• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to footer navigation
  • Skip to footer-bottom navigation
  • Skip to privacy navigation
  • Skip to recipes navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Kimchimari

Authentic Korean recipes even YOU can cook!

Free Korean BBQ Cookbook! TAP HERE to GET IT
POPULAR: our 10 takeout favorites
Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube

Authentic Korean Recipes Anyone Can Cook

  • New to Korean cooking? Start Here
  • Recipes
    • Recipe Index
    • Recipes by Alphabet
    • Latest on the Blog
  • Ingredients
    • Korean Ingredient Glossary
    • Pantry Essentials
    • Pantry – Beyond Essentials
    • Korean Ingredients in Depth
  • How To
    • Cooking Basics + Tips
    • Buy + Use
    • Meal Plan
    • Make from scratch
    • Korean Veg Garden
  • Travel
  • Videos
    • Video Recipes
    • Web Stories
  • About
    • About Me
    • Press Interviews and Mentions
  • New to Korean cooking? Start Here
  • Shop
  • Free Korean BBQ Cookbook! TAP HERE to GET IT
  • Facebook Instagram Pinterest Twitter YouTube
Home Living in Korea

Flavors of Jeju Island – Day 1

Posted:6/24/20162 Comments
Jeju Island, Korea
Jeju Island: Seongsan Sunrise Peak, Seogwipo City. Photo courtesy Jeju Special Self-Governing Province via Jeju Weekly

 

Jeju Island is probably my favorite place in all of Korea. It has everything – ocean, tropical weather, volcanic mountains, amazing food, pretty flowers and even horses that are native to the island (brought in hundreds of years ago). Flavors of Jeju Island include many things but I would have to say their ultra fresh seafood, amazing black pork and sweet mandarin oranges are some that they are best known for. My first visit to Jeju Island was when I was in high school and I just LOVED everything about the island and ESPECIALLY the beautiful open fields with HORSES ❤️… I LOVE horses (I used to ride when I was little) and I told my Dad back then –

“You know.. Dad??  If you can find a man who owns a horse farm here, I would definitely consider marrying him!” HAHAHA…shhh…good thing my husband doesn’t really read my blog…😜

Now, recently my fabulous sister #3 had the opportunity to visit Jeju Island and wrote me this great post about the best restaurants in Jeju.

If you want to know more about Jeju Island – this article by Jeju Weekly has some great photos along with good information.

Anyway, my sister #3 came through for me again. I am so grateful to her for these wonderful articles since I don’t live in Korea anymore… She has traveled all over the world as an interpreter and she is a true foodie so if she says something tastes good, you gotta believe it!! Thank you so much sis!!

Flavors of Jeju Island Day 1, By my sister JY

For several years, I’ve been going to Jeju Island every April to interpret at a conference called the Global Breast Cancer Conference (GBCC). The subject is a bit depressing, but I take on this job because of the venue.

Jeju is a big volcanic island situated off the southern coast of Korea, sort of like Hawaii, but more subdued. It is a beautiful island and was named a UNESCO Natural Heritage Site a few years ago. It used to be a default honeymoon destination before Koreans could afford to go abroad for their honeymoons.

After the first day, we – the four colleagues plus one husband – sought a well-deserved night out at a local restaurant called “Dongerami Shikdang (동그라미 식당).” (translation: Circle Restaurant) This husband is an advertisement producer, climber, gourmet, carpenter and an amateur chef. Go figure. Anyhow, he knows practically ALL the good eateries in the country, and he was our culinary guide during our stay.

The restaurant, located on an obscure back road, was a small place run by a family who also owns a pig farm. A bit cruel if you think about it. The place itself appeared a bit shabby and run-down, but it’s said to be famous among locals. It’s also super cheap, so I decided to dismiss the unsettling décor. I do have to make two comments.

Smiling pig picture at Jeju restaurant
Smiling pig picture at Jeju restaurant – Dongerami Shikdang

Note the image of the smiling pig giving a thumbs-up. Does the poor animal know what’s happening at this restaurant?

Paper talisman of pig at Jeju restaurant
Paper talisman of pig at Jeju restaurant

Also note the paper talisman plastered above the entrance door mantle. These are shamanistic good luck charms that supposedly ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune. People pay a fortune to have one custom-written for their household or business. I’ve seen many of them, but never in the image of a pig.  

Jeju pork is famous for its taste. Basically, the pig is a different breed. It’s black in color and both the meat and fat are chewy in texture.

Jeju black pig
Jeju black pig

As you can see in the photo, it almost looks like a wild boar. The meat is darker than the usual pale pink of ordinary pork. Once you taste this black variety, you can never go back to ordinary pork. It’s sort of like Angus beef versus ordinary beef.

Usually, a grill is placed on top of a live coal fire. In this case, a cast iron pan was used instead. The meat is placed on top of the hot pan.

Korean Jeju pork belly and shoulder bbq
Korean Jeju pork belly and shoulder bbq

An important part of Korean barbecue is the deft cutting performance of servers. Although the appearance of large scissors at the table tends to shock foreigners, it is an indispensable part of the experience. Thus, I have attached a video complete with the sizzling sound effect.

https://kimchimari.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/IMG_5729.mp4

There are four cuts of pork you can order. Pork belly (Samgyeopsal 삼겹살), Butt (Mok sal 목살), Neck (Hangjeong Sal 항정살), Boneless picnic (Apdari sal 앞다리살). For more detailed info and diagram on Korean vs US pork cuts, see JJ’s Know your pork cut!! post. We ordered all four. I liked the Apdari sal (boneless picnic) and samgyeopsal (pork belly). Actually they call it Ogyeopsal(5-layerd pork belly) rather than Samgyeopsal(3-layerd pork belly) here. This is because it is more ‘streaky’ than usual which also means there’s less fat.

Banchan for Korean pork bbq
Banchan for Korean pork bbq

The pork can be eaten wrapped in kimchi, wrapped in lettuce, or dipped in either peppered salt or salted anchovies.

Salt and salted anchovy gochujang sauce for pork
Salt and salted anchovy sauce for Korean pork bbq

The salted anchovies were so old that it almost looked like soy sauce. It tasted wonderful with the grilled pork.

After we devoured six orders of pork with cold beer, the owner brought out a simmering pot of kimchi jjigae made of really, really sour kimchi. I think their kimchi was at least three years old which is then called Mugeunji (묵은지). But it was good. It also cleansed the mouth of any residual grease.

Although the price on the menu was modest, we had consumed a substantial amount of meat and booze. Fortunately, the husband decided to be chivalrous and picked up the bill. We all thanked him and returned to our hotel feeling very mellow, very happy, and very fat.

Similar Recipes

  • Sea Bream Hoe (Sashimi) at Jeju Island
    Flavors of Jeju Island - Day 2 : Seafood
  • Seafood Deonjang Jjigae at Ohseong 오성칼치식당
    Best Jeju Island Restaurants from Family Trip 2017
  • Close up of gamjatang in white bowl individual size
    Gamjatang (Spicy Pork Bone Stew with Potatoes)
  • Recipes Using Doenjang
    7 Recipes Using Doenjang (Korean Soybean Paste)
Previous Post
Next Post

Reader Interactions

Leave a Review Cancel reply

I LOVE hearing from you! Submit your question or recipe review here. Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

2 Comments
  1. Zera says

    Posted on 15 June 2018 at 9:21 am

    Hi , can I know the number of this restaurant you went to ? I can’t google it 🙁 wanna go to have a try 🙂

    Reply
    • JinJoo says

      Posted on 15 June 2018 at 10:01 pm

      HI Zera, so it took a while for me too because they changed the name. It seems to now call itself 돈델리. Number is 064-739-5433. 217, 1100-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do. Hope you find it!

      Reply

Primary Sidebar

JinJoo from KimchiMari

Welcome

Hi! I'm JinJoo! Thank you for visiting my Korean Food blog where I share detailed Authentic Korean recipes that even YOU can cook!

My Story

browse by type

gf Gluten Free df Dairy Free pc Pressure Cooker Recipes vg Vegan lc low carb <30 30min or less kf Kid-Friendly ls low-salt
  • by Course
    • Drinks
    • Soup+Stew
    • Appetizers
    • Salads
    • Main Dishes
    • Side Dishes
    • Desserts and Snacks
  • by Ingredient
    • Beef
    • Chicken
    • Pork
    • Seafood
    • Rice
    • Noodles
    • Tofu
    • Vegetables
    • Egg
    • Paste/Sauces
  • by Korean Basics
    • Eumryo 음료
    • Bap 밥
    • Bokkeum 볶음
    • Gui 구이
    • Guk 국
    • Hangwa 한과
    • Jang 장
    • Jeon 전
    • Jeongol 전골
    • Jjigae 찌게
    • Jjim 찜
    • Jorim 조림
    • Kimchi 김치
    • Myeon 면
    • Namul 나물
    • Tteok 떡
  • by Type
    • Easy Meals
    • 30 Minutes or Less
    • Kid-Friendly
    • Lunchboxes
    • Condiments and Sauces
    • Cooking for One
    • Street food
    • Pressure Cooker Recipes
Free Korean BBQ Favorites ebook
free recipe book!

Join to get my FREE cookbook + monthly newsletters + recipe updates!

join now!

Nutritional facts, MSG & gluten free

Nutritional Facts in my recipe cards are provided as an estimate and may not be accurate. Due to different brands of ingredients having different nutritional values, the values I provide here may be different from your preparation.
– MSG & Corn Syrup FREE – these are never used in my recipes
– Gluten Free recipe assumes you are using gluten free soy sauce (since many soy sauces contain gluten or wheat).

Opens in a new window Opens an external site Opens an external site in a new window
baked chicken on parchment paper with onions caramelized

닭고기

Chicken

소고기

Beef

Spicy Pork BBQ - Korean Pork Bulgogi

돼지고기

Pork

Garlic Scape Stir Fry with Shrimp (Maneuljjong Bokkeum 마늘쫑 볶음)

해산물

Seafood

Soondubu Jjigae or Soft Tofu Stew

두부

Tofu

곡식

Rice

READER FAVORITES

Trending Now

Mini Kimbap tray - kimbap two ways

Mini Kimbap (Mayak Kimbap) with Carrot or Cucumber

Chicken Bulgogi Rice

Easy Chicken Bulgogi (Dak Bulgogi) for Korean BBQ

After stew has boiled for 15 min with cheese melted on top

Budae Jjigae (Korean Army Stew)

Korean Sweet Pancake - Hotteok/Hodduck (호떡) www.kimchimari.com

Hotteok (호떡)- Korean Sweet Dessert Pancake

featured on
ny times logo
  • COOK
    • Recipe Index
    • Pantry Items
    • Videos
  • LEARN
    • Starter Guide
    • Korean How To’s
    • Travel
join the kimchimari family
Receive Free Cookbook and New Recipes by Email
join now
  • Back to Top
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 Site Credits Designed by Melissa Rose Design Developed by Once Coupled

free recipe ebook!

Join to get my FREE cookbook + monthly newsletters + recipe updates!

Thank you for subscribing!

You will receive an email shortly.

  • 39