u/Creative-Flamingo_

Kept hearing you have to try the chocopie in Jeonju. Honestly I wasn't that excited. Chocopie to me meant the packaged thing sitting in every convenience store.

It's closer to a bakery dessert than a snack. Cocoa sponge, cream in the middle, chocolate on the outside, and strawberry jam, which I didn't see coming. Chocolate and cream alone would've been heavy. The jam is what makes it work.

Flavors on the counter when I went were cheese, matcha and baeknyeoncho, which is prickly pear, on top of the regular ones. Minis are 1,800 each. A box of six is 10,800, eight is 14,400.

They sell plenty besides chocopie. Jeonbyeong, the thin sesame crackers, in peanut and pine needle and ginger, around 9,000 to 10,000 a bag. Korean wheat is on basically every sign in the place.

Upstairs there's a seating area where you can eat whatever you bought downstairs. There's also a small exhibition space up there with calligraphy scrolls on the walls, which is not what I expected to walk into above a bakery.

Worth a stop if you like chasing down the thing a city is known for:)

I'd been on my feet since morning and just wanted to sit down somewhere. Went into Pungnyeon Bakery mostly because it was right there and it had chairs.

Turned out the second floor is a seating area where you can eat whatever you buy downstairs. Didn't know that going in. That was the real win of the afternoon.

Got the handmade chocopie since that's what they're known for, plus a coffee. Cocoa sponge, cream and strawberry jam inside, the whole thing dipped in chocolate. It's big. If you're not into sweet stuff it might be a lot, but with black coffee it evened out fine.

The counter downstairs is way bigger than I expected too. All kinds of bread, not just the chocopie line.

Picked up a few more on the way out for family. I wouldn't tell anyone to go to Jeonju for this one bakery, but if you're already walking the old town and need to sit for twenty minutes and grab a souvenir at the same time, it covers both!

Stopped by Waffle Pang in Dongtan, a spot that folds these round waffles over a mountain of cream and fillings. Seriously good value for how much they pack in.

Got the Nutella banana waffle and the cranberry and cheesecake waffle, plus an iced cafe latte and a green grape ade. The waffles are crisp on the outside and stuffed with fresh whipped cream, fruit, chocolate, and toppings inside.

One tip, you can adjust the amount of whipped cream. I ordered regular and it was already a mountain of it, so keep that in mind if you want it lighter. For the price you get a seriously loaded waffle.

Went to 총각손칼국수 in Yongin, a handmade kalguksu place. The menu is basically just kalguksu, and honestly that kind of focus tells you everything, they've been doing this one thing for a long time.

The broth is clean and comforting with hand cut noodles, topped with gim, scallions, and a bit of carrot. Simple but exactly right on a rainy night.

Two things stood out. The walls are completely covered in handwritten notes and doodles from years of customers, which really shows how many people have passed through. And the kimchi is split into two bins, fully fermented and less fermented, so you can grab whatever suits your taste. I went with the less fermented one.

If you like a place that does one thing and does it well, this is worth a stop.

Went to Ribukjip near Nonhyeon Station in Gangnam for jokbal, which is braised pig's trotter, one of those Korean dishes that sounds intimidating but is genuinely delicious. It's a classic, been featured on a bunch of Korean food TV shows, and it shows in the crowd. Even on a weekday it filled up fast, so expect a line at peak hours or just reserve ahead.

We got Set 1, a medium jokbal plus jaengban guksu (a cold buckwheat noodle platter tossed with veggies in a spicy tangy sauce). The trotter is braised in a traditional cauldron with herbs, so the skin is springy and the meat is tender with none of the funk people worry about. It comes sliced with sesame on top and a bunch of banchan built to cut the richness, including a spicy bean sprout soup that resets your palate between bites. Really generous portion, easily enough for two.

The space itself is worth mentioning. It's this dim retro setup with old black and white photos of mid-century Korea covering every wall, warm lighting, wooden tables. Feels like a proper old-school Korean spot rather than something recently themed.

One thing that stood out was the service. Food hit the table maybe three minutes after ordering, and the staff were almost telepathic. You press the call button and they show up already knowing what you needed. Jokbal is around 40,000 won and the noodles 13,000, with set menus if you want the combo. It's at 47 Hakdong-ro 2-gil, Gangnam, walkable from Nonhyeon Station. Solid pick if you want a hearty, very Korean meal with a group.

Went to 산더미 미성돼지국밥, a dwaeji gukbap place, and the wild part is the sundae, offal, and rice are all free refills. You just keep going back for more.

Ordered the sundaegukbap (no buchu, with dadaegi) and the dwaeji gukbap (buchu and dadaegi in). The broth is that milky pork bone kind, simmered for hours, and it's deep and comforting without being heavy.

The sundae here isn't the usual glass-noodle kind either, it's packed with actual meat inside. If you like offal and gukbap, this place is hard to beat for the price.

Stopped by 생활맥주 (Saenghwal Maekju), a craft beer chain you'll find all over Korea. Every location pours different local craft taps, so it's never the same twice.

Got the 백화점 육포와 땅콩 (17,000원) — whole-muscle beef jerky dried in slabs, served with peanuts and two dipping sauces. Chewy, smoky, a little sweet, and it just keeps you drinking. They also bring out a free bowl of popcorn, which is very much a Korean pub thing.

Honestly the jerky and beer combo hits harder than it has any right to. If you're in Korea and want something that isn't fried chicken, this is worth a stop.