Hwagok seafood restaurant with half-and-half shrimp: Eochongye 1beonji

Live shrimp are in season in autumn. I love eating seasonal seafood, but because my other half has a shrimp allergy, I feel like I haven't gotten to eat much live shrimp in the past few years... Maybe it was all that pent-up craving, because one day I was dying for live shrimp. So I headed to Eochongye 1beonji (어촌계1번지) near Hwagok Station. I ate my fill — the live shrimp sashimi I'd been wanting, salt-grilled shrimp, and even grilled red snapper head.

Where is Eochongye 1beonji near Hwagok Station?

Eochongye 1beonji is a sashimi restaurant at 123 Hwagok-ro, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea, near Hwagok Station. It's open daily from 15:00 to 01:30 (last order at 01:00).

Turns out this place took over the spot of a raw fish stall I used to frequent when I briefly lived in Hwagok-dong, so I was so happy to see it hahaha.

The tank was packed with in-season sashimi and, of course, the live shrimp I was craving. I even called ahead just in case they were out of shrimp, haha.

Even in the early evening, the place was already full of customers. There's plenty of space in the back too, so it seems like a good spot for group gatherings or work dinners.

What's on the menu at Eochongye 1beonji?

The menu at Eochongye 1beonji. There's a seasonal assorted sashimi platter along with salmon, red snapper, flounder, halibut, and rockfish, plus seafood like squid sashimi, sea squirt, and sea cucumber, as well as fried and grilled dishes to go with your drinks — plenty of choices to pick whatever you're craving.

Three side dishes and the complimentary seaweed soup

Neatly prepared side dishes and the complimentary seaweed soup that comes as a starter snack.

The three side dishes were corn salad, seaweed stem, and white kimchi (baek-kimchi) — all of them the kind of thing that pairs perfectly with sashimi, exactly right for a sashimi restaurant. That corn salad in particular was so good.

The seaweed soup came out piping hot, and the broth was rich enough to settle your stomach before digging into the sashimi.

But instead of settling our stomachs, we used the side dishes to warm up with a drink first... haha.

500g of live shrimp for 35,000 won, half sashimi and half salt-grilled

Live shrimp 500g: ₩35,000

Since my other half can't eat shrimp at all, we only ordered 500g. I thought 500g wouldn't be enough to split half raw and half salt-grilled, but when I asked, they happily made it work. Score!

Live shrimp, fresh and flopping around, right in season.

While the salt-grilled portion was being prepared, I put on the gloves they gave us and started breaking down the raw shrimp... haha. They were so big and strong that I had to work through them head-first inside a sheet of plastic wrap to keep them from jumping out. My other half can't even touch raw shrimp... sigh.

Beautifully prepped salt-grilled shrimp and shrimp sashimi. Even at 500g, the portion was huge — way too much for one person. Sometimes I'm actually grateful my other half can't eat shrimp...

The moment I took a bite, the shrimp sashimi pushed back against my teeth with that firm, springy texture. Being in season, the meat was plump, and the more I chewed, the more a subtle sweetness came through — I guess being in season really does make a difference. The shrimp's own natural sweetness was so strong that it was delicious even without chojang (vinegared chili paste), that's how fresh it was.

After enjoying the raw shrimp for a while, I moved on to the salt-grilled version. The meat was plump and full, so it had a great bite, and you could really taste that distinct sweetness and nuttiness that grilled shrimp has. It was seasoned just salty enough to be delicious plain. If you asked me to pick between the raw shrimp and the salt-grilled version, I honestly couldn't decide.

Grilled sea bream head for 15,000 won, for a companion who can't eat shrimp

Grilled red snapper head: ₩15,000

We ordered the grilled red snapper head as a side dish for my other half, who can't eat shrimp.

The red snapper head came out golden-brown and brushed with a sweet-savory teriyaki sauce. I would've preferred salt-grilled, but the teriyaki sauce wasn't overpowering or too strong, so it went well with the nutty snapper meat. The head was so big there was more meat on it than I expected — it would've paired well with rice too.

Leftover shrimp heads grilled, or butter-grilled for 3,000 won more

We made good use of the leftover shrimp heads by grilling them too. They said they could do butter-grilled for an extra 3,000 won, but since I don't like butter, we went with salt-grilled instead.

Honestly, the shrimp head — where the shrimp's aroma comes through even stronger than the meat — is the real delicacy, the true star. Just snap off the horn and eat it, and that nutty, briny flavor from the innards fills your whole mouth, and the drinks just keep on flowing. The plump shrimp meat is great, but the head is where it's at...

Is Eochongye 1beonji worth a visit?

A day of eating well and fully — from in-season live shrimp sashimi to salt-grilled shrimp to a red snapper head. With such a wide range of sashimi, seafood, fried dishes, and cooked dishes, everyone can pick whatever they're craving, making Eochongye 1beonji near Hwagok Station a great spot to visit with a group and let everyone order to their own taste.