Eating Our Way Through Gunja — Part 1 | Our Favorite Jjamppong in Seoul

Gunja probably won’t be the first neighborhood that comes to mind when you think of Seoul.

There’s no famous palace, giant observation tower, or must-take photo spot waiting for you here.

What Gunja does have, though, is food.

A lot of very good food.

It’s the kind of neighborhood Koreans actually head to for a casual meal, drinks, cafés, or simply an evening out somewhere that doesn’t feel built around sightseeing.

For Meong and Nyang, that was more than enough reason to get on the subway. 🐶🐱

On this particular day, we had one very specific mission:

go back to the Korean-Chinese restaurant that earned a full three-star Nyang rating on our very first visit.

That place was Haenam Jjamppong in Gunja.

We had found it almost by accident the first time, which was slightly inconvenient because it immediately gave us another restaurant to keep thinking about.

So, naturally, we came back.

The plan for our Gunja date was very simple:

jjamppong, jjajangmyeon, tangsuyuk… and then a bakery nearby.

A completely reasonable amount of food for two people.

Probably.

1. Haenam Jjamppong — Our Reason for Coming Back to Gunja

Quick Info

• Address: 34 Myeonmok-ro, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul
• Hours: 11:00 AM–2:00 AM
• Last order: 1:00 AM
• Break time: None, open year-round
• Area: Gunja, Seoul
• Visit: Weekday lunchtime, no wait
• Best for: Jjamppong, jjajangmyeon, tangsuyuk
• Next stop: Yoonsup Bakery, about a 4-minute walk away

Haenam Jjamppong is one of those places we found by accident and then immediately started talking about coming back to.

We visited on a weekday around lunchtime and were lucky enough to walk straight in with no wait.

Inside, the restaurant had a slightly nostalgic Korean feel, with shiny mother-of-pearl-style patterns that reminded us of the kind of furniture you might have seen in an older Korean family home.

It felt familiar, a little retro, and unexpectedly cozy.

Each table had a tablet for ordering, which made things easy.

Not that we needed much time with the menu.

We had supposedly come to “look at our options.”

In reality, Meong and Nyang had already decided what they wanted before sitting down. 🐶🐱

Jjamppong and jjajangmyeon. Again.

Some decisions simply do not need to be reconsidered.

2. What We Ordered

For reference, here’s a look at some of the menu and prices.

We ordered almost exactly the same things as on our first visit:

• Haenam Sweet Potato Tray Jjajang + Tangsuyuk Set — ₩18,500 (about $14)
• Seafood Jjamppong — ₩12,000 (about $9)
• Zero Coke — ₩2,000 (about $1.50)
• 2 fried dumplings — free through a local receipt-review promotion

Total: ₩32,500 (about $24)

USD prices are approximate and may vary depending on the exchange rate.

One thing to know before visiting: food pickup and tray return are both self-service here.

That feels perfectly normal to us in Korea, but it’s useful to know if you’re visiting for the first time.

And then our order arrived.

At which point the table very quickly stopped looking like a table and started looking like a small Korean-Chinese feast.

No complaints from us.

3. Jjamppong, Jjajangmyeon, and a Little Korean Food History

The food arrived all at once: seafood jjamppong, tray-style jjajangmyeon, tangsuyuk, and fried dumplings.

Nyang usually goes for jjamppong, while Meong is the kind of person who enters a Korean-Chinese restaurant and seems to consider jjajangmyeon the default setting.

So when something unusual happened, we noticed.

We both picked the seafood jjamppong as the best dish.

The first sip of broth was enough to remind us why we had come back.

It was smoky from the wok, rich with seafood flavor, and spicy enough to keep things interesting without turning the meal into a personal endurance test.

Nyang looked very pleased.

Meong, meanwhile, had to briefly reconsider his lifelong loyalty to jjajangmyeon. 🐶🍜

The jjamppong had won.

The jjajangmyeon was still excellent, though, with that same smoky, wok-fired flavor that made this place so memorable on our first visit.

Nyang had also tried the oyster jjamppong last time, and that was great too.

At this point, we’re beginning to suspect that choosing the “wrong” jjamppong here may actually be quite difficult.

For Nyang, Haenam Jjamppong officially keeps its score:

Nyang Guide ⭐⭐⭐ — 3 out of 3.

And no, Nyang does not hand out three stars just because lunch went well. 🐱

So, what exactly is jjajangmyeon?

Jjajangmyeon has Chinese roots, but the version Koreans eat today has developed into something distinctly Korean.

If you’re American, one imperfect but useful comparison might be Mexican-American food in the U.S. It began with another culinary tradition, then changed over generations until it became something familiar and local in its own right.

Korean jjajangmyeon is a little like that.

It developed from the Chinese dish zhajiangmian, but today the Korean version is quite different in its sauce, sweetness, texture, and overall flavor.

So if you’ve tried zhajiangmian in China before, don’t sit down in Korea expecting exactly the same bowl.

For many Koreans, jjajangmyeon also comes with a little nostalgia.

Decades ago, eating out wasn’t as casual or common as it is today, so jjajangmyeon could feel like a small celebration — something families might eat on birthdays, after graduation, on moving day, or whenever there was a reason to treat themselves.

These days, we require considerably less justification.

Sometimes the occasion is a birthday.

Sometimes it’s graduation.

And sometimes it’s simply:

“Should we get jjajangmyeon?”

Apparently, that counts too.

And honestly, we support this development.

4. Tangsuyuk, Dumplings, and One Tiny Complaint

For the tangsuyuk, Nyang asked for the sauce on the side.

This was not really a discussion.

Nyang is firmly on team dip-it-yourself, and Meong has wisely accepted that certain household policies are not open for negotiation. 🐱

The pork was crisp on the outside and tender inside, and the fried dumplings from the receipt-review promotion were a nice little bonus.

If you happen to see the same promotion when you visit, it’s worth checking out.

Our one tiny complaint?

There was no larger noodle option.

For about five seconds, this felt deeply unfortunate.

Then we looked at the table, looked at each other, and admitted that neither of us could probably finish an extra-large bowl anyway.

A tragic problem solved by reality.

The regular portions aren’t small, but if you arrive especially hungry, adding a bowl of rice to the leftover jjamppong broth would be a very Korean — and very satisfying — way to finish the meal.

After two visits, Haenam Jjamppong has officially entered that dangerous category of restaurant where we no longer need to ask:

“Should we go back?”

The question is now:

“When are we going back?”

Nyang is already thinking about the next bowl.

Meong & Nyang’s Take

We came to Gunja for one reason: to eat the jjamppong we had been thinking about since our first visit.

And somehow, the second visit was just as good.

The smoky seafood broth, the jjajangmyeon, the tangsuyuk — everything reminded us why Haenam Jjamppong had earned a place on our very short list of “we’re definitely coming back” restaurants.

Nyang still gives it a full 3 out of 3 stars, and even Meong — normally very loyal to jjajangmyeon — had to admit that the seafood jjamppong stole the show this time. 🐶🐱🍜

And this is also why we like Gunja.

It may not be the neighborhood you visit for one famous landmark or a photo everyone else has taken.

Sometimes a neighborhood just needs good food, somewhere nice to stop afterward, and enough reasons to make you come back hungry.

For Meong and Nyang, that is more than enough.

There was only one small problem.

By the time we left Haenam Jjamppong, we were very full.

Very.

Which should have meant going home.

It did not.

There was a bakery about four minutes away, and Nyang had already confirmed that the dessert stomach was still fully operational. 🐱🥐

Very full. Still going to the bakery. Obviously.