Gwangmyeong jjukkumi restaurant with black pork belly and fried rice

We went to IKEA Gwangmyeong to shop, but decided to fill up first. There are so many restaurants near Gwangmyeong Station, but that day we wanted exactly one thing: something spicy that makes you happy. So we headed to this Gwangmyeong IKEA-area favorite, Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch.

Location and hours of Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch

• Location: 1F 161, 19 Yangji-ro, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do, Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch
• Hours: Monday–Sunday 11:30–22:00
• Break time: 16:00–17:00
• Last order: 15:00, 21:00

Here's what the menu board looked like.

If you love jjukkumi (spicy octopus), just imagining plump octopus in spicy sauce and finishing with fried rice already sounds delicious, haha. That's how we ended up at Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch.

The owner's story on the X-banner at the entrance

When we found the restaurant, one X-banner at the entrance immediately caught my eye. And it was a pretty fun read, haha.

Thanks to our customers, I'm getting married in late August.

Wait, did we come for a good meal and end up congratulating the owner on his wedding too? Haha. Turns out the owner learned the jjukkumi technique directly from his uncle, who runs the 20-year-old original location, and combined that with 10 years of experience in the restaurant industry to run Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch. He even expanded and reopened after just two years, so running a restaurant clearly isn't something just anyone can do.

Congratulations on your wedding, a bit late but sincerely! And somehow the line about getting married "thanks to our customers" felt genuinely warm. Now let's go in and try that delicious jjukkumi ourselves.

Easy parking thanks to the mixed-use building

It was nice that Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch is inside a mixed-use building. For our family, who always drive, easy parking at a restaurant matters quite a bit. We parked, took the elevator up toward Megabox, and the restaurant was right there. Oh, and as someone with zero sense of direction, finding it on the first try felt like a small win, haha. For directionally challenged people, finding your way is a real achievement.

Already packed at noon?!

We visited around lunchtime. Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch opens at 11:30, and we arrived around noon. But... the place was already full! It had only been open a short while, yet the dining room was packed, which really surprised us.

The customers were all ages too — younger people, families with kids. That kind of scene makes you think, "this must be a good spot." Naturally our expectations went up, haha.

What we ordered

We ordered the signature griddle jjukkumi with extra black pork belly for two, and of course finished with flying fish roe fried rice! Jjukkumi alone is great, but adding black pork belly makes the meal heartier and more filling, so we went with this combo.

We ordered through the tabletop system, which was more convenient than expected. Beyond ordering food, we could order extra side dishes through it too, and they even had hair ties, chargers, and phone stands ready at the table. That kind of thoughtful detail was quietly nice. It was especially helpful that the tabletop screen also showed the best way to eat the jjukkumi.

The staff cook it for you right at the table

Once our order arrived, a staff member cooked it right at the table until it was ready to eat, explaining step by step how to eat it for the best flavor. Jjukkumi is delicious on its own, but when someone tells you "it's even better this way," you have to try it.

Perilla leaf + seaweed + jjukkumi + white sauce + flying fish roe + meat

This was my favorite combination. Perilla leaf, a sheet of seaweed on top, plump jjukkumi, then white sauce and flying fish roe, topped with black pork belly, all in one bite! And... mmm, this combination is so good.

The spicy jjukkumi gets deep, savory flavor from the pork, and the white sauce smooths it all out. Add the popping texture of the flying fish roe, and you can't stop wrapping bite after bite. Honestly, we devoured it in no time, haha.

Plump, springy jjukkumi done right

What Joy's mom loved most was the plump, springy texture of the jjukkumi. Cooked to perfection on the griddle, it had a bouncy, satisfying chew. If you love jjukkumi, this texture is exactly why. The spicy sauce wasn't just hot — it was deliciously spicy — so we kept reaching for more.

The refreshing lemon radish salad

Another dish we kept going back to was the lemon radish salad. With the spicy jjukkumi and black pork belly, your palate can start feeling heavy, but a bite of lemon radish salad resets it with a bright, refreshing taste. Spicy food paired with a zesty side really works.

About 80% done? Time for fried rice!

You can't skip this part when eating jjukkumi: the fried rice. Once we'd eaten about 80% of the jjukkumi, we asked the staff to make the fried rice. They stir-fried flying fish roe fried rice in the leftover sauce, and... yeah, fried rice really is the perfect finale.

Seaweed toasted right on the griddle too!

And here's another tip! The staff member spread seaweed all along the side of the griddle. They told us that eating the fried rice with the lightly toasted seaweed makes it even better. We followed their advice, and sure enough — delicious. The roe pops in the fried rice, and paired with the griddle-toasted seaweed, we ate every last bite happily.

We originally came thinking "let's eat before we shop," but we ended up eating so well that we started our IKEA shopping thoroughly full, haha.

A spicy meal before IKEA Gwangmyeong shopping

If you're heading to IKEA Gwangmyeong and looking for a lunch spot nearby on a day you're craving something spicy, this Gwangmyeong IKEA-area favorite, Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch, is the place.

Our family had a full meal that day: the signature griddle jjukkumi with extra black pork belly for two, plus flying fish roe fried rice. The combination of plump jjukkumi and black pork belly was great. And having the staff cook it for us while explaining the best way to eat it made the meal even more enjoyable.

Reading the owner's X-banner also somehow left us with a warm, happy feeling about the whole meal. Congratulations again on the wedding, and we hope the delicious jjukkumi keeps going for a long, long time. Whenever you're craving spicy jjukkumi before or after IKEA shopping in Gwangmyeong, have a great meal at Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch — we sure did.