Korean restaurant near Hana Hospital in Cheongju: Oneul Haru

I had my regular blood test today, so I'd been fasting since morning and went straight to the hospital. I finished around noon, and the hunger I'd been holding back all morning hit me all at once haha.

At times like this you don't want bread or something light — you want a proper hot meal. So I looked up good Korean restaurants near Hana Hospital in Gyeongyang-dong and found Oneul Haru (오늘하루). I was going to eat alone, but called a friend whose schedule matched and we went in for lunch together haha.

Where is Oneul Haru in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju, and is there parking?

Oneul Haru is close to both Cheongju Bus Terminal and Hana Hospital. Next to the entrance there's a big photo describing the restaurant, plus a waiting area.

Parking in front of the store or in the basement lot is free for 1 hour, they say.

Oneul Haru hours, ordering and amenities

• Address: 87 Seohyeonbuk-ro, 1st floor, 110-112ho, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, South Korea
• Hours: Mon–Sat 11:00–22:00 (last order 21:00) / Sunday 11:00–20:00 (last order 19:00)
• Reservations / groups welcome / kids' chairs / waiting area
• Parking: basement parking lot in the building available

What is the interior of Oneul Haru like?

Search for Korean restaurants in Gyeongyang-dong and you mostly get baekban or stew places, but Oneul Haru felt a bit cleaner and more atmospheric than a typical baekban spot.

The interior is fairly spacious and the tables have decent spacing, so my friend and I could chat comfortably while eating. It'd work well for a family meal, but also a casual lunch date.

What's on the self-serve bar at Oneul Haru?

Wait, is a Korean set-meal place's self-serve bar allowed to be this loaded?! Honestly I wasn't expecting much — figured there'd just be a few basic side dishes — but the quality was on another level!

Fresh vegetables and salad, plus all kinds of banchan (side dishes)... I got to enjoy that classic Korean-food joy of mixing a spoonful of rice with whichever side dishes you like. Being able to help yourself to as much as you want without worrying about it was a total healing point. But the real plot twist comes now.

There was tteokbokki (spicy rice cakes) and crispy fried snacks set out too?! 🤤 I came for a set meal and almost mistook the self-serve bar for a premium buffet lol. I was already blown away before the main dish even arrived — such a satisfying meal!

So before the food came out, we ate fruit, tteokbokki, and salad first haha.

Oneul Haru menu and prices in Gagyeong-dong, Cheongju

The menu is posted at the entrance so you can check it before going in.

• LA galbi set 26,000 won
• Buckwheat soba with fried shrimp set 12,000 won
• Buckwheat soba with pork cutlet set 12,000 won
• Gondre stone-pot rice set 13,000 won
• Gochujang bulgogi stone-pot rice set 15,000 won
• Braised mackerel with radish 17,000 won
• Grilled mackerel stone-pot rice set 15,000 won
• Pork cutlet & cheese roll 13,000 won
• Pork cutlet curry 13,000 won
• Shrimp curry 13,000 won
• Suntory highball 8,000 won
• Kirin draft beer 7,000 won

What we ordered at Oneul Haru

We ordered via kiosk.

• Braised mackerel with radish 17,000 won
• Pork cutlet curry 13,000 won
• Total 30,000 won

How was the braised mackerel with radish?

The braised mackerel I ordered looked exactly like something you'd want with rice. After a whole morning without eating anything, seeing warm rice and braised mackerel made me want to dig in immediately haha.

The mackerel flesh was cooked soft enough to come off easily with chopsticks, and the radish, well soaked in the seasoning, was also nicely tender — delicious. When I eat braised fish, I love the radish almost as much as the fish itself.

Putting a piece of mackerel on rice along with radish soaked in sauce made me think, yeah, I was right to come for Korean food. The sauce was spicy-savory in a way that goes great with rice!

Maybe because it was my first meal after fasting, that first spoonful of warm rice felt extra welcome haha.

The seaweed soup served alongside was mild and clean, not overly seasoned — easy to spoon down bit by bit.

How was the pork cutlet curry?

My friend's pork cutlet curry looked good too. It's curry rice with a fried egg on top, served alongside a crispy fried pork cutlet.

The cutlet is crispy on its own, and dipping it lightly in the curry adds a soft curry flavor — two different ways to enjoy it.

I snuck a bite of the pork cutlet curry while eating my mackerel haha. One dish felt like comfort home cooking, the other like a hearty pork cutlet meal — ordering both to share worked well. Oneul Haru sits right next to Hana Hospital and is also close to Cheongju Bus Terminal, so it's a convenient spot for a meal after a hospital visit or check-up, or for anyone near the terminal looking for a good Korean restaurant in Gyeongyang-dong. Convenient for me too, moving straight from a hospital test to lunch.

Is Oneul Haru worth it for lunch after a hospital visit?

I fasted for my blood test and headed straight to Oneul Haru the moment my noon test was over. I was really hungry that day, but it felt even more satisfying because it had been a while since I'd had a proper home-style meal haha.

The braised mackerel with radish I ordered — soft mackerel flesh with well-seasoned radish — was perfect for finishing a bowl of rice.

My friend's pork cutlet curry, with its crispy cutlet and curry, was also a solid, hearty lunch choice. What I liked most was that even if one person wants Korean food and the other wants pork cutlet, you can both get what you want in one place.

If you're near Cheongju Bus Terminal or Hana Hospital looking for a good Korean restaurant in Gyeongyang-dong, Oneul Haru is worth considering for a clean, proper meal :) Next time I visit, I'm planning to try the stone-pot rice dishes I missed this time haha.