Gyeongju Korean restaurant for beef tartare rice bowl: Dongyang

A lunch spot on Gyeongju's Hwangridan-gil, Dongyang Baekban

Dongyang Baekban Gyeongju Hwangridan-gil branch — a Hwangridan-gil lunch spot near Daereungwon Tomb Park

📍Location 1F, 1056-5 Poseok-ro, Gyeongju-si, Gyeongbuk, South Korea 🕰Hours Daily 11:00–21:00 / Break time 15:00–17:00 [check Naver for closed days] 🎁Takeout 📝Reservations

I'd been craving something spicy since the day before, so I spent the morning searching for what to eat and found Dongyang Baekban, a Hwangridan-gil restaurant in Gyeongju. I wanted homey Korean food but also something spicy, and this place had both — total good choice!

A great spot for a hearty meal while exploring Hwangridan-gil ♥

Location and parking

Dongyang Baekban sits down a side alley of Hwangridan-gil, near Hwangnam Market. There's no dedicated parking, so roadside parking or a public parking lot is recommended.

A quiet hanok exterior full of Gyeongju vibes. The atmosphere already had me hooked before even stepping in! And seeing the menu board out front got me even more excited walking in~

An interior split into three rooms with green-view windows

The interior is L-shaped and divided into three rooms total. Each room has a wide window, and I fell hard for the green view outside. It blended so well with the hanok mood that just sitting there put me in a good mood.

There are 2-person and 4-person tables, and while the tables aren't super numerous, the rooms are divided so it feels cozy. * Reservations recommended for groups of 4 or more. Here's the basic table setting.

Menu and prices

The signature dish is Sumi dakbokkeumtang (spicy chicken stew). You can also order jjimdak (braised chicken), gopchang jeongol (intestine hot pot), pork kimchi dureuchigi, mulhoe (cold raw fish soup), and heuk-nurungji chicken hot pot! There's a fun variety of rice options too 🍚 — note that prices vary by size.

• Sumi dakbokkeumtang: ₩28,000
• White rice: ₩1,500
• Yukhoe rice bowl: ₩6,000

The banchan (side dishes)

The banchan served first: bean sprouts, kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), seasoned soybeans, pickles, and even gim (seaweed) flakes.

Hanwoo yukhoe rice bowl made with Koshihikari rice

A glossy yukhoe rice bowl — all the rice at Dongyang Baekban, this Gyeongju Hwangridan-gil spot, is cooked with Koshihikari rice! The yukhoe (beef tartare) is hanwoo (Korean beef), so the texture stands out from the first bite 😋

Medium Sumi dakbokkeumtang — the broth is truly legit

The medium Sumi dakbokkeumtang arrived just as I was starving. The visual alone made my mouth water, so I turned on the gas burner right away.

Just a heads-up — since it's cooked in the kitchen, it can take a little time to come out. Wait patiently for the dish!

Couldn't resist the rich broth and took a spoonful — wow, the broth is really legit 🤤 Spicy yet deep with proper umami, the kind of flavor that keeps you spooning up the broth non-stop!

Glass noodles, Sumi potatoes, and sujebi too — plus the boneless perk

The dakbokkeumtang is packed not just with chicken but glass noodles, Sumi potatoes, vegetables, and sujebi (hand-torn dough soup) too, so there's plenty to pick through! The glass noodles soaked in broth are especially unbeatable 🤤 What I loved most was that the chicken is boneless, so you can eat comfortably without picking out bones. Mixing it with the gim-flake rice on the side made it total rice-thief material.

Wrap-up

Dongyang Baekban, a Korean restaurant on Hwangridan-gil in Gyeongju. Great for a hearty, satisfying Korean meal when you want a filling break during a Gyeongju trip. If you're looking for a good Korean restaurant in Gyeongju, give it a try.