Bucheon Korean restaurant with grilled mackerel: Gim Myeongju

A Korean table set tucked deep into Kkachiwool

I’d been here once before and remembered eating SO well, so I came back again this time. In my book, it’s the number-one restaurant in Kkachiwool. If you’re looking for Korean food + good value + parking, you need to run here right now.. ♥ And it’s delicious too???? Honestly, there’s no reason not to go,,

Here’s the location. You have to wind your way quite far inside. It’s pretty deep in, so coming by car is much easier. Walking here would be rough.. But parking is soooo, soooo easy!!! There’s a parking attendant to help you out~

Gim Myeongju Tteuranchae Bapsang Bucheon Main Branch 2F, 59 Gilju-ro 560beon-gil, Bucheon-si, Gyeonggi-do

Ta-da! Keep going in and you’ll see a building like this. Then you’ve arrived >,< There are so many trees along the winding road in that I was already feeling relaxed~ Why do I love nature so much? I loooove that you can feel this much nature in Bucheon, so close to Seoul. ⭐️ It feels far away, but not too far away.

There’s another knife-cut noodle place? and cafés right next door too.. And since the area beside it is basically a mountain—or more like woods—the natural scenery is the best. We visited a little after 12 p.m. on a weekday, and it was completely full. We had to wait.... There were around four parties ahead of us, but turnover was fairly quick. So we waited 10–15 minutes.

Full even at weekday lunch, with rice and side dishes at the self-service bar

I couldn’t photograph the inside because there were just too many people—seriously, SO many. I was surprised lol hahaha. There’s a self-service bar too. Think of this Kkachiwool restaurant as unlimited refills,,, You can keep getting more rice and side dishes.

No... is this for real? The prices are already kind, and you can get refills too *__* That must be why it’s so wildly popular. I saw lots of people around my parents’ age, and lots of groups as well. It’s probably even, even hotter on weekends.

*If you won’t be eating much of a main dish, it’s cheaper to add a main dish to the basic table set. We didn’t order a full set; we got the basic one and added a single dish. Mackerel, of course!!!!

The soy-marinated crab, charcoal-grilled pork, seasoned cockles, and borigulbi (dried yellow corvina served with barley) all looked soooo good too.. I absolutely love soy-marinated crab, so next time I want to try that one.

Wow, I only just realized there’s no break time either..? Amazing... lol. Opening at 10:30 is super early too. The final last order is at 8 p.m., so keep that in mind. I think there are way more customers at lunch than dinner.

Basic table set and mackerel arrived five minutes after ordering

Did we wait five minutes after ordering? Our food came out at lightning speed *_* La la la,, I’m excited,,,!!!! My friend was surprised too. And gave it huge praise for being so delicious. I think I really found a great Kkachiwool restaurant (proud).

Every single side dish looked delicious, and they really were... Just like in the photos: ridiculously good. Not too salty, but not bland either—the seasoning was just right. How can you cook this well? It tastes like a home-cooked meal, which makes it feel so comforting, and I love it.

Spinach, kimchi, seasoned peppers, young radish greens, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles), even side dishes whose names I don’t know.. (but they were good). There honestly wasn’t a single bad thing!!!! With plain white rice, I could just keep eating forever. I love instant food, but I love healthy dishes like this too. Because I’m a Korean-food lover, you know. When I eat Korean food, my stomach feels less heavy and more comfortable -!!!!

Cheonggukjang, pot rice, and scorched-rice dessert too

And the cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew).. seriously rich and delicious.

Cheonggukjang coming as part of the basic set is love. We shared it, but I remember there being so much that we had leftovers. I thought it was doenjang soup, but it was cheonggukjang~~ I’m happy. It had just the right consistency and went down so easily.

And pot rice too!!!! After you finish it, you can add water and have nurungji (scorched rice) for dessert later.

Adding the mackerel was such a good call—it was delicious. No fishy smell at all, and ridiculously good!!!! If someone asks me for a Kkachiwool restaurant recommendation, I’m absolutely picking this place. And I’ll go again. It looks like there are other branches nearby too, so I guess it really is popular. I think parents would really love it here.