Cheongju Airport Korean restaurant with unlimited chicken: Jeju Badang

I was looking for good food near Cheongju Airport and really wanted Korean food, and Jeju Badang caught my eye right away. It's a place that reminded me how good Korean food can be — tasty and clean. Twelve side dishes, spicy pork stir-fry, and seaweed soup come as a full spread, and you can even get unlimited chicken refills. Highly recommend it as a Cheongju restaurant!

Where is Jeju Badang and is there parking?

Jeju Badang, this Cheongju Korean restaurant, is located near Gacheong Xi and Gacheong Iparke apartments, on the 2nd floor. 📍Parking - available in front of and behind the restaurant

• Address: 627 Gacheong-dong, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk, South Korea
• Hours: 10:30-22:00 (break time 15:00-17:00)
• Closed: None

Jeju Badang means "honestly capturing the sea of Jeju," and the name alone gives off strong fish-and-seafood-specialty vibes. They sell silver hairtail and grilled tilefish caught in Jeju.

Inside the restaurant and the kids' room

The interior was pleasant and spacious with great decor vibes. Tables were wide, and even after weekday lunch hours there were still quite a few people around.

There's also a separate kids' zone, so this Cheongju Korean restaurant works well for coming with young children too. It's small but has books and coloring activities set up, and they also have a baby chair.

A menu you can order one serving at a time

I only found out after ordering, but Jeju Badang lets you order per single serving! So if you come with a group, you can order several different types of grilled fish, one each, and share. Grilled mackerel, grilled Atka mackerel, braised hairtail, and braised mackerel were on the lunch special, while grilled Jeju tilefish and grilled hairtail were priced by size. The side menu had Jeju specialty seasoned conch.

12 side dishes with spicy pork stir-fry and seaweed soup

Neat, tidy side dishes that felt like something my mom made herself. Seasoned eggplant, bracken fern, radish salad, oyster mushrooms, and zucchini side dish come as standard, and any extra or missing sides could be grabbed from the self-serve bar.

On top of that, Jeju Badang gives you spicy pork stir-fry and seaweed soup as part of the basic spread. And the pork — soul food for guys — is even refillable! This Gacheong-dong Korean restaurant makes you wonder if there's anything they're skimping on between the pork stir-fry and the chicken.

What's on the self-serve bar?

From salad to extra side dishes, everything is spotless. There are even sides that don't come standard, so you can just take whatever suits your taste.

Wrap vegetables to eat with the pork stir-fry are also at the self-serve bar, FYI! Everything looked clean and fresh, and there were several kinds of kimchi too.

Jeju Badang's other secret weapon: unlimited japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) and chicken..🫶

Coffee and iced tea, nice to enjoy as dessert.

And with sweets on top, this Gacheong-dong Korean restaurant is just about perfect.

Before the main dish arrived, chicken, japchae, and salad got my appetite going. Above all, the chicken tasted exactly like it came from a real market fried chicken shop 😍. I kind of dismissed it since it was just at the self-serve bar, but it was so good I refilled it again.

The boneless hairtail stew pot rice set

I ordered the boneless hairtail stew with the pot rice set. I recommend going with pot rice over regular rice!

Steam rising off the pot rice paired with hairtail stew soaked through with seasoning — do I even need to say how good that combo is.

Above all, the portion of boneless hairtail stew was enormous for ₩20,000-something — a real Cheongju find.

Spice-wise, it's milder than Shin Ramyun, so even spice-shy folks can handle it. Being able to enjoy fresh hairtail boneless, with zero fishy taste, is reason enough to strongly recommend this dish.

I piled a big chunk on top of hot rice and dug in.

The radish underneath, braised down deep, was fantastic too.

Eating it alongside the pork stir-fry in between bites, one bowl of rice wasn't even enough 👏

At the end, pouring hot water into the pot for scorched rice tea was perfect. The combo of leftover boneless hairtail with the scorched rice was also unbeatable.

Why Jeju Badang is worth it near Cheongju Airport

Jeju Badang gives you japchae, boneless chicken, and pork stir-fry as standard, yet still tastes better than most dedicated grilled/stewed fish restaurants. It's a perfect spot to eat your fill of this and that, and I can fully recommend it for Cheongju fish dishes. Revisit intent: 100%!!! I'd recommend it as a restaurant near Cheongju Airport for when you're craving Korean food after a trip to Japan.