Gyeongju Korean restaurant for a spicy rice bowl breakfast: Dongyang

Gyeongju's Hwangridan-gil has so much to see, do, and eat! Lots of street food, lots of good restaurants — it's great.

But between sightseeing, wandering around, and snacking here and there, I get hungry again as soon as I turn a corner. I even had late-night food and went to sleep... and then woke up to my stomach growling right on schedule. Just me?

Wondering what to eat for breakfast, this rice-loving girl wanted Korean food, so let me introduce the flavor combo I had at "Dongyang Baekban." Let's go!

Dongyang Baekban's location and hours

I parked at the Hwangnam Culture Center public parking lot on Gyeongju's Hwangridan-gil and spotted Dongyang Baekban on my way past. It's open daily from 11:00 to 21:00, with a break time from 15:00 to 17:00, so keep that in mind when you visit! It's closed for the upcoming Chuseok holiday, September 24-25, so how about visiting once the weather cools down for a delicious meal?!

I heard that around the time the magnolias bloom, young chefs who love the unique taste and beauty of traditional Korean food gathered here on Gyeongju's Hwangridan-gil to start sharing well-crafted Korean dishes more widely.

Hanok-style interior and kiosk ordering

The place has a quiet hanok atmosphere, giving off a cozy feeling like visiting a country house, which really put my body and mind at ease. Once you open the door, there's a large table, and you can check the menu and order from a kiosk right at your seat. The soft lighting really sets a great mood~~~

Menu, prices, and rice options

• Eunyi mushroom nurungji black chicken hot pot — ₩38,000
• Sumi dakbokkeumtang (spicy braised chicken) — ₩28,000
• Tomato cheese dakbokkeumtang — ₩30,000
• Five-color vegetable steamed chicken — ₩28,000
• Pork and kimchi stir-fry — ₩27,000
• Hanwoo beef tripe hot pot — ₩35,000

Caviar-egg rice, pollock roe rice, spicy pepper rice, laver rice, raw beef rice, egg rice, gondre rice — there are so many 🍚 rice options that you can pick to your taste, and it's nice that they're also included in the set menus.

At the table next to us there were kids, and hearing how happy they were that there was 🍳egg rice made me think Dongyang Baekban is also a great, no-pressure spot for a family meal.

If you write a review with 3 or more photos/videos, you can get a strawberry ice ddeok (rice cake) or play a nostalgic ppopgi (candy-picking) game — one per person. Cooling off with the strawberry ice ddeok sounds nice too~ It's still hot out, so it's perfect after eating something spicy.

Splitting the banchan and two rice bowls

The side dishes that come along include kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi), stir-fried garlic scapes, braised soybeans, and stir-fried bean sprouts — all side dishes that hit the spot alongside rice~

We ordered caviar-egg rice and pollock roe rice, and split the savory laver flakes so each of us could mix our own rice — it was nice to get to enjoy two flavors.

How I ate the sumi dakbokkeumtang

Sumi dakbokkeumtang mixes boneless chicken with a herbal broth and beef bone broth, loaded with sumi potatoes and vegetables for a deep, rich spicy braised chicken. It comes out generously filling the whole pot, and from the soft-boiled egg on top to the spicy-looking broth, it looks so appetizing you can't hold back — bring it to a boil and dig in properly. There's also glass noodles in there, so scoop those out first and keep an eye on it so nothing sticks to the bottom while you enjoy it~

The egg went straight into my mouth first! The chicken is boneless so it's easy to eat, and the caviar-egg rice popped in my mouth for a richer texture, and the sumi potatoes were nice and fluffy, blending really well with the sauce!

We split the pollock roe rice too — it's low-sodium roe so you can eat it without worry, and it was savory and light. The texture was great too, full of a subtle salty umami, and even though I was full, I kept eating because putting the boneless chicken with the sumi dakbokkeumtang sauce on top was so good — I scraped the bowl clean.

Deulgireum yukjeon and onion salad

The deulgireum yukjeon (perilla-oil beef pancake) also came cut into bite-sized pieces (my boyfriend went snip-snip), and eating it with the onion salad made it savory and delicious with no gamey taste at all~ A few pieces of yukjeon and I felt properly full!

One line after eating

After thoroughly mixing caviar-egg rice and pollock roe rice into the sumi dakbokkeumtang, I was so full I wanted to lie down and sleep... but I kept myself busy anyway on a day with nice weather. The sauce is the whole point, so you absolutely have to mix it with rice — and since it's boneless, you can just pile it right on top, done! Can you see how clean we scraped it~ Round out a hearty meal perfectly with the deulgireum yukjeon!