Soy crab restaurant near Gyeonggijeon, Jeonju: family set at Hanjamae

I traveled to Jeonju with my dogs, and while looking up good restaurants in the hanok village, I was in the mood for Korean food and heard autumn crabs were delicious, so I went for soy sauce crab. On the first day I ate with family, and the next day I traveled around Jeonju solo and had a solo meal near Gyeonggijeon.

Where Hanjamae Ganjang Gejang Jeonju Hanok Village Main Branch is, and its hours

Hanjamae Ganjang Gejang Jeonju Hanok Village Main Branch is located at 23 Gyeonggijeon-gil, 1F, Wansan-gu, Jeonju, South Korea. Hours are 11:00 - 22:00 with a break time of 15:00 - 17:00, though there's no break on weekends.

• 📍 23 Gyeonggijeon-gil, 1F, Wansan-gu, Jeonju, South Korea — Hanjamae Ganjang Gejang
• ⏰ Hours 11:00 - 22:00 / break time 15:00 - 17:00 (no break on weekends)
• 🚘 Limited parking in front of the shop; Jeonju Hanok Village public parking lot available
• 2-minute walk from Dongbu Market bus stop
• ⭐️ Uses fish sauce made slowly with fish sauce, vegetables and fruit, so it's not salty
• ☘️ Gift packaging available for soy sauce crab
• ✔️ Also has a hamburg steak menu that kids can eat

What is the restaurant like inside?

As a restaurant near Gyeonggijeon in Jeonju, the interior was fairly spacious with a wood interior that suited a Korean restaurant well. There were two-person tables, so plenty of solo diners too, and since it's near Jeonju Hanok Village, it's known as a go-to spot for family gatherings, so customers kept coming in nonstop.

They use a patented fish sauce made without preservatives, chemical soy sauce, artificial flavoring or coloring, using sun-dried salt to capture the flavor of the sea through fermentation. They also sell gift sets for Chuseok, which would be great to buy as a gift for parents.

Menu and set prices at Hanjamae Ganjang Gejang

Set A is the soy sauce combo at ₩28,000 per person, letting you eat crab, shrimp, abalone, and salmon. Set B is the soy + spicy combo at ₩39,000 per person, which includes Set A plus spicy crab and spicy shrimp. Set C is the crab set at ₩21,000 per person, with a choice between soy sauce crab and spicy crab.

Usually a review event only gets you a drink, but Hanjamae Ganjang Gejang near Gyeonggijeon in Jeonju let me choose between 2 pieces of spicy shrimp or 2 pieces of soy sauce shrimp. It's a Korean restaurant that uses domestic crab, so it was fresh.

What the family ordered: the soy + spicy combo set

• Soy + spicy combo, ₩39,000/person
• Crab (soy + spicy) + shrimp (soy + spicy) + soy sauce abalone, soy sauce salmon
• Drink ₩2,000

Which side dishes come with the set?

This restaurant serves egg rice by default, so if you want it fully cooked, just tell the owner. Along with seaweed, pickles, spicy mustard leaf kimchi, salted seafood, and seaweed soup, mini savory pancakes were also served, which I ate together with the soy sauce crab. The whole spread came out more elegant and generous than I expected.

The soy-marinated combo: rich but not salty

Hanjamae Ganjang Gejang in Jeonju is famous as a Gyeonggijeon-area go-to for its patented soy sauce, but since I was also craving something spicy, I ordered Set B, which includes spicy crab too. I figured that being in Jeonju, the seasoning would be strong and rice would be essential, but it turned out to be a well-balanced restaurant that wasn't salty at all, so I could enjoy the soy sauce crab's umami even on its own.

The soy sauce crab came pre-cut into easy-to-eat pieces. They also gave us tongs and scissors separately in case we wanted to cut it more, but taking a big bite of the body let me really feel the crab meat yield. It had plenty of guts and roe, giving it a sweet and salty flavor that I really liked.

Since egg rice comes standard, after eating the big chunk of the crab body, I squeezed out the remaining meat and ate it together with the rice — that's how good it was. Plenty of seaweed was provided too, so I wrapped it up generously and ate.

One reason this counts as a real Jeonju must-visit is that even the crab shell was packed full of meat yield, which I picked out well with chopsticks. There was plenty of roe too, so I could really enjoy the soy sauce crab, but more than anything, the soy sauce seasoning was just the right level of saltiness, making it a great place for families with young kids to visit.

Even without adding much rice, the seasoning was just right. It was rich enough that I was glad I didn't add more rice. Adding egg on top made it even more savory, to the point where I wanted to eat several shells' worth on their own.

Soy-marinated shrimp (ganjang saeujang)

The soy sauce shrimp were plump too, so when eating with rice I cut them in half. The shrimp heads were also packed with guts, which I slurped up — there was no fishy taste, just a well-rounded savory flavor.

Eating a whole shrimp turned out to be bigger than expected, leaving my cheeks puffed out while eating. The texture wasn't tough at all — chewy and plump, letting me really taste the shrimp as is.

Soy-marinated salmon and abalone

Salmon was also on the menu, so I picked it without hesitation — it was thick-cut and fairly fresh. Onions came along with it, pairing nicely, and since it wasn't fishy or salty, I also ate it on its own.

This was my first time trying soy sauce abalone, and it was bigger and thicker than expected. It probably would've been delicious eaten whole, but I cut it in half to eat with rice and wasabi.

How spicy are the spicy crab and spicy shrimp?

The spicy crab and spicy shrimp came across just a bit spicier than Shin Ramyun. Rather than the heat of capsaicin, it had a sweet-spicy kick that even spice-wimps could handle. If two people visit, ordering the soy sauce combo and the spicy crab set to share, then joining the event for extra shrimp, would be more than enough.

I started with the spicy shrimp, which came with the shell already removed, so I just separated the tail and head. The soy sauce shrimp was delicious too, but the spicy seasoning hit with a burst of umami that made it feel even tastier.

The spicy crab had even more meat yield. The crab was large enough that it wasn't a one-bite portion, so I pressed it with my hands to pull the meat out of the shell easily. There wasn't a hint of fishy taste, and the sauce wasn't salty or heavy at all.

By the end I was quite full, so I just topped the mini savory pancake that comes standard with a bit of spicy crab, and it was still delicious. Jeonju Hanok Village gets a lot of travelers, so this is a great spot to visit after sightseeing at Gyeonggijeon — the meat yield on both the soy sauce and spicy crab was excellent.