Sejong restaurant with kodari jjim braised pollock: Chung-sil Hoegwan

There's a kimchi jjigae spot I truly recommend in Hansol-dong, Sejong — this is already my third visit. Every time I go I order kimchi jjigae, but it's also famous for its pork belly.

Where Chung-sil Hoegwan is and when it opens

Chung-sil Hoegwan is at 94 Noeul 3-ro, 1st floor, units 101-102, Sejong, right in front of the Hansol-dong post office, so it's easy to find. It's open Tuesday to Sunday, 11:00 to 22:00, closed every Monday, with a break time from 14:30 to 17:00.

• [Address] 94 Noeul 3-ro, 1st floor, units 101-102, Sejong
• [Hours] Closed every Monday / Tue–Sun 11:00–22:00
• [Break time] 14:30–17:00
• Parking available / takeout available

Parking is available, and takeout and reservations are also possible.

What the restaurant is like at 7pm on a Sunday

The inside of Chung-sil Hoegwan is still spacious and clean, as always. Every table has a tablet for ordering. I visited around 7pm on a Sunday, and there were a lot of group gatherings and family meals going on.

Ordering kimchi jjigae for two plus kodari jjim with parents

Chung-sil Hoegwan's signature dishes are galbi kimchi jeongol (rib and kimchi hot pot), samgyeopsal, and kimchi jjigae. I've tried both the galbi kimchi jeongol and the basic kimchi jjigae before. This time I went with my parents, and since it had been a while, I picked kimchi jjigae — and I was curious about the kodari jjim, so we ordered that too. So the order was: kimchi jjigae for two plus kodari jjim.

Here are the basic side dishes — fish cake, gim, bean sprouts, and dried radish strips come out. The side dishes are always tasty. You can easily get extra sides from the self-bar.

The kimchi jjigae for two arrived. They let it simmer until it's ready.

How does the kodari jjim taste?

The kodari jjim came out first, so I tried it first. My dad loves it, which is why we ordered it, and he said it was delicious.

I tried it too — the sauce was tasty and the pollock was so tender it went perfectly with the sotbap!

Three big chunks of pork belly in the kimchi jjigae

Ah, still such a generous bowl of kimchi jjigae. It's the basic dish, but there's pork belly right inside it.

The meat pieces are really big — there were about three chunks inside. Once it's simmered enough, you just cut up the meat and kimchi.

It cuts easily and smoothly. The meat isn't tough at all, which makes it so good.

Here's the main kimchi in the jjigae — it's almost a whole head of cabbage 😮 There's even the tail end, and they cut it into easy-to-eat pieces for you.

The kimchi doesn't taste store-bought at all, which makes it even better. Definitely a kimchi jjigae spot worth the hype haha.

There's tofu and scallions in there too. We let it simmer a bit longer before eating.

It's packed with meat, so anyone who loves kimchi jjigae with meat in it will love this. The broth is nicely spicy too. Truly a Sejong restaurant I recommend, Chung-sil Hoegwan haha.

Eating the stew with sotbap stone-pot rice

Sotbap can't be skipped! Rice is essential with a stew like this — eating fluffy, warm white rice together with the broth, kimchi, and meat is absolutely amazing ><

The meat was still delicious. The galbi kimchi jeongol is great, but the basic kimchi jjigae is delicious too.

Free ramen noodles and broth refills at the self-bar

Chung-sil Hoegwan's self-bar has side dish refills and tableware, and the ramen noodles are self-serve and free. On past visits, the basic menu was always so filling that I never got around to the ramen noodles — but this time I finally did haha.

I added the noodles once we'd eaten most of the solid ingredients. As you keep simmering kimchi jjigae little by little, the broth naturally reduces, right? A staff member came around, checked, and topped up the kimchi jjigae broth for us.

If it tastes a bit salty, just add a little water. Ramen noodles in kimchi jjigae really never fail...! It was so, so good haha.

Is Chung-sil Hoegwan worth a third visit?

Chung-sil Hoegwan is a Sejong restaurant that's delicious no matter when you go. Stews are so popular here that almost every table is having either kimchi jjigae or galbi kimchi jeongol. If you like kodari jjim too, I recommend it! With free ramen noodles on top of everything, Chung-sil Hoegwan is so, so good — you really have to try it at least once 🙏🏻 I genuinely, strongly recommend this place haha.