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GyeongjuVisited April 2021 Views –

Yoseokgung 1779, Gyeongju: A Seasonal Meal in Brass-Colored Bowls near Gyochon Village

A white plate of what looks like sliced octopus and two abalone in their shells with cuts across the flesh, laid on clear threads with pink chrysanthemums and lemon wedges, and a small dish of red sauce at the left.
How to order Address & map

Yoseokgung 1779 (요석궁 1779) stands on Gyochonan-gil in Gyeongju, close to Gyochon Traditional Village and Woljeonggyo Bridge. VisitKorea, the Korea Tourism Organization's site, says the restaurant is named after Princess Yoseok, a daughter of Silla's King Muyeol. The Choi family, who settled on the site of her house during the Joseon dynasty, run it and have passed the restaurant and its family recipes down through 12 generations. VisitKorea's English page spells the name Yosukgung and adds that all the food is made with organic ingredients. The Korean page calls the meal a sijeolsik (시절식), a seasonal meal built from dishes handed down in the Choi family's house in Gyeongju.

A dark wooden table seen from above, set for two with cloth place mats and ringed with small bowls of what looks like brassware holding side dishes, with a steel kettle at the upper right.
The table in April 2021, set for two and ringed with small brass-colored bowls.

A table of brass-colored bowls

My photo from April 2021 looks straight down on the table. Two places are laid with cloth mats, and small bowls of what looks like traditional brassware (놋그릇) surround them, holding side dishes. A metal kettle stands at the upper right.

Dishes in my photos

The photo at the top of this page shows one plate: slices that look like octopus and two abalone in their shells with cuts across the flesh, on clear threads with pink chrysanthemums and lemon wedges.

Three pieces that look like abalone, each topped with a slice of garlic, with a green stalk laid across them on a black plate over a wooden board, and a bunch of pine needles at the left.
Three abalone-like pieces with garlic, a green stalk and pine needles.

Another plate is black and sits on a wooden board. It holds three pieces that look like abalone, each with a slice of garlic, and a green stalk lies across them. A bunch of pine needles rests at the edge.

A two-handled pot of golden metal holding bone-in rib pieces in brown broth with one large shiitake mushroom, a red jujube and small green leaves, with a dish of dark dipping sauce at the right.
Ribs, shiitake and a red jujube in a two-handled pot.

Another dish is a two-handled pot of the same golden metal, holding bone-in ribs in brown broth with one large shiitake and a red jujube (대추). It looks like galbi-jjim, short ribs braised in a soy-based sauce.

A stone pot of rice mixed with grains, topped with three yellow nuts that look like ginkgo nuts and four slices of shiitake mushroom, standing on a wooden block.
Grain rice in a stone pot, topped with ginkgo-like nuts and shiitake.

Rice sits in a stone pot, mixed with grains and topped with three yellow nuts that look like ginkgo and four slices of shiitake. The inside wall of the pot is browned.

Which menu to ask for

I have no photo of the menu, so I can't say which menu this was. The Korean K-Trip Tips listing names 자미 as the signature menu and lists 천미 among the others. The pages I read give no prices, so ask before you order.

How to order

Show this to the staff

두 명이에요. 자미로 주세요.

Du myeong-ieyo. Jami-ro juseyo.

Two of us. We'll have the jami, please.

예약은 안 했어요. 자리 있어요?

Yeyageun an haesseoyo. Jari isseoyo?

I don't have a reservation. Is there a table?

주차는 어디에 하면 돼요?

Juchaneun eodie hamyeon dwaeyo?

Where should I park?

日本語で読む

Sources checked