Yangsan Korean restaurant for octopus jang and pot rice: Deodo Gejang

A great spot for a fresh, flash-frozen Jeju golden crab marinated-seafood assortment: Deodo Gejang Yangsan branch.

Deodo Gejang near Tongdosa: location and exterior

It is on Yangsan-daero in Habuk-myeon, close to Tongdosa. With Hwangsan Park, Tongdosa, and Pusan National University Hospital nearby, it is a lovely place to stop by on a drive! Sunji Café is right behind it too, so you can have a coffee after your meal. On an autumn day like these, I recommend a Tongdosa visit, a meal, then coffeeee. The parking lot is spacious, so it is easy to come with little ones or bring your parents. Above all, it has that shiny, brand-new-building feel.

Shall we head inside?!

A spacious, open dining room

The restaurant is very spacious! It is a medium-to-large place of over 60 pyeong, with an open feel and generous space between tables for a comfortable meal. The floor-to-ceiling windows look onto the forest, so it feels like a little trip out of town.

I liked that each table had individually wrapped utensils—it felt so clean. There are high chairs too, so families with babies are very welcome! There are sofa seats as well, making it good for even younger children.

From marinated-seafood assortments to set menus

There are lots of choices, including the assorted jang platter, a bulgogi set, and a grilled-fish set. It is great that you can add octopus jang, shrimp jang, and more! (My kid said the octopus jang was insanely delicious!)

What we ordered: assorted jang nourishing pot-rice full set

Deodo Gejang Yangsan branch uses only fresh, flash-frozen Jeju golden crabs caught in clean waters—not conventionally frozen ones. They say everything is cooked right after ordering and no artificial seasonings are used, so you can enjoy fresh, wholesome food. Each crab shell is opened and cleaned by hand, while all seasonings are aged with natural fruit and such, for a natural flavor. The chef is said to have 20 years of experience at a five-star hotel, and the spicy marinated crab is made with chili powder rather than harsh gochujang (Korean red chili paste). It is always tastier when you know what you are eating, right!

Ahh! Our order arrived. This assorted jang spread seriously made my jaw drop. Centered on spicy marinated crab, one platter comes generously loaded with soy-marinated crab, octopus jang, abalone jang, and peeled soy-marinated shrimp. Then there are loads of side dishes too: pork bulgogi, doenjang jjigae (soybean-paste stew), seaweed soup, kimchi pancake, braised kimchi, grilled fish, seasoned vegetables, and more.

Plentiful side dishes

There are so many generous side dishes that even children who cannot eat marinated crab can have a full meal—great. The glossy nourishing pot rice, comforting doenjang jjigae, nicely grilled fish, pork bulgogi, braised kimchi, and kimchi pancake were each tasty. The freshly made pot rice was especially chewy and nutty, so sweet and excellent even on its own. My child absolutely devoured the sweet pork bulgogi + nourishing pot rice + gim (roasted seaweed) combination.

An assorted jang platter just like the menu photo

It looks exaaaactly like the menu photo. I was honestly shocked by how generous it was...... The crabs were plump and packed with meat, and both the shrimp and octopus looked so appetizing.

Tender Jeju golden crab in soy marinade

Since it is Jeju golden crab, it was packed with meat, and its shell was softer than a regular blue crab, making it easy to pick clean. One bite filled the mouth with tender, pleasantly chewy marinated crab meat—so good!

Look at all that meat ㅠㅠㅠㅠ The moment I tried it, I thought, now this is a truly generous, proper marinated crab dish. The soy flavor was not overpowering, and it was light enough to eat the crab on its own without rice.

This combination of warm nourishing pot rice and soy-marinated crab wrapped in gim was completely my thing. The chewy, tender pot rice was the genius move!

Crab shells made for mixing with rice

I had heard that golden crab innards can be slightly bitter, but perhaps because every shell is cleaned by hand, these were nutty and lightly sweet. Mixing them with rice and topping it with a chili pepper filled my mouth with a deep ocean flavor~.

My son's number-one pick: octopus jang

Such plump octopus jang! It is ₩6,000 for one whole octopus as an à la carte order, and you really must try it! It is sooooo tender. Kind of like boiled octopus?! The tender, chewy octopus is thoroughly soaked in soy marinade. The seasoning is not salty, so it was incredibly good even eaten as is. My son did not say anything while he was eating, then afterward said that “squid” was so delicious hahaha and that he wanted more... If he had said so while we were there, I would have ordered more for him....

Abalone jang and shrimp jang

The abalone jang and shrimp jang were already cleaned, so they were easy to eat. The shrimp were fully peeled too, so you only need to remove the heads and place them over hot rice—they are a total rice thief. The plump shrimp popped in the mouth; you only know this flavor if you have had it, right? The shrimp jang paired perfectly with the sweet nourishing pot rice.

Clean, spicy marinated crab

This spicy marinated crab has a clean finish because it uses chili powder rather than harsh gochujang. It was spicy yet clean, just perfect with rice. Such a rice thief ㅠㅠㅠㅠ A bite of chewy crab meat over freshly made pot rice, followed by sungnyung (scorched-rice tea), left my stomach feeling comfortable and satisfied.

It is spacious and clean, making it suitable for family meals or group gatherings. Since it is just outside Yangsan, it is also a nice place to stop during a drive. They say they cook to order using only fresh, flash-frozen Jeju golden crabs rather than conventionally frozen ones, without artificial seasonings, so you can enjoy fresh, wholesome dishes. The assorted jang, aged in natural-fruit seasoning, lets you taste natural flavors. This was Deodo Gejang, a great Yangsan Korean restaurant to bring your parents to.