giant clam hot pot that is perfect with drinks! The giant clam hot pot lets you enjoy a whole range of seafood: scallops, pen shells, clams, mussels, hard clams, squid, shrimp, cheese, fish cake, and wheat-rice cakes. With more people, octopus and small octopus are added too.

Hot pot dishes must be ordered according to the number of diners.

How I ate the free barley rice

Gaetbeol-ui Jogae provides barley rice for free. At the self-serve bar, you can mix it with sesame oil, gangdoenjang (thick soybean paste), chojang (sweet-tangy chili sauce), yeolmu kimchi, and whatever else you like.

I chose gangdoenjang plus yeolmu kimchi, while my boyfriend chose chojang plus yeolmu kimchi. The gangdoenjang was so nutty and deeply savory; with crunchy yeolmu kimchi and a drizzle of sesame oil, it went down so easily. The clam hot pot takes quite a while to cook, making this a nice appetizer while you wait.

Giant clam hot pot for two with spicy broth

The giant clam hot pot for two costs ₩59,000. It smelled so good the whole time it was boiling that I wanted to eat it immediately. But it is hot, so absolutely, absolutely do not touch it. When the timer goes off, a staff member opens the lid for you.

If you order the regular version, it comes with a clear broth base. The clear broth has such a refreshing flavor, but I was craving something a little spicy, so I changed it to the spicy broth. The spicy-broth upgrade costs an extra ₩1,000.

No matter how much I ate, the clam hot pot was still a mountain of food. The portion was so generous that it barely seemed to go down.

The scallops, shrimp, squid, and everything else were delicious, but I especially loved the hard clams. They were nice and large, with plump meat and such a good texture. The clam meat had soaked up all the broth, so the umami was amazing too. All the seafood had been properly purged, so there was no grit or sand to crunch into, and no fishiness either. I really enjoyed it.

It also comes with cheese. Once it melts, it stretches like this! I kept pulling it to see how far it would go, but it stretched endlessly, so I eventually cut it with scissors and ate it haha. Before trying it, I did wonder, cheese with seafood hot pot?! Would that really work? But once I tasted it, they went so well together.

As you eat, you get reaaally full..! Along with all the seafood, rice cakes and fish cake, there are generous amounts of mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, and radish. The refreshing yet spicy clam broth soaks right into the vegetables, making it fun to pick through and eat a little of everything.

Kalguksu noodles and house-made geotjeori

Kalguksu noodle add-ons cost ₩3,000. Kalguksu is essential with clam hot pot! I was completely full, but still refueled on carbs. After you have fished out and eaten a good amount of seafood, add the kalguksu noodles and let them boil away. Turn over the hourglass and wait a little, then they are ready!

Geotjeori (fresh kimchi) and kalguksu are a perfect match. Most restaurants use Chinese-made kimchi these days, but they say they make their geotjeori in-house. Thanks to that, I could enjoy it with peace of mind. It was lightly sweet, fresh, and so delicious!

Gaetbeol-ui Jogae really lets you have a hearty meal; I ate seafood until I was bursting. With house-made geotjeori, barley rice, gangdoenjang, and even corkage all free, this is a Yeouido and National Assembly Station favorite that I recommend for work dinners, gatherings with friends, family meals, and dates alike! I definitely want to come back for the clam hot pot.