Korea House is a replica of a Chosun Dynasty royal residence and now serves as one of the most atmospheric and charming Korean restaurants on the island. It’s located between the Shilla and Hyatt Hotels in Jungmun and is easily accessed by the Airport Limousine (you can get off at either Shilla or Hyatt, but the Airport Limo will often stop at the restaurant itself. Just keep an eye out for a large, wooden gate and colorful signboards advertising the “Rose of Sharon”).

It was built in 1989 when Jungmun was still being developed as a high-end tourist location. A photo of the residence after its completion stands just inside the front gate. It’s a charming reminder of how quickly Jungmun has developed over the years. It shows the restaurant in June of ’89 in a wide open field which is now, of course, occupied by lavish hotels, museums and a golf course. It was built at 99 kan, the largest a private home was allowed to be during the Chosun era. (One kan is measured as being six steps taken in a north/south direction by 10 steps taken in an east/west direction. By setting the legal building limit at 99 kan, officials were able to ensure that no home would be as extravagant as the king’s.)

The residence is a collection of Korean traditional houses (or hanok) that functions as a restaurant with an adjoining museum. It has a large courtyard, wreathed by gorgeous, Korean architecture and a stage for concerts. In past years the restaurant offered live performances of traditional Korean music. This year the performances have been dropped in favor of an exhibit entitled “The Rose of Sharon.” Entrance to the exhibit is 15,000 won per person, making it perhaps the most expensive museum on the island. When we asked the manager what the exhibit was about, he told us that he didn’t know and averted the question. We later learned that the exhibit is associated with a religious group of some sort.

That being said, Korea House’s restaurant is still well worth a visit. The house specialty is horse meat prepared Korean style. There’s also huk-daeji (black pork) and a selection of soups on offer for those not yet ready to venture into the world of equestrian culinary delights. This being Jungmun, you can expect your meal to be a bit pricier than usual. However, we managed to dine on huk-daeji with 2 bottles of Korean wine at 20,000 won a person.

What truly sets Korea House apart though is its incredible atmosphere. It’s a beautiful setting (especially when lit up at night) and a wonderful place to enjoy a meal. It makes a pleasant way to end a trip to Jungmun, particularly on a warm summer’s evening when you have the option of lounging in the courtyard. So if you’re in the Jungmun area and looking for a bit of Korean food in an upscale setting, give Korea House a visit.

Natural foods restaurant serves tasty sujaebi soup, Jeju, South Korea
Story and photos by Jessica Wallace | Lead photo: A bowl full of sujaebi

I don’t think many foreigners would necessarily equate a traditional Korean meal with comfort food. However, the perfect combination does exist: a delicious Korean soup that warms your belly on those frigid -10 days and it’s only 5,000 won.

Sujaebi is made from green tea noodles and a creamy broth of peeled perilla seed powder. Even the name sounds soothing. Soojeeeaaaabeee. Mmmm.

Yeon Wu Nae restaurant has been offering healthy, affordable vegetarian comfort foods since Ahn Jeong-Sook opened it in 2003. It’s easy to find – directly across from the turnoff to the Halla Arboretum; maybe a 20 minute walk up the hill from Lotte Mart, or tell the cab driver “Su mok wan pandae cho ka chusayo.”

As a “natural foods restaurant,” all ingredients have been naturally grown and no MSG or other chemicals have been added to any of the dishes. Other menu options include a mugwort pancake for 4,000 won and the vegetarian bibimbap, which comes with a steamy soup for only 6,000 won.

Owner Ahn Jeong Sook Photo: Jessica Wallace

However, it’s the sujaebi I must call attention to, and mostly because it’s a hard dish to find. Sujaebi is usually made at home – perhaps that adds to the comfort factor – but luckily the cooks at Yeon Wu Nae can whip up the tasty dish for those of us who wouldn’t know where to begin.

Each time I visit, the restaurant is buzzing but the service continues to be both quick and friendly. Buckwheat tea (doong geul le cha) is promptly brought to our table, served in ceramic mugs from a matching pitcher (included in the price.)

Next come the side dishes, which are always plentiful and quite tasty. There are six in all, some regulars, but worthy of note are the soy beans, garden salad in perilla seed dressing and fried tofu. An excellent assortment of appetizers.

After a short wait, our main course arrives. A perfect antidote for the biting wind outside the window, the soup always steams as it’s placed in front of me. It’s an enormous portion – the elegantly crafted bowl is filled nearly to the brim with warm, tasty goodness. This is a dinner-sized soup, and I always leave feeling full.

The reason for the ceramic cups and bowls, I learn later, is far from aesthetic. Ahn believes artificial materials such as plastics aren’t fit to contain food. She chooses the naturally crafted serving dishes for their integral role in healthy eating, and has them available for sale in the adjacent tea room.

It also isn’t until recently that I discovered how healthy sujaebi is. Apparently, perilla plants boast a wealth of health benefits, being rich in vitamins, antioxidants and omega 3 fatty acids. The oil is used, amongst other things, to enhance the immune system.

That’s definitely good news for those of us who often succumb to the circulating “child germs” at work. And so, sujaebi certainly seems to be the perfect Korean comfort food, providing a healthy and filling boost to get us through to another beach season.

Helpful Websites:

http://www.nutriscienceusa.com

http://www.newdirectionsaromatics.ca

http://www.bioriginal.com

Jin Lee tries some bibimbap | Credit: Jessica Wallace

Folks, in Jeju it’s is no secret that American style family restaurants are few and far between. There is unquestionably a culinary void that is often pseudo-serviced by the occasional Western-style Korean restaurants (also known as “fusion cuisine”). You know the scenario: a restaurant looks deceptively good from the outside, but the menu tells a different tale: It speaks of candied yam pizzas, cream cheese stuffed crust, a garnish of sweet pickles and the inexorable side plate of kimchi. Or perhaps you are more familiar with the seafood pastas, complimented by the time-honored California “looks too good to be true” rolls unexpectedly stuffed with sweet mayonnaise, kiwi sauce, pickled garlic and fish and who knows what else. That being said, however, there is a plethora of delicious Western-style restaurants on the island, and Young Gu’s, located in Shin Jeju, is one of them.

A self-proclaimed “American style” restaurant, the menu is both diverse and affordable, combining a mix of traditional Western classics with some fusion-influenced foods. Their forte is pizzas, pastas, salads and steaks, and what you see on the menu is what you actually get to eat. Despite limited English, the staff is always friendly and accommodating, even going so far as to find an isolated place to seat my dog. Service is good, although food is not always served simultaneously. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the music is upbeat. It is a great place for a date or even a night out with friends, and, if you are not up for dining out, they do provide a full delivery service (minimum order around around 25,000 won.) Furthermore, if you are feeling homesick, this could be your culinary and alcoholic catharsis. The restaurant offers a sound compliment of imported beers and cocktails. If you are looking for something exotic, then the curry pizza is the way to go (it sounds wrong, but it tastes so right).

Young Gu’s is located close to the Grand Hotel in Nohyeong Dong in Shin Jeju. (If your back is to the main entrance of the Grand Hotel, cross the street and turn left, it is about a three minute walk.) They can be contacted by telephone at (064)748-0980 or 1577-0982 (for delivery service.) For more information about the restaurant see www.09pizza.com.

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As we can see from the above example, it’s notoriously hard to find good restaurants that serve strictly veggies in this land of a seemingly endless array of restaurants that cater to only omnivorous eaters. Although I am not a full vegan by any means, I still find pleasure in discovering these veggie getaways now and then. Believe me when I say that they are hard to find, but they are certainly around- literally tucked in the nooks and crannies of not so often ventured parts of the island. So come and take a quick tour with me around the island for those few elusive havens of veggie paradise. I say “elusive” because some of these places are really difficult to find and hard to get to without a car and because most of the staff do not speak English, nor do they offer any menus in English.

The most well-known and accessible:

Yeon Wu Nae: Located just across the street from the Halla Arboretum, they offer a variety of veggie fares at relatively low prices. The food includes vegetable mixed rice, potato pancakes, green tea wild sesame sujaebi (flour dough dumplings), mugwort pancakes, and seasoned acorn muk (jelly).
Price range: 6,000 to 13,000 won
☎: 712-5646

The Shinjeju Grand Hotel Well-Being Buffet: Offering freshly baked buns to die for with a well-stocked salad bar, this has to be one of the easiest places to be for vegetarians to pig out. However, it is only offered during lunch hours between 12:00 to 3:00 pm everyday. It’s highly recommended for lazy brunches on weekends, and the people here do speak English.
Price: 8500 won/person
☎: 747-4900 (ext. 237)

The least well-known and hardest to get to:

Grimi Pension: Suffice it to say that every time I go there, I get lost. However, when you get there, the food and the beverages are worth it. Be aware, however, that they only accept reservations a day or two in advance for set meals and will not serve you if you show up without warning because the meals are usually only for the guests who stay in the pension. The couple who owns the pension grow their own organic vegetables in their backyard and serve three-course meals. Be sure to ask for a vegetarian style meal when you make the reservation. (The owner does not speak English at all, so you are advised to ask for help from a friend who speaks Korean.) The meal serves at least 3 people. Be prepared to be stuffed, and don’t miss out on the yummy homemade fruit and cereal yogurt for dessert.
Price range: 10,000 to 20,000 won.

☎: 799-8102, 011-9940-5658 Website: http://www.xn--hq1bs4oznjsna99a.kr/.
Directions: Take the 1132 West from the airport. At the 1135 (also known as Pyunghwa-ro), take a left. You have to go through a series of smaller roads which do not have names before you get there. Please refer to the map for more detailed directions.

The most quintessential temple style restaurant:

Gilsup Nageunae: The name literally means ‘roadside traveler’ and is quite in the middle of nowhere. Located off the 1137 on the northeast side of the island, the place is run by an ex-nun whose tranquility, along with the appropriate music, is enough to make you feel as if you have stepped into a Zen temple. Your special choices here include organic vegetable wraps, mulberry pancakes and wild sesame porridge among other veggie selections on the menu.

☎: 782-5971, 019-9761-5970
Website: http://www.gilsup.kr/

The most authentic off the beaten path temple food restaurant:

Mulmaegol: At first glance, you would not even think that it is a restaurant. It looks like an ordinary house with big calligraphy signs. Once you go inside, you will step into a whole different world. With tastefully decorated famous ‘galot’ (persimmon dyed) curtains and cushions to set the mood, this is by far the best temple food I’ve ever tasted on the island. I recommend the ‘yeonipbap’ (연잎밥) which which consists of steamed glutinous rice wrapped in lotus leaves that is served with a variety of side dishes, including tofu sprinkled with cilantro, mushrooms, and fermented radish leaves. The dessert, which is included in the meal, is a Jeju traditional yogurt called ‘shindari’ (쉰다리). No MSG or chemicals are included in any of the meals, and the owner is renowned for teaching traditional vegetarian temple cooking classes from time to time.
Price: 7000 won/person

☎: 713-5486, 019-696-5486
Directions: From the Yeon Wu Nae restaurant, go south on the 1139 until you come to the first freeway intersection. Take a right towards Aewol (애월). Stay on the road for about 15 to 20 minutes until you see a temple on the mountain towards your left. Take a sharp right. It’s the first house on your right. (See picture.)