Budae-jjigae restaurant in Dujeong-dong on a Cheonan trip: Cheongwon

ⓒ writing, photos & video by Olang

I was out having fun in Cheonan when it hit me — budae-jjigae!

Even with cheese added, it stayed clean and light, plus unlimited rice and ramyeon noodles, so I have to call this a real budae-jjigae (army stew) hotspot.

Here's my honest review after eating myself full.

I'm so glad I came to Cheonan.

How to get to Cheongwon, a Cheonan budae-jjigae spot

Cheongwon Restaurant: Cooking Budae-jjigae, Cheonan Dujeong Main Branch is located at 1F, 32-4 Dujeongsanga 4-gil, Seobuk-gu, Cheonan-si, Chungcheongnam-do.

Inside and outside Cheongwon, plus the self-serve bar

Exterior and parking at Cheongwon

I arrived past dinner hour, and there was exactly one parking spot left in front of the restaurant. Of course, if the spots out front are full, they'll direct you to a nearby lot too. Past the clean signage and exterior, and in we go!

There's a coffee machine right at the entrance so you can enjoy coffee before or after your meal!

What the seating is like

There are 4-person tables set up, plus a separate space that can seat group parties. Since most tables were occupied, I just took a quick shot of an empty one.

Self-serve bar: unlimited rice and ramyeon noodles

Rice and ramyeon noodles are unlimited, so you can freely help yourself at the self-serve bar, and you can scoop more banchan (side dishes) too. There are even aprons available.

Cheongwon's menu and the Olang-pics photo game

Cheongwon's menu and prices

The two mains are Songtan budae-jjigae and Cheongwon budae-jjigae! Songtan uses 1++ Korean beef mince, while Cheongwon is a Songtan base with beef brisket and cheongyang chili added.

On top of that, you can add extra ham and sausage, beef brisket, glass noodles, and more. Ramyeon noodles are free!

Playing Olang-pics while the stew cooks

When I ordered cheese as an add-on, the staff kindly let me know that the Songtan already comes with one slice by default!! I'm always touched by little things like that...! But I added extra cheese anyway — the more cheese, the better, right? ><

Songtan budae-jjigae with two cheese slices and beef brisket

First, the banchan (side dishes) arrive — fish cake, seasoned bean sprouts, and kimchi — and the stir-fried fish cake is sweet and addictive!

The budae-jjigae is prepared almost right away, and the staff stir it for you, so you just wait.

They came by at just the right moment to check on the stew, and after about two minutes, told me to eat the beef brisket and round ham slices first.

The broth is already set at the table! Taste it and add more freely as you like.

With two slices of cheese melted in, the color turned pretty rich, and I worried it might taste greasy — but that worry was completely pointless!! It was clean and delicious at the same time.

Adding the beef brisket was also a great call! The broth seemed to deepen even more in flavor.

On top of that, I dug into a generous amount of ham and sausage with rice. Simmering the broth down while topping it up with more stock kept it from getting too salty — just right, with rich savory flavor.

Especially spooned over plain white rice, this Cheonan budae-jjigae hotspot... was honestly a rice-thief.

There's no skipping the extra noodle add-on! With one more round of broth refill, I threw in the noodles too.

And so, both the bowl and the pot ended up scraped clean, apparently.

Final verdict: is Cheongwon worth a second visit?

I think getting the savory balance right in budae-jjigae is trickier than it looks, which is why finding a truly good spot isn't as easy as you'd think. But Cheongwon, Cheonan's budae-jjigae hotspot, hit my taste exactly right.

The staff were incredibly kind, and best of all, even with two slices of cheese, I could still enjoy the cheese's flavor without it overpowering the broth. I'm definitely going back next time I'm in Cheonan! Customers kept coming in even past dinner hour, so it must really be a neighborhood favorite.

There are even hair ties thoughtfully placed at the counter, so grab one if you need it!