Weekday lunch eel soup over rice in Bucheon: Gochang Pungcheon Eel

Hi everyone~! It's Minggyo from Ming Ming Couple :) I've been feeling under the weather lately, just kind of dragging myself around, so I figured it was time for a proper recovery meal. Perfectly timed, my close noona friend had just finished her baby's first birthday party and desperately needed to get her strength back, so we went out for eel together~! This time we went to Gochang Pungcheon Eel near Sangdong Station!

Where is Gochang Pungcheon Eel near Sangdong Station, and where do you park?

Gochang Pungcheon Eel is close to Sangdong Station, so it's easy to get to, and it also has private rooms, which makes it look like a good option for family gatherings or company dinners.

📍 Address: 134 17-28 Giljumal-ro 121beon-gil, Wonmi-gu, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea

It's fairly close to Exits 7 and 8 of Sangdong Station, so it's easy to reach by public transit, and there's a restaurant alley nearby, so it wasn't hard to find. I visited during the day, and it was still pretty busy. I always thought of eel as something you eat in the evening with a drink, but it looked like plenty of people were coming in for lunch just to recover their strength, haha.

For parking, we used the building's parking tower. You can park on floors 2 through 5 of the same building, so it was convenient to come by car too. We parked and headed straight to the restaurant.

Open daily 11:30–23:00 / last order 22:00

Gochang Pungcheon Eel is on the first floor of the building, and the sign is big enough that it wasn't hard to spot.

When you hear "eel restaurant," you might picture an old, plain kind of place, but this one felt sleek and clean from the outside.

Inside Gochang Pungcheon Eel: private rooms, terrace and a self-service banchan bar

Once inside, the space felt bigger than expected and was neatly arranged overall. On a breezy day, it would be nice to grill eel over charcoal out on the terrace!

Every table has its own charcoal grilling setup, and the seats felt spacious, which I liked.

And the thing that caught my eye the most — the private room! There were guests inside, so I just snapped a quick photo from outside. Having a separate room space looks great for family gatherings, larger groups, or company dinners.

There were quite a few customers even in the middle of the day, and people kept coming in while we were eating?! I had no idea so many people ate grilled eel on a weekday lunch! Pairing it with bokbunja wine (Korean black raspberry wine) would really be the ultimate recovery meal...!

There's also a self-service bar like this where you can help yourself to extra banchan (side dishes), which was nice!

Gochang Pungcheon Eel menu and prices: what two people should order

The grilled eel menu includes salt-grilled, gochujang-grilled, and soy sauce-grilled versions, plus rice dishes like eel hotpot rice, eel soup, doenjang stew (soybean paste stew), and naengmyeon (cold noodles). Salt-grilled and gochujang-grilled eel are each ₩35,000 per portion, and the jangsu eel soup is ₩10,000. The eel is said to be about 300–310g net weight~!

• Salt-grilled eel, 1 portion
• Gochujang-grilled eel, 1 portion
• Eel soup, 1
• Steamed rice

This is what we ordered! When two people are sharing eel, ordering one salt-grilled and one seasoned portion is great because you can alternate between the two flavors.

Salt-grilled vs gochujang-grilled eel: how did they taste?

They brought out charcoal that looked like it could make anything taste good!!! After a short wait, the pre-grilled eel arrived.

The size is really impressive, right?! A staff member cut the eel for us directly, so all we had to do was flip it over so it wouldn't burn.

Watching the eel turn golden brown was already mouthwatering... We tried the salt-grilled version first, and the eel meat was plump, the inside was moist, and the outside had a slight chewy texture from the charcoal grilling. Best of all, there was almost none of that typical eel greasiness or fishy taste — just a deep, savory flavor. I loved it!

Eating it with the side dishes — pickled perilla leaves, ginger, and chives — the savory eel and the banchan came together so well that the eel was practically dancing in my mouth.....!!!!

And here's the part I was most satisfied with that day! I could eat it so cleanly that I barely felt any bones. Eating eel can sometimes be stressful because of stray bones, but here nothing got in the way at all, so it was really easy to eat.

The salt-grilled eel kept the natural savory flavor of the eel intact, so it was delicious wrapped in ginger or perilla leaf, and just as good eaten on its own.

The gochujang-grilled version was a totally different vibe! The sweet, spicy house sauce soaked moist into the eel's surface, bringing out a salty, savory punch.

If the salt-grilled eel is clean and savory, the gochujang version has that added sweet, umami richness from the sauce that keeps you reaching for more! Since the sauce is already applied, it burns quickly, so you need to flip it often~!

I'd recommend ordering one salt-grilled and one seasoned portion like we did, and alternating between them. I wanted to try the soy sauce version too, but held off to save room for the eel soup. It had been a while since I'd had eel, and it was really delicious!

Fried eel bones, steamed egg and the rest of the side dishes

Before the eel arrived, a variety of basic banchan were set out, and the fried eel bones in particular! Crispy and savory, I kept reaching for them without even realizing, haha. Eating something crunchy like that alongside the eel added a nice change of texture.

Steamed egg also came out, bubbling hot in a stone bowl, and it was great to eat in between bites of eel. Soft and warm — a dish I kept coming back to without thinking.

Finishing with eel soup poured over rice

After finishing the grilled eel, it felt like a shame to stop there, so we ordered eel soup too. Pouring rice into the hot eel soup and eating it — oh my gosh...ㅠㅠ so good. I've always really loved eel soup!

Slurping down a whole bowl of rice mixed in made me break out in a sweat, and that's when I felt like I'd truly gotten my recovery meal that day. Filling up on savory grilled eel and then finishing with warm, hearty eel soup and rice made me feel restored all the way through!

I'd been feeling run down with cold-like symptoms lately, but after eating like this, I somehow felt energized again. Honestly, I really wanted to have bokbunja wine with the eel too...! Eel and bokbunja wine is such a perfect combo 😭

But that day, both my friend and I were on medication since we weren't feeling well, so we skipped the alcohol. It was such a shame......ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ Next time I visit, once I'm fully recovered, I'm definitely having bokbunja wine with it too~!

Final verdict on Gochang Pungcheon Eel in Bucheon

I visited to help my close noona friend recover her strength after her baby's first birthday party, and we both left very satisfied.

The eel was plump and savory, and almost bone-free, which made it easy to eat, and ordering one salt-grilled and one gochujang-grilled portion let us enjoy two different flavors. Best of all, having a private room made it look like a solid choice for family gatherings or work dinners too.

If you're craving eel near Sangdong Station, especially looking for a clean, well-kept spot known as one of the eel restaurants near Sangdong Station, Gochang Pungcheon Eel is worth a visit :) Next time, we're definitely having that bokbunja wine we missed this time~~~~🖤