Dongseong Sikdang: Jeju-Style Spicy Pork in Seogwipo
The restaurant I originally planned to visit was closed, so I did a quick search and ended up at Dongseong Sikdang. Their main dish is duruchigi (spicy stir-fried pork). When you think of duruchigi in Seogwipo (a city in southern Jeju), Yongi Sikdang is the most famous spot. I had been there once before, but I hadn't visited any other duruchigi places since, so I couldn't really compare. Since Yongi Sikdang is located right in Seogwipo City, it's a place tourists flock to at the end of the day. Dongseong Sikdang, on the other hand, feels more like a local neighborhood favorite, so it was nice to see the difference between the two.
There's something unique on the menu: a separate option for ogyeopsal duruchigi (stir-fried pork using skin-on belly), which they claim is "a little more delicious." Naturally, I wanted the tastier option, so I ordered the ogyeopsal duruchigi.
The way they take your order and serve the food is typical of a rural restaurant. Unlike fiercely competitive places in Seoul, local countryside eateries really just focus on bringing you your food. It's similar to being served by a part-time foreign worker at a restaurant in Seoul. If you're a tourist visiting Dongseong Sikdang from Seoul, it's best not to expect too much in terms of service.
The side dishes came out, and a little while later, the duruchigi arrived. I wasn't sure if they were going to cook it for us or if we had to do it ourselves, so I was a bit lost. Fortunately, once the meat was somewhat cooked, the staff came over and added the vegetables. Once the veggies wilted and everything seemed fully cooked, I took a bite—and it was incredibly good.
My baseline for Jeju duruchigi is Yongi Sikdang. This place is a bit spicier than there, but it's not overly salty, sweet, or overwhelmingly intense. Even if the meat had a smell, the spicy flavor would have masked it, but perhaps because they use local Jeju pork, there was absolutely no gamey odor at all. A lot of people I know love strong, stimulating flavors; they might find Yongi Sikdang a bit bland and would probably prefer this place. The duruchigi here definitely has a nice kick to it.
The price seems cheap at first, but bowls of rice are sold separately, so for two people, the ogyeopsal comes out to 22,000 KRW. Compared to restaurants run by outsiders where 15,000 to 20,000 KRW per person is the norm, it looks inexpensive, but for a local neighborhood joint, it's about average. From a tourist's perspective, if you happen to be passing by, it's a great spot to grab a meal considering both the price and the taste. However, since it's located in Topyeong-dong—which is a bit out of the way—it doesn't seem like a place tourists need to specifically punch into their GPS to visit. That just goes to show how famous yet commonplace duruchigi is in Seogwipo.