Gyeongju abalone restaurant with porridge lunch: Wando Cham Jeonbokjip
In short
Wando Cham Jeonbokjip is an abalone restaurant in Seongun-dong, Gyeongju, run by locals and serving only abalone from Wando. Two people had the small abalone seafood stew (31,000 won) with a bowl of abalone porridge (12,000 won) in place of rice, and even the small stew held four abalones in a sauce that was neither salty nor spicy. The porridge at Wando Cham Jeonbokjip was thick and creamy with no bitterness from the innards, tasting just like abalone porridge on Jeju Island.
Good to know
- Location
- 48 Alcheonnam-ro, Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk — in front of Bulguksa Culture Hall
- Hours
- 11:00–15:00 (lunch only), closed Sundays
- Parking
- No parking lot — park in front of the restaurant or along nearby side streets
- Abalone seafood stew (small)
- 4 abalones, 31,000 won
- Abalone seafood stew (medium)
- 8 abalones, 45,000 won
- Abalone seafood stew (large)
- 12 abalones, 59,000 won
- Abalone porridge
- 12,000 won
- Seating
- Main hall plus rooms at the back; the middle room's sliding door opens to connect two rooms
- Price reference
- ₩31,000 ≈ $23 · ₩12,000 ≈ $8.9 (2026-09-15)
as written by the visitor on Sep 13, 2026
🐚
A seafood stew spot I found in Gyeongju! An abalone porridge that tastes like Jeju in Gyeongju! Using only abalone from Wando, this is the main branch of "Wando Cham Jeonbokjip"
Where is Wando Cham Jeonbokjip and what are its hours?
📍 48 Alcheonnam-ro, Gyeongju-si In front of Bulguksa Culture Hall ⏰ Closed every Sunday 11:00 ~ 15:00 (lunch only) 🚘 No parking lot Street parking in front of or near the shop
What the restaurant looks like from the street
Wando Cham Jeonbokjip's main branch sits in Seongun-dong, Gyeongju, in front of Bulguksa Culture Hall, and is a real local favorite. Starting in 2026 they've apparently switched to lunch-only hours, open just until 15:00!
The shop had a fish tank..! They said they only use abalone from Wando, so I guess they pull live abalone from the tank as needed. That freshness is wild 🫨
Inside Wando Cham Jeonbokjip: hall and private rooms
The inside was clean and pleasant, no clutter at all.
There were also rooms inside, which looked great for family meals or gatherings, and the middle room could open its sliding door to combine with the next room — perfect for large group meals too.
Menu and abalone seafood stew prices
True to its name, the menu is packed with abalone dishes
- Abalone seafood stew, small: 4 abalones, ₩31,000
- Abalone seafood stew, medium: 8 abalones, ₩45,000
- Abalone seafood stew, large: 12 abalones, ₩59,000
For the number of abalones in the stew, the price felt really reasonable! And even the chili powder is all domestic
Small abalone seafood stew and abalone porridge for two
~ What we ordered ~ Abalone seafood stew, small: ₩31,000 Abalone porridge: ₩12,000
The basic side dishes There's a salad, cool dongchimi (watery radish kimchi) that pairs perfectly with abalone porridge, and my favorite seaweed salad!!
And here's the abalone seafood stew Usually the small size is for two people, so places often give two abalones per person — but here abalone is the star, so it comes with a whopping four..!!! The large size has twelve ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ 🫢
A shot of the full spread before the porridge arrived ~ The portion was just right for two people. For reference, we ordered abalone porridge instead of rice because we wanted to try it too.
Four abalones, one octopus or maybe a giant webfoot octopus, shrimp, sea squirt, pollack roe, and bean sprouts, all piled up generously. Cutting it into bite-sized pieces with scissors The abalones were big and really plump.. ♡
Is the stew sauce salty or spicy?
The sauce was so, so good!!! It wasn't salty at all, which I loved so~~~ much. Because the seasoning wasn't too strong, it went down easily even without rice, and I wanted to mix leftover rice into the remaining sauce. There was almost no spiciness either. A lot of seafood stew places have overly aggressive seasoning, but this place wasn't like that, and I was very satisfied.
Seafood dressed in sauce 😋 Pile on a ton of bean sprouts and eat them together — the chewy springiness plus the crunch of the sprouts is a genius texture combo
But the best part of all was, of course, the star — abalone! The abalone was genuinely plump, chewy yet tender, and dipping it deep in the sauce was so delicious 🤤 This feels like a place older folks would really love too!
Abalone porridge that tastes like Jeju Island
The abalone porridge we ordered instead of rice The moment it arrived, its color was basically saying "I'm the real deal."
Completely rich, creamy, and nutty abalone porridge.. There's an abalone porridge place I go to often in Jeju, and this porridge tasted just like that..! No fishy or bitter taste from the innards at all, just the nutty flavor remained 🥹 It was delicious eaten alongside the seafood stew too.
There was so much abalone meat inside that no matter how much I scooped out, more kept appearing. The umami in this abalone porridge was incredible.. definitely recommend trying it together!
Why eat with the locals instead of at a Gyeongju tourist-spot restaurant
It was my first time going to Gyeongju and eating at a neighborhood seafood stew spot instead of a famous tourist restaurant, and it reminded me once again that local favorites are truly the real deal. A flavor any Korean, regardless of age or gender, would love 👍🏻
Where it is
48 Alcheonnam-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk, South Korea경상북도 경주시 알천남로 48
