Jinju Must Try Restaurant | Korean Beef & Famous Jinju Eats

Local-recommended Korean beef + already proven Jinju must try restaurant list

If you visit Jinju, there is a Jinju must try restaurant course that you should experience at least once. This route combines one hidden Korean beef spot loved by locals with two nationally recognized Jinju must try restaurant destinations. You immediately understand why people keep coming back.

1. Jinju Korean Beef Restaurant – Hapcheon Samga Hanwoo

We came as a family of four and ordered four servings of the Hanwoo special cuts platter. One serving costs 33,000 KRW. When you order three servings or more, they give you three extra servings, so by ordering four servings, we received eight servings in total.

If you want to eat Korean beef without worrying about the price, this is a hidden restaurant gem within the Jinju must-try restaurant course, known mainly by local residents.

Make sure to eat the beef with the fresh salad with a refreshing sauce. It pairs well with the Hanwoo.

The meat was extremely tender, with beautifully balanced marbling. It was the highest-quality Korean beef I have ever had.

We also ordered two servings of stone-pot soybean paste stew and received two bowls of rice. Even though we were already full, the deep flavor with seafood and meat was so good that I ended up finishing a full bowl. If you come here, the soybean paste stew is a must.

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2. Cheonhwang Sikdang

Cheonhwang Sikdang is a Jinju must-try restaurant that immediately comes to mind when people talk about Jinju food.

Through the restaurant window, you can see an inner courtyard filled with traditional jars and fermented soybean paste.

We ordered bibimbap (13,000 KRW), bulgogi (30,000 KRW), and yukjeon (30,000 KRW). A well-boiled Korean beef blood soup was served as a side dish. The soup had a rich meat broth mixed with spicy Korean beef soup(Yukgaejang). Even though I usually don’t like Korean beef blood soup, it was surprisingly delicious.

The bulgogi had a strong smoky flavor and pairs very well with the Jinju bibimbap.

The bibimbap was not overly strong in gochujang flavor. The vegetables were crunchy, and when eaten with raw beef, it kept going in. I don’t usually like bibimbap much, but I ate almost everything except a some rice.

This warm yukjeon was huge and tasty.

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3. Jinju Cold Noodle Soup – Hayeonok

With 81 years of history, Hayeonok is a Jinju must-try restaurant known nationwide. Although there are branches in Seoul, we visited the main branch this time.

We ordered Jinju mul-naengmyeon (11,000 KRW), Jinju bibim-naengmyeon (12,000 KRW), and Korean beef blood soup with rice (11,000 KRW).

The Korean beef blood soup had a deep, spicy beef soup flavor similar to Cheonhwang sikdang, and it was personally my favorite dish.

The Korean cold noodle soup came with yukjeon on top, and although the broth was not overly strong, it had an addictive quality that kept me eating.

My mother ordered the bibim cold noodles and she really enjoyed the addictive taste.

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Overall Review – Jinju Must-Try Restaurant Course

This Jinju must-try restaurant course consists of:

• One hidden restaurant gem where you can enjoy value Korean beef
• Two already proven and famous Jinju restaurants

Whether you are visiting Jinju for the first time or returning again, this combination offers high satisfaction and makes deciding where to eat much easier.