Summer Night Gamaek (corner store beer) in Jeonju: Yeongdong Super and Jeonil Gabo

For the first time in three years, in the August 11^th, Gamaek (corner store beer) Festival was held in Jeonju. For those who missed the festival, I’ll introduce two gamaek venues in Jeonju. The gamaek culture is a good reason to visit Jeonju during your summer trip to Korea!

Beer and crunchy fried chicken at Yeongdong Super

Yeongdong Super is located within a short walking distance from Jeonju Hanok Village, the most popular attraction in Jeonju and in Korea. The venue is open from 17:00 to 24:00 and closed on Sundays.

I visited here on a rainy Monday 17:20. Empty beer bottles were already piling up in some tables.

This three-decades-old venue is frequented by the actors and actresses who left the signatures hanging on the wall. This venue is surely famous all over Korea

The most popular dishes here are maekom gochu tongdak (spicy chilli pepper fried chicken) and dakbal (fried chicken feet). The fried chicken feet dish is served free with an order of the fried chicken.

There were a variety of beers on the fridge. Also, a bottle of beer was 500 won cheaper than a bottle of soju. The venue also offers cheaper Hanmac and nibble dishes set menus.

The customers self-serve the beer from the fridge. This is perfect for summer.

The fried chicken is served. The crunchy yellow batter is mouth-watering.

I think most people around the world will also love the beer and the Korean fried chicken combination.

The spicy chilli pepper is included in the batter, hence the fried chicken tastes less oily. I loved the slight spiciness.

Two sauces are offered with the fried chicken. One is the usual spicy and sweet fried chicken sauce. The other is soy sauce topped with chopped spicy chilli pepper and sesame. The second sauce is unique to Yeongdong Super.

I loved the flavor of chilli pepper in the batter and the second sauce together. They go extremely well with beer.

This is the fried chicken feet. I loved the chewy and crunchy texture and the flavor. This also goes well with beer. Although the dish is offered for free with the fried chicken, the potion was big.

Since Yeongdong Super is originally a ‘super’ or supermarket, the venue also offers some snacks and instant noodles.

It was a unique cultural experience to visit a gamaek venue and try the famous fried chicken and beer!

 

​Yeongdong Super
Address: Hyunmu 1gil 14, Wansangu, Jeonju
Contact: 063-283-4997
Opening hours: 17:00~24:00, closed on Sundays

 

 

Soft dried pollack at Jeonil Gabo

Nest, I visited Jeonil Gabo. This venue is only a minute away from Yeongdong Super and also within a short walking distance from Jeonju Hanok Village. The venue is open from 15:00 to 01:30 and closed on Sundays.

This is the interior of the venue. The interior reminded me of an old Korean market building. There were many tables inside. I visited here on Monday, but there were many customers. Around 19:00, all the tables were full.

The menu was quite simple. Dried cuttlefish is 20,000 to 30,000 won. Dried pollack is 12,000 won. Rolled omelet is 8,000 won. Beer is 3,000 won per bottle, which is very cheap.

Since this venue is also originally a supermarket, customers can buy snacks and instant noodles and eat them inside the venue.

The famous dried pollack is served almost instantly upon order.

The size of the dried pollack is huge. Two people couldn’t finish the whole dish. The pollack went very well with a cold beer.

The dried pollack and the dried cuttlefish are placed under the press for the softer texture. Then, the pollack and cuttlefish are slowly roasted on the briquet fire.

The roasted dried pollack is very soft that it almost disappears when inside the mouth. It wasn’t chewy at all but very crunchy.

This is the sauce for the dried pollack. The sauce includes sesame. Chopped chilli pepper, mayonnaise, and the secret sauce. The pollack went well with the different flavors of the sauce.

Since almost every table ordered the rolled omelette, I also ordered one out of curiosity.

The rolled omelet is big in portion and contains a variety of vegetables. The ketchup is available at the self-service table.

The piled up dried pollack testifies to the popularity of this gamaek store. This venue is also renowned all over Korea. So I recommend trying this place during your visit or vacation in South Korea.

 

Jeonil Gabo
Address: Hyunmu 2gil 16, Wansangu, Jeonju
Contact: 063-284-0793
Opening hours: 15:00 ~ 01:00, closed on Sundays

Jeonju Gamaek Festival was held last week. If you’re planning to visit the festival next year while you’re travelling Korea, you can try the dishes and beers from different gamaek venues.