Bangbae-dong private-room lunch, braised hairtail: Naegohyang Jeju

You know how sometimes you go to a restaurant and you just want the recipe? Naegohyang Jeju, a spot in Bangbae-dong, was exactly that kind of place with its hairtail stew. The sauce is really the whole game with hairtail stew, and I kept wondering what their secret was.

True to its name — Naegohyang Jeju means "my hometown, Jeju" — this place nails the hairtail stew and yukjeon, and the whole space has that unmistakable Jeju atmosphere. Here's my review of this Korean restaurant in Bangbae-dong!

Where is Naegohyang Jeju? A short walk from Naebang Station, basement level

Naegohyang Jeju is on B1 of 93 Donggwang-ro, Seocho-gu, Seoul, South Korea, and it's walkable from Naebang Station. This street is pretty familiar to me so it was easy to find.

The place is technically semi-basement, but it honestly felt no different from a ground-floor spot.

Inside Naegohyang Jeju: stone-wall interior and private rooms

Inside, Naegohyang Jeju is decked out in Jeju stone-wall style, and you can also reserve a private room. It's a Korean restaurant in Bangbae-dong, but honestly, doesn't this feel more Jeju than Jeju itself? The stone-wall interior was really pretty.

It was clean and felt like a little trip to Jeju, which I loved. The interior was bigger than I expected, and since we came during lunch, plenty of people were already dining. I'm guessing the great value of the weekday lunch special draws the crowd.

We'd booked a private room, and it turned out fancier than expected — great for a private meal. Since they also sell plenty of tidy set menus, this room seemed like a good fit for a parents' meeting or hosting a meal for guests.

Naegohyang Jeju menu and weekday lunch special prices

Naegohyang Jeju offers a great-value weekday lunch special — the grilled mackerel set was ₩15,000.

It was surprising to see a grilled mackerel set for just ₩15,000. Given how upscale the place feels, I expected higher prices, but the weekday lunch special was really reasonable.

Ordering the ₩78,000 premium Jeju braised hairtail and ₩32,000 yukjeon

We ordered the premium Jeju hairtail stew (2-3 people) for ₩78,000 and yukjeon for ₩32,000. We considered the lunch special, but I remembered a friend raving about the hairtail stew here, so I went for it — made with silver hairtail said to arrive from Jeju that very morning. I also wanted to try the yukjeon, so I added that too.

The side dishes came out neat and tidy, fitting the restaurant's image, and the seaweed soup was really tasty.

The hairtail stew and yukjeon arrived, and both looked genuinely delicious just from the visuals.

How the braised hairtail tastes: a sauce worth asking the recipe for

Naegohyang Jeju's hairtail stew is made with silver hairtail cut into pieces, piled high with a spicy-sweet sauce.

The radish inside the stew was especially well-cooked — soft enough for a spoon to sink right in — and soaked through with sauce, giving it incredible umami.

Eating the stew over warm rice was really good. The moment I took that first bite, I was so curious about Naegohyang Jeju's hairtail stew recipe.

They say it's braised in a special house sauce, and honestly, the sauce flavor was impressive enough that I really wanted to know the secret.

Yukjeon and dessert at Naegohyang Jeju

The yukjeon, thin slices of beef coated in egg wash and pan-fried, had good texture and was well-seasoned, so I enjoyed it a lot.

Toward the end of the meal they brought out dessert too, which was just right for cleansing the palate.

Is Naegohyang Jeju worth it for a braised hairtail lunch near Naebang Station?

Naegohyang Jeju won me over right from the atmosphere — it really felt like a trip to Jeju. The hairtail stew was so good it was impressive enough to make me want the recipe, and the yukjeon we ordered alongside it was satisfying too. If you're looking for a great hairtail stew restaurant in Bangbae-dong, I'd confidently recommend Naegohyang Jeju!