Vol. 10, Issue 02 February 2010 
MinSokChon
Food, Food Critic
Food Critic KoreaMaria reviews MinSokChon for Korean food in downtown Gwangju.
By Maria Lisak
| Restaurant | MinSokChon |
| Rating | 5 (scale from 0-5) Great |
| Price | Pork & Beef Ribs 8-13,000 won
Lunch Special: 7,000 won Other noodle and rice dishes: 5-8,000 won |
| Map | |
| Contact | 062-224-4577 |
| Bus/ Taxi | Buses: 9,36,45,55,56,57,58,59,74,80,87,98,150,151,152,518,1000,1187 Cultural Complex Station (Nam) bus stop
Subway: Cultural Complex Station exit 3 Across from the huge construction site downtown |
| Atmosphere | Upscale Korean traditional. Wood everywhere. Décor of wicker baskets, celadon, lattice windows, stone floors, floor seating is wood, with low wood tables and dark silk cushions. The entrance has several ink and calligraphy prints. Cozy, romantic downstairs; airy and bright upstairs. |
| Specialties | If you’re a meat eater, you’ll love it. The rib casserole lunch special is not to be missed. Kalbi Jeongol Jungshik is loaded with huge servings of meat, spinach, bean thread noodles, green onions, several kinds of mushrooms, red pepper, carrots and zucchini. It comes with a cabbage salad dressed in a citrus vinaigrette, clams in a soy and onion sauce, sea weeded green onions, huge chunks of kimchi mu, bean sprouts, and of course, long slabs of kimchi and leek kimchi. There are several sauces of fishy pepper paste, jackal, and another of sweet and salty gochujang, sesame and soy. You get rice with some root veggies, dolsot style, which you scoop out into another bowl, and then add water to your hot rice pot for a follow up bowl of nurungji. The meal finishes with a cup of shikae, a cold rice drink with rice floaters. |
| KM says: | If you have company coming to town from overseas, this is a great introduction to Korean food in a convenient place with great ambiance. Food choices are not too spicy, and the restaurant showcases some nice pieces of Korean traditional culture, which makes sense since the restaurant name translates into “folk village”. You can also order a traditional kalbi table grill, kalbitang, dolsot bibimbap, or the other lunch special of soy-marinated blue crab. Lunch specials are available from 11:30 a.m.–4 p.m., but the restaurant is open until 11:30 p.m. I’ve walked by this restaurant a hundred times before walking in the door and partaking of a wonderful meal. I hope you’ll make an effort to go here when you are looking for a quality Korean food experience downtown. |
