Milyang Korean restaurant with private rooms: Ilpum Irojeong

When you travel to Milyang, Wiyangji Pond is one of the essential stops. After visiting Wiyangji, I went to Ilpum Irojeong (일품 이로정), a great restaurant to visit with parents or family. With Korean dishes such as chueotang (loach soup), grilled fish, and miyeokguk (seaweed soup), it is easy for a family to choose what to eat.

What are the parking and group-dining spaces like?

You can park in the dedicated lot in front of the restaurant. If it is full, roadside parking is allowed without enforcement from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays, and all day on Sundays. There is also a public parking lot a five-minute walk away, so keep that in mind.

A spacious interior and reservable private rooms

The restaurant is quite spacious. It felt pleasant and roomy, so it looked like a good place for a group gathering. Even though there were quite a lot of tables, there was plenty of space between them, so it did not feel cramped. It seemed there would be no shortage of seating for a large gathering or family group. There are private rooms toward the back, and with an advance reservation, they looked nice for a quiet meal with family and parents.

Even when I visited, several groups were gathering there, but there were still plenty of empty seats and it did not feel noisy.

Why I chose the warm pork and mackerel chueotang set

There were individual dishes such as Namwon-style chueotang and Korean beef miyeokguk, as well as hearty full-table set meals that let you enjoy several dishes at once. Of the grilled atka mackerel and warm pork sanghwang chueotang set, warm pork sanghwang chueotang set, and warm pork and mackerel sanghwang chueotang set, I ordered the warm pork and mackerel set for my baby, who likes both grilled fish and warm pork.

There was also a self-service bar inside, so we could help ourselves to more side dishes whenever we needed them.

Neat side dishes and chueotang loaded with ingredients

Not long after ordering, the neatly arranged side dishes arrived. The table for two was set so nicely that I again thought this would be a great restaurant to bring parents to. There was a fresh salad to whet the appetite before the meal, along with crisp, savory sweet potato and fried loach—good as either an appetizer or dessert. What stood out was the wood ear mushroom side dish, with its pleasantly chewy texture. It was like a pickle, but clean-tasting and not overly seasoned, and it was really delicious.

Then turmeric rice and chueotang arrived. The soup was so full of ingredients that the broth-to-ingredients ratio felt about 1:1. Chueotang is often considered a restorative food and is commonly eaten in both summer and winter; it is also a meal out that parents often seek because it feels filling and satisfying. With meat and grilled fish alongside it, this was truly an abundant spread.

The thick broth would be great mixed with rice, but this time I ate the rice and chueotang separately. Even without adding perilla seed powder, it was nutty and refreshing, which I loved. The ingredients were so tender, with no tough bits at all, that my baby ate it well too.

Crisp grilled fish and tender warm boiled pork

I added grilled atka mackerel to the grilled mackerel. There were three of us who love grilled fish, so we each eat one. Both the mackerel and atka mackerel had no fishy smell at all; their outsides were crisp while the flesh was moist and tender, the kind of fish side dish that could make you finish a whole bowl of rice in no time. They were even better with the lemon served alongside.

The tender warm boiled pork tasted similar to bossam (boiled pork wraps). With the kimchi and shredded radish salad served alongside, it honestly tasted like something from a specialist restaurant. Since there were so many different mains, I worried that perhaps one of them would fall short, but everything—from the main dishes to the side dishes—was delicious.

I went with my baby this time, but I thought it would be nice to bring my parents next time. The healthy Korean flavors are exactly the sort of meal parents would really enjoy.

Finishing with sujeonggwa and sweet pumpkin sikhye

This chueotang specialist restaurant in Milyang has a spacious interior that is good for gatherings, and above all, the parking is easy, so it is a great place for a delicious meal during a Milyang trip. The staff were kind, and with sujeonggwa (cinnamon punch), sweet pumpkin sikhye (sweet rice drink), and even snacks for dessert at the end, I would like to visit again.