Assorted jang set with pot rice and nurungji tea near Tongdosa: Deodo

I'm bringing you a review of Deodo Gejang (더도게장), a popular local restaurant near Tongdosa that's a must-stop on any Yangsan outing.

Location, parking, and hours at Deodo Gejang

Open daily from 11:00 to 22:00, Deodo Gejang sits on the second floor of a large food complex right on the main road at the Tongdosa entrance. The same building also has a beef ribs restaurant and Sunji Café, so you can even take care of dessert in the same spot.

There's a wide parking lot at the entrance and along the side of the building, so you don't need to worry about parking before your meal.

Hwangsan Park, the Wondong Festival, and Tongdosa are all nearby, making this a perfect stop on a Yangsan drive or day trip.

Interior atmosphere and seating

The restaurant was spacious and comfortable. Having relocated and expanded from its old spot in Beomeo, it's now a mid-to-large space of over 60 pyeong with generous spacing between tables and plenty of seats, so you can eat comfortably without worrying about waits even for group visits or during lunch hour.

Overall, the clean, warm wood tones combined with large plants and floor-to-ceiling windows give the space a bright, tidy atmosphere.

There can be a wait on weekends, so just register at the Catch Table kiosk near the entrance.

Deodo Gejang's five appeals

Fresh, never-frozen seafood & no MSG

They only use fresh, never-frozen seafood, cooked to order the moment you place it. No seasoning agents are used at all, so the freshness and wholesomeness of the ingredients come through as they are. In particular, the crab jang uses only fresh Jeju yellow crab caught in the clean waters off Jeju Island. The owner-chef reportedly has 20 years of experience from five-star hotels. Instead of the gochujang typically used for a punchy flavor, they use red pepper powder and a naturally fruit-fermented seasoning for a clean, deep taste. They're also meticulous about hand-cleaning the yellow crab's slightly bitter innards and roe one by one.

A decade of seafood expertise

With ten years of handling seafood dishes that allow no room for a single percent of error, this place has earned enough recognition to see a flood of nationwide delivery orders.

What's in the pot rice assorted jang set

We ordered Deodo Gejang's signature dish, the pot rice assorted jang set.

When the table was set a little later, my jaw dropped at the sheer visual and the generous spread filling the whole table. In the center of a large, elegant brass plate sat a vivid, packed assortment of seafood jang: shrimp jang, abalone jang, octopus jang, Jeju yellow crab jang, blue crab jang, and spicy seasoned crab jang. The colorful look alone made my mouth water, and every photo I took turned into a best shot. I loved that a single dish let us taste a variety of seafood jang we already love, all in one place, and the freshness of each ingredient was obvious even before the first bite — the anticipation was huge.

The banchan lineup

On top of that, the side dishes set alongside the main assorted jang were, in terms of both variety and quality, honestly incredible. There was freshly pan-fried kimchi pancake — crispy outside, moist inside — and fried tofu braised in a sweet-salty special sauce, crisp on the outside and soft within, with the sauce soaked in nicely. There was also ttukbaegi bulgogi, bubbling hot straight from the stone pot in that classic sweet-and-salty combo, along with an assortment of clean, mildly seasoned seasonal namul (seasoned vegetable) side dishes, a refreshing salad, and even macaroni.

There was also a hot seafood doenjang (soybean paste) stew with a rich, savory broth you can't help reaching for again and again. Every side dish carried the chef's 20 years of care and skill so deeply that we could've easily finished a whole bowl of rice on the banchan alone, even before the main dish arrived.

Nutritious pot rice and a nurungji tea finish

What really elevated the crab jang, though, was the freshly cooked nutritious pot rice. The moment the lid came off, steam rose up, and the rice — cooked together with sweet pumpkin and mushrooms — was so sticky and nutty that it was outstanding even on its own, almost sweet to eat plain. Scraping the freshly cooked, warm rice into a bowl and mixing it with the not-too-salty, deeply savory crab jang was truly the definition of a 'rice thief.'

After all the rice was scooped out, they poured warm water into the pot to steep, and finished the meal with a nutty bowl of nurungji tea made from the scorched rice at the bottom. After enjoying the salty, addictive assorted jang, a spoonful of warm, nutty nurungji washed away any lingering oiliness or fishy taste, leaving the stomach warm and clean.

Final thoughts

Deodo Gejang is the Yangsan restaurant near Tongdosa I'd recommend for fresh seafood jang and a hearty pot rice spread, made with the care of a 20-year veteran chef, served in a clean, spacious dining room for a satisfying, easy-on-the-stomach meal.