Jeonju spicy octopus restaurant with fried rice: Jjukkumi Sinhwa

Looking for a spicy lunch in Ajung-ri, Jeonju

While traveling in Jeonju, lunchtime rolled around and I was getting hungry. I was craving something spicy, so I visited Jeonju Jjukkumi Sinhwa Ajung-ri Main Branch (전주쭈꾸미신화 아중리본점). Once I got there, the large sign on the red-brick building was right in front of me, so it was easy to find.

When you search for lunch spots in Jeonju's Ajung-ri, a lot of meat and gukbap (rice soup) places come up. But I wanted something spicy, so I decided on spicy stir-fried jjukkumi (webfoot octopus).

Spaciously spaced tables with a grill at each seat

When I went inside, the tables were more generously spaced than I expected. There were lots of customers in the restaurant, probably because it was lunchtime. Overall, it had a comfortable atmosphere for a meal.

I ordered the Hwasan Jjukkumi so I could try the octopus with meat too. Even before the food arrived, seeing the grill in the middle of the table made it feel like a proper stir-fried meal.

• Address: 16 Donggajaemi 2-gil, 1F, Deokjin-gu, Jeonju, Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, South Korea (전북 전주시 덕진구 동가재미2길 16 1층)
• Hours: Closed every Sunday / Monday–Saturday 11:15–21:00
• Break time: 15:00–17:00
• If you are driving, you can use the parking lot behind the restaurant.

There was also information about a receipt-verification event. If you are curious after your meal, it might be worth checking out.

Self-serve side-dish corner

If you run short on side dishes while eating, you can take as much as you need from the self-serve corner. I grabbed a little more of the sides, and the jjukkumi went really well with the bean sprouts.

Once I sat down, the basic side dishes came first: perilla leaves, seasoned bean sprouts, onion, mushrooms, and cabbage salad. Since jjukkumi is spicy, it was nice to have several things to eat alongside it. Perilla leaves in particular are something you just cannot leave out with jjukkumi.

Staff cook the regular-spice Hwasan Jjukkumi for you

The Hwasan Jjukkumi main dish I ordered arrived! Seasoned jjukkumi filled the middle, with thinly sliced pork belly arranged all around it, and it looked delicious from the start. I wanted to eat it right away even before it cooked. In my head, I was probably thinking, hurry up and cook...

The sauce looked rich, so I thought it would be spicy. Since I was eating with someone who cannot handle heat, though, I ordered the regular spice level. For reference, they also say the spice level can be adjusted.

A staff member kept an eye on it and cooked it to a good eating point. We only had to wait and take photos, so that was nice. Once it had cooked for a while, the smell of the sauce rose up, and I thought it must be ready to eat now.

The staff member said it was ready, so I tried it right away. They stir-fry everything from beginning to end, so all you have to do is sit and wait. The jjukkumi was springy and satisfying to chew, and even at the regular level the sauce had a little kick, so it would be great with rice...! But we had decided to save room for fried rice at the end.

Trying it the way the restaurant recommends

The jjukkumi was tasty on its own, but the restaurant had a separate guide for how to enjoy it, so I gave it a try.

First, it said to put pickled radish wrap, bean sprouts, jjukkumi, and meat on a perilla leaf! The basic sides also came with garlic sauce, and it said to dip it in the sauce too! Since that was the recommended way, I made one just like it. But for me, simply eating the jjukkumi on its own suited my taste better!

And then there was the gyeran-jjim (steamed egg) that came out midway through! Having a spoonful while eating the jjukkumi was really nice. It was soft and mellowed the spice in between, so I enjoyed having it with the jjukkumi.

You have to finish with fried rice!!

After we had eaten some of the jjukkumi, we could not skip fried rice, right? They added rice to the remaining sauce and stir-fried it. A staff member made it for us, so we waited for the fried rice. 👀

They stir-fried it well so the sauce mixed evenly through the rice, then added sesame oil and cheese too. Fried rice really does taste best when it is cooked on the grill. With the jjukkumi sauce soaking into the rice, it was so much tastier than plain rice.

At first I thought I was too full to eat much more, but once it was fried up, I kept going back for more. Haha. Finishing the jjukkumi with fried rice made it feel like a proper lunch.

A good lunch spot in Jeonju's Ajung-ri

They took care of everything from cooking the food, so I could eat comfortably—and there was even a guide for enjoying the jjukkumi! If I come back to Jeonju, I am thinking of visiting again. I recommend Jeonju Jjukkumi Sinhwa for a day when you are craving something spicy in Ajung-ri, Jeonju.