Baby octopus and pork belly lunch set in Jungnang, Seoul: Joajukne

Hi, I'm Im-su 🙇🏻‍♀️! Craving something spicy today, I headed to Joajukne Jjukkumi, a well-known spot tucked inside the Sangbong food alley. I ordered the two-person set — jjukkumi (spicy baby octopus) with samgyeopsal (pork belly), plus sungnyung (scorched rice tea) and a bunch of noodle sides.

When the food arrived, a staff member cooked it right at our table, so we got to watch everything sizzle and cook while relaxing.

They apparently only use premium grade-1 jjukkumi here and don't age it, to keep the natural flavor. You could really taste the chewy, springy texture and deep flavor.

With a sauce that's spicy but clean-tasting, fried rice was a must, so we finished with the snowflake-cheese fried rice — and dessert was included after the meal, letting us wrap things up neatly. Let me introduce Joajukne Jjukkumi, where we got to enjoy jjukkumi, a variety of noodle sides, fried rice, and dessert all in one satisfying visit.

Where is Joajukne Jjukkumi, and is there parking?

Joajukne Jjukkumi is about an 8-minute walk from Sangbong Station, tucked inside the Sangbong food alley — easy enough to find if you just follow the alley in.

There's no dedicated parking, so if you're driving, you'll need to use a nearby paid lot.

Outdoor tent tables or modern indoor seats at Joajukne Jjukkumi

The cozy, old-school vibe of the outdoor tent seating and the clean, modern indoor space exist side by side, so you can pick whichever suits your mood. It's comfortable year-round, making it a good fit for dates, family meals, work dinners, or gatherings.

There's also a self-serve bar on one side, so you can easily grab the basic banchan and extras you want.

What comes in the two-person jjuksam set, from sungnyung on

Basic banchan included lettuce wraps, cold cucumber soup, and radish pickle, along with mayonnaise and flying fish roe — nice for mixing in different ways.

Every table also had spicy chili flakes on hand, so you could kick up the heat to your own taste.

We went with the two-person set, which comes with jjuksam plus sungnyung and a bunch of noodle sides — generous portions all around. The warm, savory sungnyung paired especially well with the spicy jjuksam, cutting through the heat and settling the stomach nicely.

Staff stir-fry the baby octopus and pork belly at your table

The staff member stir-fried everything thoroughly so the sauce soaked evenly into the ingredients — we just got to sit back and wait.

At the end, the noodle sides get added in and cooked a bit longer — the best order is to try the sides first, then the jjukkumi, and finish with the samgyeopsal, which gets a little extra time on the heat.

Glass noodles, rice cake, flat dumplings and a chewy jjukkumi lettuce wrap

The sides included glass noodles, rice cake, and flat dumplings, all great alongside the jjuksam — the flat dumplings, soaked through with sauce, were especially a standout.

They say they only use premium grade-1 jjukkumi without aging it, so the natural, deep flavor comes through — and it really did have that plump, chewy, springy bite.

Wrapping perilla leaves with radish pickle, jjukkumi, the noodle sides, and pork belly, then topping it off with mayonnaise and flying fish roe — the spicy and savory flavors came together really well.

Finishing with snowflake-cheese jjukkumi fried rice

The sauce had a clean but genuinely spicy kick, so even after finishing the jjukkumi we kept wanting more — that's what led us to order the fried rice.

The staff cooked the fried rice in the leftover sauce and piled on a generous mound of snowflake cheese, making it even more savory and soft. Adding in the leftover flying fish roe brought a fun popping texture and extra savoriness — a whole different treat.

Even though we were already pretty full, one bite in and it was clear — you really can't skip finishing spicy jjuksam with fried rice.

After the meal: ice cream, a digestive or hangover remedy

Joajukne Jjukkumi has a nice little surprise after the meal — at lunch you can choose between ice cream or a digestive, and in the evening it seems they offer a hangover remedy instead.

We went with the ice cream — vanilla topped with chocolate syrup, sweet and cool, a clean finish after the spicy meal. Getting a sweet dessert after all that heat made for a genuinely satisfying end to the meal.

Is Joajukne Jjukkumi worth the trip from Sangbong Station?

• A lunch spot 8 minutes from Sangbong Station, tucked inside the Sangbong food alley
• A place to enjoy generous jjuksam and a variety of noodle sides, cooked tableside by staff
• If you're looking for jjukkumi near Sangbong Station, a solid choice with fried rice and dessert included

That's my review of Joajukne Jjukkumi!