Hyeopjae restaurant with a self-serve side dish bar: Onjeong Jorim

Hi everyone, food editor here : ) I went on a Jeju trip with my husband a few days ago, and hairtail stew is a must when you're in Jeju! This place only uses Jeju-caught hairtail, and I was shocked at how great the taste was for such a reasonable price — it's a real gem called Onjeong Jorim! Let me introduce it.

Where is Onjeong Jorim Jeju Hyeopjae Branch, and what are its hours?

Onjeong Jorim Jeju Hyeopjae Branch is at 328 Hallim-ro, 1st floor, Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju, right in front of Hyeopjae Beach. It's open daily from 10am to 10pm.

Is there parking at Onjeong Jorim?

There's free parking right in front of the restaurant, with room for about 4 cars! We went on a weekday so it worked out, but if the spots are full, there's a public parking lot nearby you can use.

Arriving at 11:40am on a weekday: interior and wait time

It was a place with a great view — you could see Hyeopjae's pretty scenery right outside, with one whole wall as a big window, a prime spot! And of course the prime spot was fully booked, right?!

The tables included 4-seat tables and 8-seat group tables, seating around 50 people total! We arrived around 11:40am on a weekday and got lucky with a seat right away, but by past noon it was almost full, so if you're going on the weekend I'd recommend moving a bit early!

Menu and prices at Onjeong Jorim

We ordered the Jeju garlic mixed stew, ₩15,000 per person (hairtail stew + mackerel stew), rice sold separately.

Naver receipt review event

They're currently running a Naver receipt review event — take a photo and write a receipt review to get a free natural-pressed hallabong juice! Go grab that perk~

What the meal was like

The color alone makes this hairtail stew look delicious, right?! Let me give you an honest review of the ingredients and the sauce~

Side dishes from the self-serve bar

The basic side dishes that go well with hairtail stew were laver, bean sprouts, kimchi, and fish cake stir-fry! There was a self-serve bar, so if you ran low you could go grab more.

Jeju garlic mixed stew, 15,000 won per person

The Jeju garlic mixed stew has both mackerel and hairtail in it! The photo above is a 2-person portion, and the amount of fish was unbelievable for ₩15,000 per person, right?!

The mackerel and hairtail weren't just there for show — they were genuinely meaty fish! And garlic, which Koreans love — there's a lot in the sauce itself, and it's also piled on top as garnish, which made it even more appetizing. The sharp bite of garlic boosted the savory depth of the sauce so there was no fishy taste at all.

And you know the radish in a stew like this is always delicious, right?! The sauce had soaked in well, and above all the cooking was perfect, so the radish's texture wasn't mushy or too firm — just the right bite!

And can you see the plump hairtail?! There was plenty of hairtail meat, so it was fun picking it apart, and the flesh was well seasoned all the way through.

Mild seasoning: fine even if you can't eat spicy food

The seasoning was made by simmering radish, vegetables, anchovies and other natural ingredients into a clean broth rather than relying on seasoning powder, so the sauce wasn't harsh — just the right level of spicy savoriness, and it was outstanding. Clean and deep without being sharp! It felt like it picked out the best of both worlds — homemade food like your mom would make, and a restaurant meal out.

Mackerel stew in the same pot

Since we wanted to try a few different fish, we got the mixed stew so we could have mackerel too — can you see how plump the mackerel looks?! There really was a lot of it!

Mackerel can taste fishy if it's not cooked right, but this had zero fishy taste and wasn't greasy at all — even the skin was delicious! My husband, who doesn't like mackerel, really enjoyed it.

Wrapping rice in Jeju laver (dolgim)

The flesh alone tastes great, but wrapping it in laver with rice like this was absolute perfection! The laver balances out the saltiness while adding a briny ocean flavor, giving a completely different taste from eating the stew alone.

The bean sprouts were also at the self-serve bar, so when we ran low we could easily scoop more, dip them in the sauce, and turn them into seasoned bean sprouts — even just rice and bean sprouts were delicious on their own.

You won't find a stew this good at this price anywhere else in Jeju! If you're heading to Hyeopjae Beach, you have to try this.

Would we go back to Onjeong Jorim?

The owner was kind and the restaurant was clean, and it's a genuine gem where you can get hairtail stew and fish stew for ₩15,000! It even uses Jeju-caught hairtail, and instead of seasoning powder they make the broth from natural ingredients like radish, anchovies, and vegetables, so the savory flavor was deep and clean! It was tasty without being harsh, so even though I can't handle spicy food, my stomach felt fine after finishing it all.

How well the stew is cooked matters a lot, and the fish flesh here was cooked just right, so picking apart the meat and cutting into the radish were both a joy : ) I'd absolutely go back. Strongly recommend it if you're looking for a good-value hairtail stew in Jeju.