My Favorite Food at Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market (Updated! 2023)

It’s not like I tried a lot of food at Jeju Dongmun Market—in fact, this is the only stall I ate at in the market! But I got attracted here—and even went for a second visit—for reasons I’ll share here.

Update: I went back recently in 2023! And it still is my favorite food stall at Dongmun Market.🥺

Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market is a huge place to explore. It houses a plethora of stalls and products in a labyrinthian layout—from dry goods, fresh produce, and lots of live seafood to quick meals, snacks, souvenirs, and general merchandise. There are many access points or gates, and for the directionally challenged it can be really easy to lose your way. If you took note of a stall you’d want to check out later, good luck finding it again!

When I first stumbled upon this stall, engulfed in steam from the dumplings cooking, it immediately caught my attention. But I thought it would be good to find other interesting stores, so I passed by it. I didn’t find any others that stood out to me, so I strayed on various alleys for several minutes before I found the stall again. (But now, I definitely know how to find it next time!)

I don’t really know the name of the stall. The large tarpaulin banner over it only says “Delicious~~~ Octopus ramyeon, octopus ramyeon” in big characters (맛있어요~~~ 문어 람연 문어 람연). It couldn’t be the actual store’s name, could it?

There were many kinds of snacks laid in front of her shop. I remember boldly asking in Korean what they were, and she talked quite fast that I processed nothing. Well, I doubt I would understand anything even if she spoke slowly… (I only understand one Korean word per minute, LOL.)

Anyway, she opened the dumpling steamer in front of me and I got a complimentary steam facial. The dumplings were so pretty. So, despite that very imposing banner message, I went for the mandu because the steam was just appetizing. And I love mandu!

You can get 10 pieces of mandu for 5,000 KRW (5 USD). I got five each of the two flavors: kimchi and regular meat mandu. There was already a bunch of cooked mandu set aside, but she collected ones that were still in the steamer. So when she served them to me, they were still oozing with steam. She was so sweet.

Her mandu were delicious and plump! The wrap easily gets dry and a little sticky, but the juice oozes once you take a bite. I love both flavors, but my personal favorite is the kimchi one.

Also, I love her little dining space. The lighting was so warm and with the red chairs, it somewhat gave off a cozy grotto vibe to me. It was very nice.

I have to admit, I’m a really clingy and sentimental creature. Because she was so sweet to me the first time and of course because her mandu was so delicious, I went a second time to her stall right before my flight home. Just to eat her mandu again. Yeah, I know, I could’ve tried the octopus ramyeon this time, right? I’m so boring! But come on, her dumplings are also really delicious.

This time, I tried the fried version. They are also yummy, quite savory with a light crunch. And they go well with the sweet and spicy soy sauce mixture. But if I had to choose, the steamed ones are still my ultimate favorite.

I promise I’ll definitely go for the octopus ramyeon next time—with mandu on the side!

Update!

2023 — I finally tried the octopus ramyeon and boy is it delicious! I ordered it together with my favorite, of course — mandu! The price of mandu is still the same, 5,000 KRW for 5 pieces of wangmandu (big size) or 10 of sonmandu (regular size) either steamed or fried. Octopus ramyeon is currently 12,000 KRW.

The serving size of the ramyeon seemed small at first, probably because of the wide bowl. The noodles were barely visible beneath the mung bean sprouts and generous portions of octopus meat. I’m not sure what kind of noodle it was, but it had nice curls and a firm texture. The soup had some sweetness to it, which I love! Only slightly spicy. Overall, a full meal with or without the dumplings on the side!

I should note that the person who served me this time is not the same as the one back in 2019. I asked eomeoni about the other lady and due to the language barrier, I couldn’t understand much and can’t tell you who the owner really is. But I am going to assume that the owner is the one I met this time.

Eomeoni was very friendly and accommodating. She maintained a chat with me through a translation app and broken Korean that helped me keep pace a little bit. She was even able to tell me about her son who recently traveled to the Philippines! She sat with me for a while and even introduced me to other customers who came later — they thought I was also Korean, lol.

As much as I wanted to go often to her stall, I couldn’t because I was staying on the other side of the island. So, I was only able to go back a second time on the day before my flight to Singapore/Taipei where I was traveling next. At first, she did not recognize me through my face mask and I almost got sad, lol! But she lightened up when I removed my mask and even remembered my usual order.

After paying and as I was about to leave, she stopped me, a paper bag in hand, and began to pack it with various snacks — she was packing food for me to bring on my travel!🥺 I guess she really liked me! And I liked her a lot too.

Now, I can’t assure anyone reading this that you’ll get free snacks too but you’ll definitely be treated with the same bright and friendly disposition by eomeoni. I observed that she likes having little chats with customers, and this makes having a meal in her little space homier and cozier.

 

How to find this “delicious octopus ramyeon” stall:

Checking Google Maps again, I’ve found that it already has a listing and the name is actually 오빠네 왕만두 문어라면 which translates to “Oppa’s King Dumplings & Octopus Ramyeon!” Looking back at the photos, it’s actually written on the glass windows all along but in small letters, lol!

You can get here via Jeju Dongmun Market Gate 2 on Dongmun-ro. It’s right next to the bigger Gate 3. The nearest bus stop is Dongmun Rotary. You can also search for Donggwang Store on Naver Map; it’s right in front of the octopus ramyeon stall.