Gapyeong hot plate restaurant with octopus and pork intestine: Paldang

I went on a day trip to Gapyeong and suddenly craved something spicy. While looking up good restaurants in Gapyeong, I found a place that serves both grilled octopus and a snack-food self-serve bar — Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi. I love jjukkumi (baby octopus) but I'm also a sucker for tteokbokki and sundae, so being able to get both in one meal was exactly what I wanted. This is my review of the self-serve bar, bul jjukdae, and mukbap at this jjukkumi spot in Gapyeong.

Where is Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi, and is there parking?

Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi is located at 150 Hanseo-ro, Seorak-myeon, Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea, 1st floor, and is open 11:00–21:00 (last order 20:00). Parking is always a bit of a hassle on a Gapyeong drive, but this place has a spacious lot right in front, so parking was easy.

After parking without any stress, I walked in to find the interior fairly spacious too, with generous spacing between tables — a comfortable spot for a meal during a Gapyeong outing.

There are solo seats too, so it works whether you're dining alone or with a group. Families with babies are covered as well — they even have baby chairs.

They also have sotbap (hot stone-pot rice), which seemed like it would taste even better than plain rice, so I figured I'd try it that way.

The self-serve bar: tteokbokki, sundae, mandu and jjolmyeon

The self-serve bar at Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi has tteokbokki (spicy stir-fried rice cakes), sundae (Korean blood sausage), mandu (dumplings), jjolmyeon (chewy cold noodles), and more. And honestly, once I looked it over, it was seriously packed! I'd expected a jjukkumi place's self-serve bar to just have simple side dishes or veggies, but this Gapyeong spot was different. Tteokbokki, sundae, mandu, jjolmyeon — such a great lineup!

Honestly this wasn't just a self-serve bar, it was basically a mini snack-food corner! For people like us who wanted both snack food and jjukkumi on the same day, this setup was such a welcome surprise.

What we ordered at Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi

• Jikhwa bul jjukdae ₩17,000 × 2
• Mukbap ₩5,000
• Rice ₩1,000 × 2

We were starving, so we nibbled on some snack food before the main dish arrived. Maybe because it was mil-tteok (wheat-flour rice cake), it tasted even better than usual, and I barely held back from eating more.

What is jikhwa bul jjukdae, the octopus and pork intestine hot plate?

Jikhwa bul jjukdae is, as the name suggests, a dish combining jjukkumi and daechang (pork intestine). It came out on a sizzling griddle looking delicious, already fully cooked and ready to eat right away, according to the staff. If it cools down, you can just reheat it on the griddle.

And the cool mukbap — one spoonful of that sweet broth really woke up my appetite. Mukbap is optional, but it makes the meal so much happier when it's there.

I dug straight into the bul jjukdae without waiting, and the first thing I tasted was that distinct charcoal-grilled smokiness. Mmm — the springy texture that a proper jjukkumi restaurant should have, paired with that subtle smoky char, made this a spot I'd recommend in Gapyeong. The octopus kept its bouncy texture while the spicy sauce soaked in well, and with the smoky char on top, it was seriously appetite-grabbing.

Alternating bites of octopus and pork intestine

What I especially liked about the bul jjukdae I ordered was that it wasn't just octopus — it came with daechang too. Eating spicy, smoky octopus and then popping in a piece of daechang added a savory, rich flavor that paired perfectly with the heat.

So rather than eating just one flavor the whole time, there was real fun in alternating between the octopus and the pork intestine.

Flying fish roe and seaweed also came as standard, so wrapping rice and octopus together in the seaweed gave it a bit of a different feel.

How spicy is it? Steamed egg and mukbap cool it down

When you order the griddle dish, steamed egg comes along with it, and since the octopus is pretty spicy, taking a spoonful of steamed egg between bites gently neutralizes the heat — great news for anyone who's spice-sensitive like me.

The combination of smoky, bouncy octopus and savory, rich pork intestine had me wanting a second bowl of rice, but the spice level was manageable enough that even a spice-wimp like me could enjoy it completely. With the steamed egg to tame the heat and the cool mukbap alongside, the whole spread was excellent.

Who will enjoy Paldang Jikhwa Bul Jjukkumi?

Fans of Korean food will already be satisfied by the smoky grilled octopus alone, but the real bonus is the self-serve bar with tteokbokki, sundae, mandu, and jjolmyeon — perfect for people who like trying a bit of everything. If you're craving something spicy in Gapyeong and searching for a good jjukkumi restaurant, this is worth a visit.

With a spacious lot right out front making it easy to stop by, this jjukkumi spot in Gapyeong turned out to be a solid meal during our day trip. We ended up eating more than we expected, sampling both the spicy octopus and a spread of snack food.