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Start
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Hwangmae Mountain
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Theme Park
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Gagopa Sikdang
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Jeongyang Wetland
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Punggyong
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Sonkalguksu
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Sorigil
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Seongbo Museum
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Haeinsa Temple
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Gobau Sikdang
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Finish
If you search for great restaurants in Hapcheon, the majority of results points to Gagopa Sikdang(restaurant). This is not a fancy restaurant attracting tourists or having special cuisines. It’s just famous for simple table that looks just like home cooked meal by an old lady in one corner of the street market so I decided to go there.
Gagopa Sikdang is inside the Hapcheon Street Market. Even in the street market, it was hard to find because it was in the back. But you can ask anybody on the street since it’s so famous.
I doubted its fame by the look of its small size and oldness. So we had to get inside quickly to check it out.
Nothing special on the menu, just typical Korean cuisine. Popular dish in this restaurant is Set Menu written in small letters as you can see in the photo on the right. Most people order Set Menu so as soon as you get in the restaurant, the lady would ask “how many?” and start cooking.
No matter how busy she is, she has to take care of it all so you’re going to have to wait a while. While we were waiting, I felt like I was at my grandma’s small room with a briquette stove.
Firstly served dish was squid pajeon(pancake). It would cost 10,000 won in other restaurants.
It was delicious and crunchy with egg, welsh onions and squid.
I had to take pictures quickly and eat it but the chopstick pair did not patch. I could’ve asked matched ones but I just laughed cause I really felt like I’m at my grandma’s house.
With mismatched chopsticks, I had a bite. It’s crunchy outside but soft inside. It had so many pieces of chewy squid.
Secondly served dish was stir-fried pork. She gave us the whole pan for us to enjoy warm pork until we finish it. I could feel her concern that she values taste more than look.
Sliced pork was fried with spicy, sweet and salty sauce. She put vegetables and porks so much.
So the last dish was kimchi stew. It is really common kimchi stew with delicious ripened kimchi and pork but I had to keep eating it over and over again like mom’s dish. It’s really good.
Soup had enough pork that we were so full when we finished the meal.
A bowl of rice served with soup made me smile. The left one is for men and the right one is for women, which is a little bit less than the left one. Of course if you need more she would give more for free. She didn’t seem to care anything but cooking but she was a best employer and employee. :)
Set Menu for two included squid pancake, fried pork, kimchi soup, ripened kimchi and two bowls of rice, which all costs 17,000 won. The table seemed simple but the amount of food was proper and the taste was not colorful yet deep and simple.
She must’ve liked the way we eat because she gave us pickled garlic she made. Of course it was amazing. Sweet crunchy pickled garlic was another tempting dish.
Address : 473-1, Hapcheon-ri, Hapcheon-eup, Hapcheon-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do（경남 합천군 합천읍 합천리 473-1）
Telephone : 055-932-8880
Opening Hours and Holidays : 10:00 – 20:00, Closed on national holidays
