Gagyeong-dong Korean restaurant packed at early weekday lunch: Jeju

I heard there's a Korean restaurant in Cheongju that serves incredibly tidy, well-put-together meals, so I went to check it out. This is Jeju Badang, a Korean restaurant in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju.

Where is Jeju Badang, and is there parking?

Jeju Badang is on the 2nd floor of a building right in front of the main gate of the Gagyeong-dong Xi apartment complex in Cheongju. It's open daily 10:30–22:00, with a break time from 15:00–17:00; lunch last order is 14:30 and dinner last order is 20:30.

The restaurant is on the 2nd floor of a building right in front of the main gate of Gagyeong-dong Xi.

It was easy to find, and best of all, parking was well set up. There were plenty of spaces both in front of and behind the building.

How busy is Jeju Badang at early weekday lunch?

Inside, Jeju Badang was spacious, clean, and tidy. Even though I visited early on a weekday for lunch, there were genuinely a lot of customers.

The tables themselves are quite wide, so it would be great for family groups too. What I especially liked is that these days it's hard to find restaurants with a space for kids, but here there was a little play room tucked into one corner of the store.

It would be great to bring kids here. The layout is such that you can see the kids' room from your table seats, so I imagine parents wouldn't feel uneasy.

Jeju Badang menu and lunch specials

Jeju Badang's menu is ordered via tablet, and the main dishes are basically braised and grilled fish.

There was a wide range from braised hairtail to grilled atka mackerel, grilled mackerel, and grilled black tilefish, and if you visit at lunch you can get a lunch special at a better value, so lunchtime visits are really worth it. I ordered the lunch special grilled mackerel rice set and the boneless Jeju hairtail stew.

Banchan and the mini self-serve bar at Jeju Badang

Here's the basic banchan (side dishes). They came out so neatly arranged that I was really satisfied.

These days it's hard to keep up with making side dishes like this, so just looking at them was satisfying. And none of the banchan seemed store-bought — tasting them, it really seemed like they make them in-house. On top of that, they even include spicy stir-fried pork as a basic side. Overall, the banchan was really satisfying.

One of the big advantages of Jeju Badang, a Korean restaurant in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju, is the mini self-serve bar. You can go get more of the basic side dishes,

and beyond the basic banchan, you could also grab various salads and other side dishes,

plus japchae (stir-fried glass noodles),

a nice lineup of drinks to cleanse your palate, and — this fried chicken haha, it's genuinely good enough that they could run a chicken shop. I went back for it twice. It's good enough they could sell it separately; exaggerating a little, it slaps most dedicated fried chicken places. The chicken was really delicious. And the self-serve bar items were refilled promptly whenever they ran low.

How the grilled mackerel and boneless hairtail stew tasted

Here's the grilled mackerel. The mackerel was genuinely huge.

It came out satisfyingly hearty. No fishy smell at all, and I was happy with how much meat there was.

And then the boneless hairtail stew. I didn't know braised hairtail could come boneless — normally deboning hairtail is a hassle, right? But this really was boneless. No fishy smell, and I got to enjoy the pure hairtail flesh itself, which was great. I think kids could eat it comfortably too, so I'd recommend it.

Why the pot rice is worth adding at Jeju Badang

If you visit Jeju Badang, I really recommend trying the pot rice. The rice itself was so good that it paired wonderfully with the side dishes.

If you're looking for a Korean restaurant in Cheongju, or a good place to bring your parents or kids, I think Jeju Badang, a Korean restaurant in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju, is well worth a visit!