Two pot rice bowls near Cheongju Airport: Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong

By the time I landed at Cheongju Airport after my Jeju trip, I was starting to get hungry. There was that bittersweet feeling of the trip being over, but I didn't want to just grab something mediocre at the airport... haha. I figured if it was going to be my last meal of the trip, it should be a good one, so I searched around. That's how I found Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong Direct Branch (소로리솥밥 가경직영점)!

20 minutes by car from Cheongju Airport to Gagyeong-dong

It turned out not to be as far as I expected from Cheongju Airport — about 20 minutes by car, an easy distance for a meal right after getting off the plane. We arrived for an early lunch, and the moment we walked in, the clean interior caught my eye. The white and wood-toned decor gave it a warm yet tidy feel, the kind of atmosphere that says 'let's have a healthy meal today' haha. The neat, orderly vibe really suited a pot rice restaurant.

What we ordered for two: beef rib pot rice and abalone butter pot rice

Sorori Sotbap has more menu options than you'd expect, so it took us a bit to decide. Since there were two of us, we went with beef rib pot rice and abalone butter pot rice.

Beef rib pot rice — meat that never turns tough

First, the beef rib pot rice I'd been looking forward to! The meat was really tender. You honestly have to try this meat yourself. It was cut into big chunks, so the first bite delivered full-on meat flavor. No matter how much you chewed, it never got tough — it just melted in your mouth. Eaten together with the rice, the seasoning matched perfectly, and the more I chewed, the more the meat's flavor came through, so I kept reaching for more. Honestly, writing this now, I'm craving that meat again haha.

Abalone butter pot rice — a taste that recalled the Jeju sea

And the abalone butter pot rice had a completely different charm from the beef rib version. The mild pot rice was layered with a savory butter flavor — not heavy at all, but quietly rich. Taking a bite of the abalone in particular, maybe because we'd just finished our Jeju trip, I suddenly found myself thinking of the Jeju sea... 'Ah, I want to go back to Jeju already,' I thought, and the meal ended up extending that post-trip lingering feeling. If you like the clean taste of abalone or dishes with an ocean feel, you'll probably really enjoy this one too.

At a pot rice restaurant, always order different dishes

And it's true — at a pot rice restaurant, the way to go is always ordering different dishes! A bite of beef rib pot rice, a bite of abalone butter pot rice, we kept trading spoonfuls back and forth haha. Sweet-and-savory, sweet-and-savory (haha). The two dishes tasted so different from each other that I was glad we ordered this way. Now I want to try other menu items next time. Next time I'll go for the mentaiko butter pot rice (excited).

It seems especially good for families or groups, where everyone can order a different pot rice and share. Parking was also convenient, which was great for visiting by car. Maybe because the first meal after finishing my Jeju trip was such a good pot rice, the ending of the trip felt pretty satisfying.

If you're looking for a good restaurant near Cheongju Airport, or a clean and tidy pot rice spot in Cheongju, or a good place near Gagyeong-dong iPark, Sorori Sotbap Gagyeong Direct Branch is worth a visit. Honestly, I wanted to try the mentaiko pot rice this time too, but I held off haha. Next time I go, I plan to try the other pot rice menus I missed this time :)