Mokdong seafood pub, soy crab and crab-shell rice: Jumak Haemulchon

I went to Jumak Haemulchon (주막해물촌) near Mokdong intersection, a great spot for soy sauce marinated crab, octopus and whelk! They say the seafood comes straight from the East Coast, and I happily put away whelk, octopus sukhoe (blanched sliced octopus) and soy sauce crab.

Where is Jumak Haemulchon, and is there parking?

Jumak Haemulchon is at 16 Mokdongjungangseo-ro 1-gil, Yangcheon-gu, Seoul, near Mokdong intersection. When I arrived, the neat Jumak Haemulchon sign at the entrance caught my eye right away.

There's space for about 2–3 cars right in front of the restaurant.

You can see right into the fish tank, and it looked really well kept, haha.

Jumak Haemulchon atmosphere and menu

The interior made me feel like I was in a local restaurant by the sea!! It was almost full at 7 p.m., and if I'd been a bit later I might have had to wait, ugh. Proof that it's a good place.

Drinks are self-serve, so you fetch your own! The menu has agujjim (braised monkfish), haemuljjim (braised seafood), a soy sauce crab set, and set menus that let you try all the dishes at once. A really solid lineup!

My friend Kkorak and I went with set menu no. 2 and added one extra crab :) Here's a preview of the seafood heading into our bellies!

A tray held big pieces of octopus, whelk and sea urchin. The sea urchin is wild-caught, and the size is overwhelming, right? Seeing the red sea urchin and huge whelk with my own eyes got me even more excited about the texture and taste (heart pounding).

And a live, moving octopus!!!!!!! Now I totally get why the seafood at Jumak Haemulchon is so fresh. Look at that octopus wriggling!

Special Set 2 at Jumak Haemulchon: an honest review

While the owner cooks, side dishes come out: seaweed stems, rolled omelet, young radish kimchi, salad and more. Every one of them, even the seaweed stems, paired really well with the main dishes :)

Soy sauce crab and shrimp, plus rice in the crab shell

Finally one of the mains arrived: soy sauce marinated crab (ganjang gejang) and soy sauce marinated shrimp on a plate.

Even the smell was sweet and salty, like I could taste it before eating, lol.

The crab was packed with meat, which came bursting out! It was so full that I said "wow" the moment I saw it, lol. Every bite exploded with savory flavor in my mouth, so I immediately ordered a bowl of steamed rice.

The innards and chili garnish had soaked into every corner inside the shell, so there was no way I could not mix rice in! It felt hefty when I picked it up by hand, and you could really tell the crab itself was top quality.

I scraped every nook of the crab shell clean and made crab shell rice (gejangtteoksbap) right in the soy sauce crab shell. Success~! I laid one chili on top and mixed it up, and it looked perfect, lol. Truly a rice thief (a dish so good you keep eating rice), no doubt~

Whelk, octopus sukhoe and sea squirt

Next came the second main: an assortment of sea squirt, whelk and octopus sukhoe. The portion was generous and the freshness was plain to see, haha.

Dip the whelk and octopus in salt-and-sesame-oil sauce, and the sea squirt in chogochujang (sweet chili vinegar sauce) :)

Is Jumak Haemulchon worth a return visit?

The whelk at Jumak Haemulchon is nutty with no fishy taste, and the octopus is tender with nothing chewy, so the drinks just keep going down. Perfectly fresh drinking food!

• Satisfaction: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
• Chance of returning: 100%

If you're looking for a pub or good eats near Mokdong intersection, I recommend Jumak Haemulchon!! I'll remember it as a place I want to come back to when I get the chance.