Changwon seafood stew spot with a 40-person group room: Dwaeji Jogae

Today I found an absolutely killer spot for seafood-obsessed drinkers — the so-called "seafood addicts" out there — haha 😻😻

The visual of all that seafood piled up was too much not to photograph, so here's a photo dump. The portion size is insane... Long story short, I highly recommend Dwaeji Jogae Changwon Main Branch for drinking buddies' gatherings or company dinners — here's my honest review! 🍻

Where is Dwaeji Jogae Changwon Main Branch, and where do you park?

Dwaeji Jogae Changwon Main Branch is on the basement level near the main entrance of Bansong Market in Changwon, across from Bansong Police Substation. Parking is free for 1 hour at two dedicated Bansong Market lots.

Bansong Market really has so many great restaurants >.< It's like an ant trap honestly... every other stall is another must-try spot. Among them, Dwaeji Jogae Changwon Main Branch, often called the number-one spot, sits right across from Bansong Police Substation near the main entrance. Walk in just a little from the entrance and you'll spot the basement-level shop.

I've usually visited Bansong Market during the day, and every time it's been parking hell ;; so I was a little nervous. But when I checked the dedicated lot in the evening, there was more space than expected. If it's full, they say free parking is available after 6pm at the nearby post office, community center, and traffic culture training center — worth keeping in mind.

Takeout is also available, so it'd be perfect for drinking at home or hosting a housewarming with friends!

Inside Dwaeji Jogae: tables up front, a 40-person group room in back

Near the entrance of Dwaeji Jogae Changwon Main Branch there are about 8 four-person tables, and further past the kitchen there's a separate group room that looks like it can hold around 40 people. I went on a weekday at 7pm, and both spaces were nearly full of office dinner groups.

Haha, the menu is just one item? If you only have one dish and it's not good, that's a real problem right — you could really feel the owner's confidence there. I walked in with high expectations wondering just how good it could be. The tank sat inside the restaurant near the kitchen, with clams, abalone, octopus, and other fresh seafood waiting^^

I visited around 7pm on a weekday, and oh my;; the moment I stepped down to the basement, every seat in sight was already taken?! Packed with office workers having their company dinner. Truly a dinner destination... The entrance-side seats were all four-person tables, about 8 of them. There are also swing doors, so groups can close them off for a private space!

And even more amazing — past the kitchen further inside, there was this huge group seating area?! At a glance, this room looked like it could fit around 40 people. By the time I finished eating and was leaving, this room was also nearly full;; It's a seafood stew spot that doesn't run super late, so I guess everyone rushed over right after work...

Since it's a restaurant inside a market, I was ready to look past hygiene, but it was cleaner than I expected! I also spotted a Bansong Market certified restaurant credential. Since the seafood is bought right there in the market, it also seemed fresher and better value. There were aprons set out here and there too.

The menu at Dwaeji Jogae is seafood stew only — you just pick a size

The menu at Dwaeji Jogae Changwon Main Branch is a single dish — seafood stew — and you just choose the size. We came as 4 and ordered the medium (3-4 person), which includes abalone and water dropwort in the seafood stew.

As you can see from the entrance, Dwaeji Jogae has just one menu! But you can choose your size. Since there were 4 of us, we ordered the bigger medium (3-4 person) size — a seafood-stuffed bucket of stew with abalone and water dropwort~ The nice thing about coming in a group is you can order the topping-loaded "boss special" style option, so for company dinners, definitely go for the boss special >.<

What comes with the medium seafood stew for 3–4, plus tableside prep

The medium seafood stew at Dwaeji Jogae comes layered with half an octopus, blue crab, squid, abalone, and Manila clams, littleneck clams, mussels, and fan mussels. The basic side dishes are steamed potatoes and fresh cut kimchi, with two dipping sauces — wasabi soy sauce and chojang (vinegar chili sauce).

The side dishes come out like this. That steamed potato was especially delicious haha — like something a grandmother steamed in salt water back in the countryside, salty and savory, kept disappearing. The kimchi was also fresh cut kimchi, which came in handy later when we added the noodle add-on. ^.^

Two dipping sauces come for the seafood — wasabi soy sauce and chojang! Because clams have got to be chojang, right~

Here comes the main event ~~~~~ what a visual, seriously. All kinds of seafood layered up in a huge pot. The visual is completely overwhelming;;;; impossible not to take a photo. With that much seafood in it, the broth speaks for itself... The kind of broth flavor you crave as the weather turns cool these days ㅠ Super refreshing, and thanks to the hot peppers, spicy enough too.

Even without the boss special, it was already loaded with plenty of seafood, and half an octopus came cooked and piled on top! Getting to meet that pricey octopus like this ~~

You can tell just how fresh the ingredients are — you can even watch the abalone actually moving ㅠ And abalone... it's delicious but one of those ingredients that's a pain to prep. I remember my shoulders and arms giving out from washing it at home a few times ^^ The seafood at Dwaeji Jogae was so clean, properly de-sanded, and look how pale and clean that abalone is... not a speck of grit.

Squid and in-season blue crab too! The crab was charcoal-grilled blue crab and packed with meat >_< And the squid was truly tender and delicious... personally I'd say squid wins over octopus.

Manila clams, littleneck clams, mussels, fan mussels — all properly de-sanded too. Nothing beats this as a drinking snack with soju ??!! And seafood stew is one of those dishes where you have to shell the clams and do all this prep, which is pretty annoying — but here, the staff comes right to your table and preps every shell and every piece of seafood for you !! And so fast — even from the clip you can tell how skilled they are haha.

They also prep the squid and octopus into easy bite-sized pieces. And since overcooking makes it tough, they neatly stack it up on a fan mussel shell for you. All we had to do? Just eat, haha ~

They also remove the abalone's mouth in one clean motion~

Seriously, you just get to eat like a baby bird... dipping the tender squid and abalone in chojang, it's sweet and tangy and just melts in your mouth,,, quick, fill up my glass.

Under the shellfish there's a whole layer of bean sprouts, which doubles up the refreshing broth flavor!!!!!! And they're not the limp, thin market kind — real chunky, plump bean sprouts that stay crunchy even after a long simmer, delicious.

Adding beef brisket, water dropwort and knife-cut noodles to the stew

Adding beef brisket and water dropwort to the Dwaeji Jogae seafood stew lets you eat it shabu-shabu style in the seafood broth. We finished with knife-cut noodles — so chewy that we regretted only ordering one portion.

At first I thought there was way too much and we'd have leftovers, but eating it as a full meal, we polished it off fast — and feeling a little sad about it, we added beef brisket and water dropwort~ Kind of like shabu-shabu in that seafood-packed broth, haha.

The beef brisket,,,, so tender and just a treasure,,, dipped in wasabi soy sauce, it melts right in your mouth ㅠ The portion isn't huge for the price, but you have to try it!!!!!! (The water dropwort was a bit tough, maybe because it's not quite in season ㅜ.ㅜ)

Ugh... I felt like I was about to burst, but seeing the knife-cut noodle add-on on the menu, I just couldn't not order it. I told myself I'd just have a taste and only added one portion — and regretted it later. It was so good I wished I'd ordered more ㅠㅠ The broth aside, the noodles seemed to be hand-kneaded and hand-cut in-house (my guess), chewy like hand-torn dough soup, no floury taste at all — genuinely delicious..... craving it right now.

It took longer than expected to simmer until the noodles cooked evenly and turned properly chewy — but the wait was worth it!! A perfect finish...

Is Dwaeji Jogae Changwon Main Branch a good spot for a company dinner?

I came back from Bansong Market completely stuffed on seafood stew, and I'd strongly, strongly recommend Dwaeji Jogae Changwon Main Branch to friends! A clean, refreshing broth that suits the cooler weather plus seafood that feels like a real health boost !! Even my parents were fully satisfied eating here — a seafood stew place I'll definitely bring my drinking buddies back to >_< I'd absolutely go again!!!!

+ You really have to try the knife-cut noodle add-on.