Byeollae Korean restaurant by the Taereung-Gangneung trail: Onjeongban

I went a little early for the season when the walking trails at the Joseon royal tombs open. It's only walkable twice a year, spring and autumn, so the walk felt extra meaningful — stepping through green grass and then finishing the day with a meal at a Byeollae favorite made for such a healing weekend.

When is the Taereung-Gangneung forest trail open to walk?

Gangneung is the site of the joint tomb of King Myeongjong, the 13th king of Joseon, and Queen Insun. The quiet scenery has a way of calming the mind.

Combined with Queen Munjeong's tomb, Taereung, to the west, the whole area is called Taegangneung and designated a historic site. The forest trail opens for a limited window from May to June, then reopens in October. It's closed on Mondays, so worth noting for planning.

Separate from the general closing time, trail entry itself closes fairly early, at 4pm, so checking the operating hours before you go is a must — and now I'm already looking forward to October, haha.

Parking and the wait at Onjeongban in Byeollae after the walk

Once the Taereung-Gangneung trail opens, you can follow it up with a solid, good-value meal at Onjeongban Byeollae branch. The dedicated parking in front of the restaurant is a bit tight, but everyone seems to find a spot on the surrounding side streets by common sense, and so did I, haha.

It's easy to find right on the roadside if you follow a map app. I visited during a weekend lunch and there was a line, so I waited about 20 minutes before getting a table.

Inside Onjeongban: the room and how kid-friendly it is

Inside, the restaurant was so packed with customers there wasn't an empty seat. Right at the entrance, a sweet dessert corner and a generous self-serve bar were the first things that caught my eye.

There are plenty of high chairs set up on one side of the restaurant. I could see why there are so many families here — it's a great environment for dining with kids.

Kiosk ordering: adding shabu beef and minari to the dumpling hot pot

I first checked the signage carefully to see how to order and the proper eating sequence. It also laid out self-serve bar tips and set menu options.

I comfortably chose the menu and paid using the kiosk at the table. I added beef to the basic dumpling hot pot, plus my favorite fragrant minari (water dropwort).

The self-serve bar: gondeure rice, geotjeori and cabbage salad

After ordering, I headed straight to the self-serve bar. The rice cooker was full of freshly steamed gondeure rice (dried gondeure greens rice), and geotjeori and salad could be refilled freely. I loaded my gondeure rice with plenty of the house sauce and brought it back to my table.

The geotjeori looked like it had just been tossed that day. It was pleasantly spicy with a savory kick that kept me refilling my bowl all through the meal — perfect with the gondeure rice I love.

There was also shredded cabbage salad where you could pick your favorite dressing and pour it on generously. My stomach hasn't been great lately, so I've been eating shredded cabbage before meals, and it was nice that I could do that comfortably here too.

How the rolled dumpling hot pot arrives at the table

I skimmed the tip on the table about how to enjoy shabu-shabu the best way while waiting for the broth to boil.

Finally, all the main dishes I'd ordered arrived. What struck me was how generously the long table was filled — real value for the price. The added meat and minari were also plated neatly and cleanly.

This is the signature rolled dumpling (gullim mandu) that this Byeollae spot is known for — three meat dumplings and three kimchi dumplings, shaped round without a thick flour wrapper, included as standard.

The shabu beef I added was thinly sliced and had a beautiful bright red color. The portion was pretty generous too — the price felt very kind, haha.

The main hot pot was loaded with napa cabbage, bean sprouts, bok choy, mushrooms and sweet pumpkin. Adding the extra minari on top made the pot look almost overflowing, so hearty.

The king oyster mushroom with the restaurant's name clearly stamped on it especially caught my eye. I'm a total sucker for little details like this, haha — it makes the dish look more polished.

How the rolled dumplings and shabu beef tasted

Once the broth started boiling hard, I added the rolled dumplings one by one. With no wrapper, they cooked quickly in the broth, and the hot pot's colors became even more varied.

To keep the eating rhythm going, I kept dipping the thin beef slices into the constantly boiling broth. Lightly blanched, the beef wasn't tough at all — the tender texture was excellent.

I piled plenty of well-cooked meat and crunchy bean sprouts onto my plate. The chemistry between the savory meat and the moisture of the vegetables was just right.

I really got into eating the meat at this point. The clear base broth itself had deep flavor, and dipping it into the house soy sauce brought out even more umami.

Personally, the meat dumplings suited my taste more than the kimchi ones. Not too strong, packed with filling, and soft and mild — it went really well with the broth.

Finishing the broth with kalguksu noodles and fried rice

After scooping out most of the meat and vegetables, I added kalguksu (knife-cut noodles) to the remaining rich broth and let it boil. The chewy noodles soaked up the deep broth flavor beautifully — a real treat.

And of course, the finish for shabu-shabu is fried rice. I added rice to the little broth left at the bottom, cracked in an egg, and stir-fried it until fragrant.

Topping the crispy, browned fried rice at the bottom of the pot with a bit of spicy geotjeori made for perfect texture and flavor harmony.

On the way out after finishing the meal, I ended things on a happy note with a cool slushie and a small snack set up at the entrance. The sweet dessert cleaned up my palate nicely, haha. This was a wonderfully clean, satisfying, and good-value meal in Byeollae — exactly the kind of warm, filling stop you'd want after a walk on the Taereung-Gangneung forest trail this coming autumn.