Jjukkumi restaurant in Sangbong food alley with Onnuri Pay: Joajukne

Where is Joajukne Jjukkumi and what should you know first?

Joajukne Jjukkumi is a baby octopus restaurant at 17 Bongujae-ro 37-gil, 1F, Jungnang-gu, Seoul, a 5-minute walk from Exit 3 of Sangbong Station. It's open daily 11:00–24:00 with a break time from 14:00–16:00. Takeout and group seating are both fine, but there's no parking.

Sangbong has no shortage of great jjukkumi spots, and Kangkeumok Jjukkumi nearby is famous enough to have people lining up. Kangkeumok was always the first name that came to mind for jjukkumi in Sangbong for me too — but after trying Joajukne Jjukkumi, I found myself wondering, why bother with Kangkeumok at all?

What I liked most was the combination of outdoor seating + staff grilling everything for you + a set that includes sungnyung and noodle add-ons! And the sauce on the jjukkumi that day was genuinely my style. It's spicy, but not the kind of spicy that just burns your tongue — it kept pulling me back in, and even as a spice wimp I ate it up happily!!!

Outdoor jjukkumi tables in Sangbong Meokja Alley

One of the things I liked best about Joajukne Jjukkumi — it has outdoor seating!

On a nice day, isn't jjukkumi with a shot of soju at an outdoor table basically the national rule?! Most outdoor-seating places are better suited for a second-round drink spot than a real meal, but this place works perfectly as both a meal and a drink spot!

How does Joajukne Jjukkumi differ from famous Kanggeumok Jjukkumi?

You can't talk about jjukkumi in Sangbong without mentioning Kangkeumok Jjukkumi. But having tried both, Joajukne Jjukkumi was closer to my taste!

• ① A set that includes sungnyung + several noodle add-ons — instead of just ordering jjukkumi alone, the set comes with sungnyung and noodles too, which makes it better value
• ② Staff grill everything for you — from start to finish the staff cook it, so all we have to do is enjoy eating haha
• ③ Spicy in a way that keeps pulling you back rather than just burning — purely my own taste, but instead of sauce that's only intensely spicy, the savory flavor comes first and the heat builds after

What is in the jjukkumi-samgyeopsal set for two?

We ordered the jjukkumi-samgyeopsal (baby octopus and pork belly) set that day. I debated between the nunkkot-cheese version and the original, but went with the basic jjukkumi-samgyeopsal to taste the sauce as it's meant to be!

The set comes with sungnyung and noodle add-ons by default (₩2,000 more than the regular). The add-ons were glass noodles + boiled egg + yaki mandu, and eating them in between the octopus changed up the texture — more fun than I expected.

How spicy is the special sauce at Joajukne Jjukkumi?

This is the part I liked most about this place. The sauce is delicious!!! It's not just "spicy!" — it's a flavor that keeps pulling at your appetite the more you eat.

I'm not great with spicy food, but both my friend — who handles spice really well — and I enjoyed it a lot. What I especially liked was that it doesn't numb your tongue or drown out the other flavors. To me it felt spicy but also savory in a way that kept me coming back for more.

Joajukne Jjukkumi doesn't offer adjustable spice levels when you order, but there's chili flakes on the table so you can add as much as you want yourself!

House-made sungnyung: the unexpected highlight

The sungnyung (scorched rice tea) here was way better than I expected. Pairing sungnyung with jjukkumi might sound like an unusual combo, but it actually goes surprisingly well with the spicy octopus.

Since it's made in-house at Joajukne Jjukkumi, it has a nutty, mild flavor, so taking a spoonful in between bites of spicy octopus resets your palate! Especially when eating spicy food, having something nutty like this to sip is much better than just chugging water.

Spicy jjukkumi → a spoonful of sungnyung → back to jjukkumi, repeat... Personally, this sungnyung ended up being the thing I remembered most about the set at Joajukne Jjukkumi.

Why you should order the steamed egg

This was one of the best steamed eggs I've ever had. I already love steamed egg and order it whenever it's on the menu, but here, paired with the jjukkumi, it was a perfect match.

The jjukkumi sauce is spicy, right? A bite of soft, fluffy steamed egg right after really smooths the heat out.

Staff grill the jjukkumi and pork belly at your table

Here's something that quietly matters a lot at this kind of jjukkumi restaurant. The staff grill everything for you! When the jjukkumi and pork belly arrive at the table, staff cook it to the perfect point for eating, so all we have to do is... eat.

Jjukkumi in particular can turn tough if overcooked, so timing it right is a bit of a hassle — but since the staff handled it, it was easy for us.

The restaurant was pretty busy with customers that day, but the staff were consistently kind throughout, which stood out. Busy restaurants can sometimes get chaotic with orders and service, but here we were looked after with real warmth, and left in a great mood.

Adding an extra serving of pork belly for 10,000 won

The pork belly was good quality too, and it tasted even better that day? So we added one more serving of pork belly! For just ₩10,000 more, they give you a pretty generous amount of pork belly and bean sprouts!!

We cleaned out the 2-person jjukkumi-samgyeopsal set, the extra pork belly, the rice ball, and the steamed egg... officially a great restaurant..

Onnuri Pay accepted: paying at Joajukne Jjukkumi

Joajukne Jjukkumi accepts Onnuri Pay, so you can eat a bit cheaper. Dining out these days really isn't cheap, and with jjukkumi, pork belly, and drinks on top, the bill adds up quietly. Being able to use Onnuri Pay in that situation is a real relief.

One-line verdict on Joajukne Jjukkumi

If you want spicy jjukkumi at an outdoor table in Sangbong Meokja Alley, Joajukne Jjukkumi surprisingly has a lot to offer — from sungnyung to steamed egg!

Worth a visit whether you're searching for jjukkumi restaurants near Sangbong Station or you landed here searching for jjukkumi spots in Sangbong-dong. I especially recommend the combo of jjukkumi + sungnyung + steamed egg.

Even if you're not great with spicy food, give the basic flavor a try. I'm a spice wimp too and enjoyed it plenty. That said, a bead of sweat on your forehead is basically guaranteed!!