Jorye-dong gamjatang restaurant, 9-piece dumpling plate: Namdareun

Gamjatang (pork bone stew) is my soul food. I love haejangguk (hangover soup) too, of course, but gamjatang beats everything for me. I went to a famous gamjatang spot in my beloved Suncheon — Namdareun Gamjatang.

Namdareun Gamjatang Suncheon Jorye branch

Where Namdareun Gamjatang Suncheon Jorye branch is, and where to park

Namdareun Gamjatang Suncheon Jorye branch sits on Baegyeon-gil road in Jorye-dong, Suncheon. It's moved just slightly from its old spot — before, it felt tucked into a parking lot, but now the shop fronts right onto the road.

You can park right in front of the store and in the space next to it. It was lunchtime and there were quite a few customers, but the parking area wasn't crowded at all. No need to stress about parking here.

The Namdareun Gamjatang mascot, Strongman Ajusshi!! I first spotted this guy in Gwangju, and I remember thinking, what's with this ajusshi (mister) figure? haha. Then I ran into him again in Suncheon and got excited — oh, it's that guy! There are also tons of celebrity signatures on the walls, true to a real Suncheon local favorite haha.

There are plenty of tables too. The overall red-and-black interior gives off a real sense of energy. Eating a good meal at Namdareun Gamjatang feels like it'll give you strength.

What we ordered: medium bone hot pot, steamed egg, Namdareun dumplings

We got the medium-size Namdareun bone hot pot, plus the egg custard that's a must when eating with kids, and the Namdareun dumplings. Egg custard for ₩2,500 is such a deal. My kids order one egg custard each, every single time we come to Namdareun Gamjatang haha. It's cheap enough that I never think twice about ordering it for them.

The basic table setting includes seokbakji, napa cabbage kimchi, bean sprouts, peppers, ssamjang, and even noodle sides. My favorite side dish is the seokbakji — the seokbakji at Namdareun Gamjatang Suncheon Jorye branch is genuinely delicious!

Self-serve side dish bar with free broth and ramen refills

The basic side dishes are so good they naturally run out fast. When that happens, we head to the self-serve side dish bar near the entrance. And the generous sign says it all: free refills anytime on broth and ramen noodles!!

The owner's welcome that keeps regulars coming back

Honestly, the staff and the owner here are so kind. I've been a longtime regular, and one day I ordered the steamed pork bones. I figured just the steamed dish alone would leave me wanting some broth, so I ordered a haejangguk separately. But the owner came over personally and said the portions were huge, I'd end up leaving it all anyway — so she'd just give me extra broth for free and cancel the haejangguk order. She also told me to just ask anytime I need more broth. Wow... I was genuinely touched that an owner like this exists.

There are motivating phrases posted all around the restaurant, which somehow fit the owner's personality perfectly, and the whole place is spotless. I noticed the same thing back when the store was in its old spot — she really keeps this place bright and tidy, so it's always a pleasant restaurant to visit.

How the Namdareun bone hot pot tasted

Here's the Namdareun Gamjatang. Perilla leaves are piled up high on top — perfect for my husband, who loves perilla leaves.

Push the perilla leaves aside and hearty siraegi (dried radish greens) and thick pork bones appear underneath. There's plenty of meat, so it's fun to pick it off the bone. The siraegi is soft too. Dipped in the wasabi soy sauce that comes with it, the meat tastes heavenly.

Once you finish the meat, you've got to properly polish off the sujebi (hand-torn dough) and the ramen noodle sides. Don't forget the ramen refills are unlimited. Though honestly, with this much meat, I've never actually needed to refill it.

The sides: 2,500-won steamed egg and the 9-piece dumpling plate

Here are the egg custard and Namdareun dumplings we ordered as sides. The Namdareun dumplings come as 3 kimchi dumplings, 3 round dumplings, and 3 meat dumplings — 9 total — and all three kinds are delicious. The kimchi dumplings were a bit spicy, but my elementary schooler ate them right up. The egg custard, well, of course it's delicious — feed your kids meat with egg custard and they'll eat without limit haha.

Finding a place that satisfies both adults and kids when eating out as a family is genuinely tough. With a kids' menu available, Namdareun Gamjatang, a Suncheon gamjatang restaurant that keeps everyone happy, comes highly recommended. You won't regret it.