Jeju Food Tour Gone Wrong: The Hilarious Hunt for the Legendary Yeon Don Pork Cutlet (and Everything Else We Ate)

Hello everyone! I recently returned from a 4-night, 5-day trip to Jeju Island. While the trip was ostensibly for leisure, there was a much larger, more pressing purpose behind it: to finally try the legendary, “universe’s strongest” pork cutlet at Yeon Don (연돈). I had been wanting to visit and review Yeon Don for ages. In fact, visiting Yeon Don was the primary, overriding reason for this Jeju adventure, overshadowing even the typical travel motivations.

Yeon Don’s insane waiting times have been a hot topic for quite a while. For a long time, I couldn’t even fathom going because it wasn’t just a matter of waiting in line for a few hours. No, it was rumored you had to camp out in front of the restaurant overnight to even have a chance! Sleeping in a tent overnight just to eat pork cutlet? As someone who believes time is more valuable than money, it was beyond my comprehension. I’d rather visit multiple other pork cutlet restaurants in that time!

However, recently I learned that Yeon Don switched to a table reservation system via ‘Teable’. If you succeed in getting a reservation, you can bypass the ridiculous overnight camping and waiting lines. This news sparked my immediate Jeju trip planning! Yeon Don was scheduled for the last day of my 4-night, 5-day trip, and it was the absolute priority. I even booked a hotel within walking distance of Yeon Don, making it my top goal for the entire trip.

Spoiler alert: I failed. I didn’t get to eat at Yeon Don. But don’t worry, the trip wasn’t a total bust! I still explored many famous Jeju restaurants and tourist spots. So, today, I’m going to give you a detailed review of all the food I ate and places I visited during my 4 nights and 5 days in Jeju, including my epic Yeon Don fail.

Day 1: Arrival and Dongmun Market – A Mixed Bag

My journey started with a budget-friendly flight on Jin Air for the outbound trip and Jeju Air for the return, costing a total of 192,000 KRW for two people. After renting a Hyundai Sonata for 4 nights and 5 days at 107,000 KRW, we headed straight to Dongmun Traditional Market (동문재래시장) for dinner. The parking was a nightmare, with long queues just to get in!

At Dongmun Market, I grabbed some popular items: abalone kimbap, black pork kimchi rolls, and mackerel sashimi, a Jeju specialty. The mackerel sashimi was surprisingly good, not fishy at all and with a texture similar to amberjack. However, the abalone kimbap and black pork kimchi rolls were just okay. Honestly, if I return to Jeju, I probably wouldn’t visit Dongmun Market again.

Day 2: Hairtail Heaven and Arte Museum

Day two was all about hairtail fish! I’m a big fan of hairtail, second only to dried yellow corvina among fish. Inspired by a Korean TV show, we went to Jeju Madang (제주마당) in Iho 1-dong (이호1동) for hairtail stew. I ordered the set menu, which included grilled hairtail, hairtail stew, and sea urchin seaweed soup for 140,000 KRW. The side dishes were decent, especially the sweet and tasty omegi-tteok (Jeju-style rice cake). The sea urchin seaweed soup was a first for me – it tasted like beef seaweed soup but… fancier? The hairtail stew was plentiful, and the grilled hairtail was expertly deboned. Taste-wise, it was average, nothing particularly special, but the sheer quantity of hairtail was satisfying.

After lunch, we checked into the Seongyibolia Hotel and headed to Arte Museum Jeju (아르떼뮤지엄 제주). It’s a popular Jeju attraction, and while not mind-blowing, it was enjoyable. The café inside had a cool art installation with blooming flowers.

Day 3: Black Pork and Unwanted Museums

We considered climbing Sambaeoreum Oreum (삼배로오름) for panoramic Jeju views, but it looked too strenuous. Instead, as a self-proclaimed “pork belly YouTuber,” I had to try Jeju black pork. We went to Sukseongdo (숙성도), a super popular black pork restaurant. Even the branch was crowded. Luckily, it was close to our hotel. We ordered both pork belly and pork shoulder. The pork shoulder was noticeably softer and tastier. While it was good quality pork, I didn’t find the Jeju black pork to be particularly distinctive compared to regular good pork. Still, a solid and delicious pork place.

The next day, seeking hangover relief, I opted for bomal kalguksu (top shell noodle soup) at Haewoljeong (해월정). It was chosen purely for its proximity to the hotel. I also tried the sea urchin bomal porridge. A bowl of kalguksu was 12,000 KRW and the porridge was 22,000 KRW – Jeju is definitely pricey! The bomal had a sea-like, slightly conch-like flavor. The sea urchin porridge was better than the kalguksu. The kalguksu itself, honestly, was less impressive than a 7,000 KRW clam kalguksu.

Then came the Health and Sex Museum (건강과 성 박물관) in Seogwipo (서귀포). I’m not even going to describe it in detail. It was… underwhelming. Nothing particularly interesting or educational. Definitely the least enjoyable place I visited in Jeju. Felt like a waste of the 13,000 KRW entrance fee.

To redeem the day, we went kart racing at Wind Park (윈드파크) in Topeong-dong (토평동). This was a blast! I did the speed kart and it was surprisingly fun, like a real-life video game!

We ended the day at Lucia (루시아), an ocean view cafe in Seogwipo. We arrived at sunset, so the ocean view wasn’t spectacular. This was actually my first and only proper ocean view during the entire trip!

Day 4: Seafood Soup and Figure Museum

Being by the sea always makes me crave seafood soup. For dinner, we went to Jungmun Haemultang (중문 해물탕), again, chosen for its proximity to the hotel, not for any specific recommendation. It was a standard seafood hot pot, with ingredients and quantity appropriate for the “small” size we ordered. Taste was average, but satisfying. Jeju and seafood soup – a classic pairing!

For hangover soup the next morning, I skipped my fond memory of Eunhee-ne (another famous Jeju haejangguk place) and went to Moise Haejangguk (모이세해장국), simply because it was closest to the hotel. The ox blood curd (seonji) portion was small, which was disappointing as I love seonji. It was okay, but didn’t quite live up to the hype of being one of Jeju’s 3 famous haejangguk places.

Later, we visited the Figure Museum Jeju (피규어뮤지엄 제주) in Seogwipo. I wasn’t expecting much, but it was surprisingly good! Life-sized figures, movie figures, figures for kids – a really decent collection. I recommend it if you’re in Jeju, especially on a rainy day.

Day 5: The Yeon Don Debacle and Farewell Feast

With rain pouring down and nothing much else planned, we went to Jungmun Duty Free Shop (중문면세점) near our hotel. Not much to buy except for duty-free cigarettes.

Dinner on the last night was… a disaster. Intending to try Jeju local cuisine at Tamra Bansang (탐라반상), a Korean restaurant, we drove 20 minutes in the rain only to discover it was just a regular meat restaurant, not the diverse Jeju food place I expected! My mistake for not checking properly. Too hungry to drive back, we just ate there. It was… just a meat restaurant. Nothing special.

Finally, the day I had been waiting for – Yeon Don day! As I mentioned earlier, I failed to eat at Yeon Don. Reservations open at 8 PM sharp, only for people physically in Jeju. It’s an absolute war. Even with a Naver clock showing seconds and trying with lightning speed, reservations were fully booked within literally one second. Unbelievable! My Yeon Don dream was crushed.

To console myself, I ate pork cutlet at a nearby place called Asuna (아스나). It was… just average. Seriously, this entire Jeju trip was centered around Yeon Don, and I couldn’t even get in!

Before heading to the airport, we grabbed kimbap at Dagamikimbap (다가미김밥), another of Jeju’s 3 famous kimbap places. I ordered the basic and beef kimbap. The basic kimbap had a ton of burdock, which I dislike. The beef kimbap was okay. I still prefer smaller, less overloaded kimbap.

For my final Jeju meal, I had to try pork noodle soup at Heukcheonha Sinjangsu (흑천하 신장수), recommended by celebrity chef Baek Jong-won. The boiled pork slices served as a side dish were tender and delicious. The pork noodle soup itself tasted exactly like pork rice soup with noodles instead of rice. Predictable, and I think I’d prefer pork rice soup instead.

Conclusion: Jeju – Fun but Flawed (and Yeon Don-less)

So, that’s my Yeon Don-centric Jeju trip! Despite failing my primary mission, it was still an enjoyable trip. Hopefully, this detailed food and travel log will be helpful for anyone planning a Jeju Island adventure. Maybe one day, I’ll conquer Yeon Don… but not anytime soon!