Nurungji tangsuyuk at a Chimsan-dong Korean restaurant: Cafe Dongyi

A Chimsan-dong restaurant the whole family can enjoy together: Cafe Dongyi Chimsan Branch. This was my first time visiting Daegu Samsung Changjo Campus. It's a former Cheil Industries factory turned into a public space for citizens, and honestly it felt like one big park.

What I really liked was that restaurants and cafés are scattered throughout the grounds. Whenever I go to a park, there's usually nothing around, so in this hot summer weather I always have to trek somewhere else to eat — not the case here.

Judging by the name alone, you'd assume Cafe Dongyi is a café. It uses the word 'cafe,' but this is actually a well-known Korean restaurant in Daegu.

Comfortable space and easy parking at Samsung Changjo Campus

Located on the 1st floor of Dorm Building E at Daegu Samsung Changjo Campus, Cafe Dongyi Chimsan Branch is perfectly positioned for a stop before or after a walk in the park. Best of all, you can park comfortably within the Samsung Changjo Campus complex,

and since you get 2 hours of free parking with a meal, driving there isn't a hassle at all.

The interior is neatly arranged in an L-shape, with 2-person tables toward the back and 4-person tables making up most of the seating.

Whether you come alone or with one other person, the 2-person tables are spacious enough that you never feel cramped and can focus comfortably on your meal.

True to its reputation as a Chimsan-dong Korean restaurant that insists on only the finest handpicked ingredients daily, you can taste the extra care even in a single spoonful of rice. They say it's made with Grade 1 Gimpo Geumssal rice sourced directly from the DMZ clean zone, giving it that fresh, glossy, premium rice flavor.

A varied menu and a go-to spot for family dining

The biggest strength of this Chimsan-dong Korean restaurant is that you can enjoy a whole range of Korean dishes generously in one place. From kimchi jjigae to bulgogi to jeyuk bokkeum, you can try neatly composed set meals for under ₩10,000, making it an easy, low-pressure choice.

Even if family members have different tastes, everyone can pick the dish they want

and lay out a full spread, so there's no need to compromise on flavor for anyone. Even on a Sunday evening, quite a few families kept coming in, proof that this is a restaurant trusted by locals in the area.

There's also a tidy dedicated kids' menu, making it a perfectly equipped environment for the whole family to eat together.

Crispy nurungji tangsuyuk meets rich kimchi jjigae

The must-try signature side dish at Cafe Dongyi Chimsan Branch is the wonderfully crispy nurungji tangsuyuk (crispy rice-crust sweet and sour pork). Thick pork slices, cut flat in the style of gwobarou, are coated in a thin, translucent glutinous rice batter — golden and crispy outside, full of juicy flavor inside.

The fresh lemon slices and brown sauce drizzled over the tangsuyuk

give it a sweet-tangy yet clean flavor. The kimchi jjigae, a great dish to order alongside it, bubbles away in a black earthenware pot with a thick, deep orange broth that stirs up your appetite just by looking at it.

The broth is packed with soft, well-seasoned pieces of domestic kimchi, mild tofu, and plenty of meat, delivering deep flavor. The contrast between the spicy kimchi jjigae broth and the savory, crispy tangsuyuk is a combination that's hard to walk away from once you've tried it.

The combination I tasted firsthand and highly recommend

The kimchi jjigae set I ordered came with neat side dishes plus a self-fried egg you cook yourself, rounding out a perfect meal. Made with domestic kimchi you can eat with peace of mind, the kimchi jjigae has a generous, not-too-thin broth that's perfect for piling rice with soup and toppings into a jjaguri-style mix.

I newly discovered this time just how great the combination of tangsuyuk and kimchi jjigae really is. The crispy texture of the piled-high tangsuyuk pairs surprisingly well with the spicy kimchi jjigae broth. The spicy broth has a similar edge to the sharp heat of Chinese-restaurant jjamppong, which I think is why it went so unexpectedly well with the tangsuyuk.

I'd strongly recommend this honest, carefully made Chimsan-dong Korean restaurant spread to anyone looking for a genuine meal, to families out for a weekend trip to Daegu Samsung Changjo Campus, and to solo diners wanting a hearty, low-pressure lunch or dinner.