Half meat, half sari at Gwangmyeong jjukkumi restaurant Jeongipum

I wanted to introduce Jeongipum Jjukkumi again after a while!! It's famous as a Gwangmyeong Station restaurant for jjukkumi (spicy stir-fried octopus) and black pork belly, and since it was so good last time, I came back this time with my family!!!

It's right next to the AK Outlet building, with IKEA and Lotte Outlet nearby too, so it's also known as a Gwangmyeong Station IKEA-area restaurant. I dashed straight over right after work!

Where is Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch, and what about hours and parking?

• ⏰ Hours: 11:30–22:00 (last order 15:00, 21:00 / break time 16:00–17:00)
• 📍 Parking: AK Plaza department store (2 hours free)
• ✅ Reservations: Naver Reservations (subscribe to alerts for a flying fish roe refill coupon)
• 🚻 Restroom: across from the restaurant

What the Jeongipum dining room is like on a Monday evening

It's already well known as a restaurant near AK Plaza Gwangmyeong, so even at 6:30pm on a Monday, the place was packed full of people.

The restroom is right across the street, under the escalator. Make sure to check the door code with staff before you head out there!!

The order: 2 servings extra meat, 2 servings extra sari

At Jeongipum Jjukkumi you can pick your main dish to taste — this time we went with tabletop jjukkumi + extra sari (2 servings) & extra meat (2 servings).

How to book Jeongipum on Naver Reservation

Booking through Naver Reservations ahead of time saves you from waiting in line among all the other guests. Reservation > select party size, date, time > select menu > fill in required fields when booking.

Choose as shown above, and it's good to fill in the required spice level and any other notes!!

Griddle jjukkumi and black pork belly for four

It's famous as a Gwangmyeong Station restaurant, particularly known in the Iljik-dong area, and I'd recommend it for coworker meals too — spicy and savory, and just like last time I loaded the jjukkumi up with black pork belly and minari on the tabletop grill for a hearty meal!!

You can pick from 3 spice levels: mild (Jin Ramen), regular (Shin Ramen), and very spicy (Buldak). I went with the mild Jin Ramen level, and even as a spice-wimp, it was a taste I could handle.

Since we booked ahead through Naver, the food was already set up and ready quickly, which was convenient haha

What we ordered was this place's signature dish, tabletop jjukkumi & black pork belly for 4!! Along with the tabletop jjukkumi came vegetables to enjoy alongside it (perilla leaves, radish salad, bean sprouts), seaweed soup, and flying fish roe! It was hearty, and—

—as shown in the photo, we ordered 2 servings with more meat and 2 servings with more sari (minari), so we could enjoy a nice balance.

Mixing it all together and letting the minari wilt down~ I felt this last time too, but Jeongipum Jjukkumi's octopus itself is nice and plump and large, which makes for an excellent chew.

Once it starts bubbling away on the tabletop grill, that signature spicy, savory grilled aroma really rises up — maybe because I already knew what was coming, but the wait for it to cook felt even longer this time than last.

The clean spiciness of the seafood naturally melds with the savory fat from the black pork, making the sauce even richer and deeper! The pork's savoriness softens the spice, making it a magic combination that even spice-wimps (me included...) can enjoy right to the end.

The best jjukkumi wrap formula, learned over two visits

Having visited twice now, let me share the tastiest wrap formula I've figured out at Jeongipum Jjukkumi!

It's actually written on the kiosk too!

• First lay down a fragrant perilla leaf and top it with a plain gim (seaweed) sheet
• On top of that, add lemon radish salad, bean sprouts, and flying fish roe
• Finally, dip the spicy-sauced jjukkumi in white sauce and place it on top with the meat!!

Wrap it all up into a mouth-stuffing bite and try it. The spice, savoriness, crunchy texture, and fragrant perilla leaf all come together beautifully in your mouth!! The first time I carefully wrapped one, my sister grabbed it, asking if it was for her.

It's jjukkumi season right now, so the octopus was even plumper (my sister and dad are apparently going fishing again tomorrow haha)

A bite of black pork belly too,

With the crunchy minari, nom~ there's also rice cake sari included as standard, which is nice to enjoy!

There's a nice perk of being able to press buttons to request various vegetables or whatever you want, so you can add more without feeling awkward about it 👍 The cold seaweed soup was refreshingly cool and cleansing too!!

Udon noodles and the complimentary steamed egg

My sister always likes adding noodles or rice cake to food, so this time too, since the restaurant had jjolmyeon (chewy cold noodles) and udon sari, she had me choose and I went with the udon sari. (Partway through eating she said the jjolmyeon would've been tastier, so I told her, well then you should've chosen it haha) 🤦🏻‍♀️ Mixed it all together

With the sauce soaked into the noodles, now I'm even more curious about the jjolmyeon next time!!

They gave us two whole stone pots of steamed egg custard, overflowing like a bomb!! Seems to be a house specialty — eating the soft egg custard alongside the spiciness was the perfect combination haha

Finishing with minari fried rice (4,000 won)

Even when you feel like you're about to burst, there's no giving up on tabletop fried rice haha. Minari fried rice (₩4,000), snow cheese fried rice (₩3,500), flying fish roe fried rice (₩3,500). What makes Jeongipum Jjukkumi's finish extra special is that it's not regular fried rice but minari fried rice or snow cheese fried rice.

They fry rice and gim (seaweed) flakes in the leftover jjukkumi sauce, load it up with crunchy fragrant minari, and press it down firmly on the tabletop grill. Here, staff always cook it for you at the table, so you get plenty of time to chat with family while comfortably eating without lifting a finger — really convenient.

The finishing touch — snow cheese!! You can also add extra cheese, so you can pick the topping that suits your taste.

A little tip for enjoying the fried rice: they toast the leftover gim on the tabletop grill at the end for you to eat together with the fried rice haha

The distinctive aroma of minari cleanly washes the spiciness out of your mouth, letting you finish the meal feeling refreshed. The fried rice here is genuinely delicious, so even if you're full, try at least one bite!!!

I scraped up every last bit, including the crispy scorched rice stuck to the bottom, along with the toasted gim. This second visit was delicious too.

Stress-busting spiciness, generous portions, and friendly service on top of it all! I'd strongly recommend Gwangmyeong jjukkumi not just for family dinners but as an after-work coworker meal spot too. I feel like my third visit isn't far off!

After paying at the end, don't forget to register your parking!! The first 2 hours at the AK parking lot are free, and if you add AK parking registration on top of that, you can get up to 8 hours free combined, apparently~~