Chowol, Gwangju hanjeongsik with a baby: shiitake refills at Bomseol

A real review of Bomseol hanjeongsik, a great-value Korean set meal restaurant in Chowol, Gwangju ⋰˚★

Eating out in Chowol, Gwangju with mom and a baby

It had been a while since I went out to eat with my mom and baby! We wanted Korean food the baby could eat and mom would love, and it turned out there was a great-value hanjeongsik spot in Gwangju, Gyeonggi — so we made it our family outing. Here's my honest review of Bomseol hanjeongsik in Chowol, Gwangju. Honestly, this quality at this price is so satisfying that I'm 100% going back.

Location, parking and hours at Bomseol

📍 A hanjeongsik restaurant in Chowol, Gwangju. It's really close to Cheongrim Café, so I loved being able to head there afterward. There's also a small coffee corner inside Bomseol itself, just so you know :)

🅿️ There are two parking areas at the building — both front and back are available, so parking is easy. The space was quite generous, which was nice.

⏰ Bomseol hanjeongsik in Chowol, Gwangju is open daily 11:00–20:30, with a break time from 16:00–17:00 and last order at 19:45. Please plan your visit around these hours. The break time is short, so keep that in mind! I went for lunch.

The inside of Bomseol hanjeongsik felt cozy and welcoming! It has that hanok (traditional Korean house) atmosphere fitting for a Korean restaurant — spacious and clean overall, and by lunchtime it was full of customers. Clearly a popular spot.

Bomseol table for ₩15,000 and grilled mackerel set for ₩19,000

✔️ Bomseol table ₩15,000 × 2 people / ✔️ Grilled mackerel set ₩19,000. That's what we ordered, but no matter which menu you choose, the various master's banchan (side dishes), stone-pot rice, dried pollock, and barley rice all come unlimited — good to know.

A generous self-bar with unlimited banchan refills!

You can eat unlimited barley bibimbap! Stone-pot rice comes as standard, but barley rice is a separate thing entirely, so if you love barley rice you can help yourself as much as you want.

There's a really wide variety of banchan, and it's all unlimited. The side dishes come out varied and delicious to begin with, and being able to enjoy as much of everything as you like is Bomseol hanjeongsik's real strength. Every single banchan was honey-delicious.

Fried eggplant, shiitake sweet-and-sour — everything was so good, and with kimchi, japchae (stir-fried glass noodles) and other banchan alone you could easily polish off two bowls of rice. This quality for ₩15,000? Truly moving.

Value-for-money hanjeongsik so good it's touching 🥹

Bomseol hanjeongsik in Chowol, Gwangju — can it really be this generous for ₩15,000? You could finish two bowls of rice on the side dishes alone, but there are main dishes too, which is even better. Honestly, isn't the price just too good? 🥹

The braised dried pollock was really solid quality, and the grilled mackerel was big and meaty — good enough to order as a standalone set. But even the basic ₩15,000 Bomseol table that comes with dried pollock is plenty delicious and filling.

The shiitake sweet-and-sour I refilled three times

The variety of banchan is wide and every single one is tasty! My personal favorite was the shiitake sweet-and-sour — the mushroom aroma was great and it wasn't too sweet. No exaggeration, I refilled it three times. Aside from that dish, everything else was delicious too.

Stone-pot rice, sungnyung, and grilled mackerel

The stone-pot rice comes as standard and it's delicious. The great thing about stone-pot rice is that it's freshly cooked — the taste is a whole different level from a regular bowl of rice, and you can also enjoy it as sungnyung (scorched rice tea) afterward. Bomseol's stone-pot rice was really tasty.

The grilled mackerel was seriously crispy outside, tender inside — amazing. Meaty and satisfying too. It wasn't too salty and had no fishy taste at all, so it was delicious. I fed some to the baby, and the baby ate it well too.

Eating it together with the fluffy stone-pot rice was really delicious. The prices here are so kind, but the trap is that every single dish and every single banchan is delicious too.

The dried pollock was seasoned spicy with great savory depth, so I enjoyed it a lot :) If you like dried pollock, you'll be satisfied with this dish. The flesh was plump and quite tasty.

The savory cheonggukjang (fermented soybean stew) is also unlimited! It has a great aroma and taste, and you can also enjoy it mixed into barley bibimbap. And of course, refills are unlimited.

How was it as a family meal for three?

Enjoying all kinds of delicious banchan plus sungnyung left me full and happy — a truly satisfying meal. The baby ate well and mom said it was so delicious, which made me proud! It's also close to Cheongrim Café, a large nearby café, so after the meal we went there for proper relaxation. If you're looking for a good restaurant in Chowol, Gwangju, I recommend Bomseol hanjeongsik — you should definitely go :) I have a 1000% intention to revisit.