Gwangju pork soup restaurant near Hwadamsup: Old Gyeongseong Sundaeguk

A bowl of gukbap after checking out of Gonjiam Resort: Old Gyeongseong Sundaeguk Gonjiam Branch

Old Gyeongseong Sundaeguk Gonjiam Branch is a great sundaeguk (blood sausage soup) place to stop at on the way out after checking out of Gonjiam Resort. We stayed a night at the resort, and after checkout, while deciding what to eat, we suddenly craved a warm bowl of soup, so we went for sundaeguk as our brunch.

We end up in the Gonjiam area fairly often because of the resort or Hwadamsup Garden, and after traveling, there's just something about craving a hot bowl of gukbap, you know?

Old Gyeongseong Sundaeguk Gonjiam Branch has a neatly kept dining space and its own parking, so it's easy to visit if you're driving. Looking at other reviews, plenty of people mentioned stopping by for a meal after checking out of Gonjiam Resort, and there was a lot of talk about the clean interior and generous portions haha, my expectations were up!

Inside Old Gyeongseong Sundaeguk: is the seating good for families?

The inside of Old Gyeongseong Sundaeguk Gonjiam Branch was more spacious than I expected, with seating arranged comfortably. There were several tables, so it looked fine for a family visit too.

The overall atmosphere was clean and tidy, making it a comfortable place to stop for a meal while traveling. The tables weren't packed too closely together either, so there was enough space from neighboring tables that eating didn't feel cramped, and it looked comfortable enough for a larger group too.

When you hear "sundaeguk restaurant," you might picture a cramped, old-school gukbap joint, but this place is relatively clean and spacious, so the first impression was good haha. Since Gonjiam Resort and Hwadamsup Garden are both spots that families visit a lot, plenty of people are probably looking for somewhere to eat with kids, and the roomy seating here made it seem like a good fit for a family visit.

Self-service corner: kimchi, kkakdugi and unlimited rice

At the self-service corner, you can help yourself to extra kimchi, kkakdugi (radish kimchi), peppers, and onions.

Best of all, you scoop your own rice and it's unlimited! Perfect for people with a big appetite.

Menu: sundaeguk options and what comes with the set

The menu at Old Gyeongseong Sundaeguk Gonjiam Branch includes sundaeguk, pork gukbap, boiled pork head meat, native-style sundae, ozori gamtu (pork stomach lining), and other dishes and side items.

For sundaeguk, you can choose without sundae, without offal, without head meat, sundae-only, or offal-only, so you can order exactly how you like it, which I really love. And there's a set that comes with sliced boiled pork (pyeonyuk) and sweet rice sausage (chapssal sundae), which is perfect alongside sundaeguk.

How do the basic sundaeguk and the meat-only sundaeguk taste?

We ordered one basic sundaeguk and one sundaeguk with only meat in it. Honestly, the broth was really to my liking...!

I'd already visited other Old Gyeongseong Sundaeguk branches multiple times because the taste suited me so well, and the Gonjiam branch was just as delicious. There was almost no gamey smell that sundaeguk can sometimes have, and the broth was clean yet rich, so my body felt warm from the very first spoonful. With gukbap, if the broth has any smell, I tend to lose interest no matter how much is in the bowl, but here there was no such worry, and I kept going back for more.

There was a really generous amount of sundae and meat in it. The meat wasn't tough or dry — it had a chewy texture that was nice to bite into, and it tasted even better eaten with the broth. The more I stirred through the earthenware pot, the more meat and sundae kept turning up, so it seemed like a bowl that would leave you quite full.

In particular, the sundae wasn't mushy or falling apart — it had just the right chewy bite and went really well with the broth. It was tasty eaten on its own, and also good scooped up together with the meat, so there was fun in mixing and matching bites.

It's also delicious if you stir in the chili paste and eat it as red spicy broth. If you like spicy food, the spicy sundaeguk is good too, so ordering that instead might be a good idea haha.

The sliced boiled pork that came with the set was chewy too, and the sweet rice sausage was also nice and chewy, delicious haha.

Why it fits a Hwadamsup and Gonjiam Resort itinerary

If you're looking for a good place to eat after checking out of Gonjiam Resort, Old Gyeongseong Sundaeguk Gonjiam Branch is conveniently located along the way, and it also comes to mind as a solid, filling meal spot before or after visiting Hwadamsup Garden. A lot of people in the Gonjiam area are looking for gukbap after visiting the resort or the garden, and this place looked like a great fit for that kind of itinerary.

Above all, if you like sundaeguk, the menu itself is the kind that few people would dislike, so it's an easy place to visit. You can choose anywhere from the basic sundaeguk to a meat-heavy version, and the portions of sundae and meat are generous, so I'd recommend it as a good spot for a simple, satisfying meal.