Gwangmyeong jjukkumi restaurant with table set on arrival: Jeongipum

I went out for jjukkumi (spicy stir-fried octopus) near Gwangmyeong Station. I visited as part of a sponsored campaign, but after eating I have to say — sponsorship aside, the octopus here isn't fishy and is nice and tender, so this is a genuinely good restaurant.

The jjukkumi itself was delicious, but what stood out from the moment I made the reservation until the meal ended was how impressive the staff were.

Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch: location, hours and parking

• 📍 Address 경기 광명시 양지로 19 1층 161호 (19 Yangji-ro, 1F Unit 161, Gwangmyeong-si, Gyeonggi-do)
• ⏰ Hours Daily 11:30–22:00
• ☕ Break time 16:00–17:00
• 🍽️ Last order Lunch 15:00 / Dinner 21:00
• 🚗 Parking Underground parking at AK Plaza or TAKE Hotel available / up to 2 hours free with AK Plaza use
• 👥 Other Group seating, takeout, wifi, separate restrooms

Does the table come already set when you reserve?

At Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch, if you make a reservation, the restaurant separately calls to confirm. I'd booked ahead of my visit, and since I missed the call, they even sent me a text — the message said they were reaching out to prepare the menu and table setting in advance.

I arrived right on time, and the food was already set up on the table, ready to eat.

My first impression was that they don't just take reservations — they prepare everything to match your arrival time, which felt incredibly thorough.

Inside Jeongipum Jjukkumi: spacious, bright and clean

The Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch space was much bigger than I expected. It had a bright overall atmosphere and was kept very clean, so it felt comfortable.

When we visited, the large space was nearly packed with customers.

While eating I thought, 'this place must really be popular,' and looking at the store signage, I realized it had expanded from an earlier location. There's clearly a reason places like this do well.

Is Jeongipum Jjukkumi good for families with kids? There's a kids' menu

Jeongipum Jjukkumi Gwangmyeong 1st Branch has a separate kids' menu. While we were eating, I saw a customer come in with two children and initially thought, 'how are kids going to eat spicy jjukkumi?' Turns out there's a dedicated kids' menu.

The restaurant itself is spacious and tidy, so it looked like a good spot for people near Gwangmyeong Station or those visiting Gwangmyeong IKEA to bring kids for a family meal.

The menu at Jeongipum Jjukkumi

We ordered the jjukkumi + pork combo at basic spice level.

Cold cucumber soup and steamed egg custard came out to eat alongside the spicy jjukkumi, and this is where I was surprised again — by how fast the food came out.

The egg custard came out about a minute after we sat down... whoa. It looked freshly made, but even so, that was really fast.

Later, when we ordered shrimp fritters as an add-on, they also came out at lightning speed, so it wasn't just a one-time fluke — I got the sense that the whole system, from ordering to cooking to serving, is really well organized. Oh, and why were the shrimp fritters so good... they didn't taste like cheap store-bought frozen ones.

Jjukkumi with no fishy taste and no chewiness

And now the most important part — the jjukkumi. After a bite, my husband said the texture was good enough that he could've sworn 'this isn't frozen.' I couldn't actually confirm whether it was frozen or not, but at least while eating it, there was no fishy taste and not a hint of toughness.

We ate it following the suggested eating method.

The jjukkumi was chewy yet tender, and eaten together with the pork, it paired really well with the sauce. So, so good...

At one point my husband, eating away, said 'eating jjukkumi makes me feel energized' and even struck a flexing pose, haha.

I got a photo of it, and he looks completely satisfied from the expression alone.

Even the basic spice level was on the spicier side, so it was nice to alternate with the egg custard or cold cucumber soup in between. My husband said it would've been even better if the cold cucumber soup had ice in it, to cool down the spice more. As for me, personally, I didn't find anything to complain about while eating!

Finishing with flying fish roe fried rice

Of course, fried rice is a must with the leftover sauce from the jjukkumi. We ordered it with flying fish roe!

They stir-fry it on the hot pan with dried seaweed, perilla leaves, and flying fish roe, and the jjukkumi sauce soaked properly into the rice, so it was delicious to the very last bite.

The flying fish roe popped with each bite, and with the added aroma of perilla leaves, my hand kept reaching for more even when I was full. Using up the leftover sauce on the pan, eating the jjukkumi and then the fried rice felt like a complete set.

The staff at Jeongipum Jjukkumi were as memorable as the food

As much as the food, I can't leave out the staff here. The male staff members who helped us during our visit were all kind. It didn't feel like a formal, surface-level kindness — it felt like they were genuinely running the business with the customer in mind.

From the reservation confirmation, to the food prepared right on time for our arrival, to the egg custard that appeared the moment we sat down, to the shrimp fritters we ordered as an add-on — everything came out extremely fast, and staff would check tables ahead of time and bring what was needed. It felt like not just individual staff members, but the whole store system was really well set up. Even with the place nearly full of customers, it never felt chaotic. My husband and I even said, while eating, 'it's like they only hired people who are good at their jobs.'

Why I'd go back to Jeongipum Jjukkumi near Gwangmyeong Station

The jjukkumi wasn't fishy or tough — it was tender, and the combination with pork and sauce was delicious. The fried rice at the end was satisfying too, and the restaurant was spacious, bright, and clean, making it comfortable to eat in. There's also a separate kids' menu, so it seemed like a good option for a family meal.

Above all, the staff's attentiveness and fast service, from the reservation all the way through the meal, kept standing out to me. The restaurant was nearly full when we visited, and seeing that they'd expanded from a previous location, I could tell there's a reason this place is doing well.

I don't understand why this isn't a franchise. Please open more branches soon!!

If I ever crave jjukkumi near Gwangmyeong Station again, I'd definitely come back here!