After a day in the mud at Boryeong, the move is jogae-gui — Korean grilled clams, cooked over charcoal right at your table. It’s the signature meal of Daecheon Beach, where rows of restaurants grill shellfish to order, and it’s one of the most fun, hands-on ways to eat on the Korean coast. Here’s what it is, how to eat it, and how to do a rough version at home.
What jogae-gui actually is
Jogae-gui (조개구이) means “grilled shellfish.” A charcoal or gas grill is set into your table and a tray of live shellfish — clams, scallops, mussels, sometimes abalone and other shells — is grilled in front of you. As each shell pops open, you eat it straight off the heat, often with a dab of melted butter and, at many west-coast places, a spoon of melted cheese in the bigger scallop shells. It’s interactive, a little messy, and built for sharing.
Why Daecheon Beach is the place for it
Boryeong’s Daecheon Beach is clam-grill country. The west coast brings in fresh shellfish, and the beachfront is lined with jogae-gui restaurants, many with sea views and self-refill setups. Most also serve kalguksu (knife-cut noodle soup) or a seafood fried rice to finish, using the grill’s savory drippings. If you’re at Daecheon for the Boryeong Mud Festival, this is the meal to plan around — wash off the mud, then go straight to a grill table as the sun sets.
How to eat it like a local
- Let the staff start you off. They’ll usually arrange the shells and show you which side faces down. Don’t crowd the grill — give each shell room.
- Watch for the pop. A shell is done the moment it opens and the liquid inside bubbles. Pull it off then; overcooked shellfish turns rubbery fast.
- Butter and cheese. Drop a little butter into scallops and large clams; add cheese if the restaurant provides it. Dip leaner shellfish in the chojang (sweet-tangy chili-vinegar sauce) on the table.
- Finish with the grain. Order kalguksu or fried rice at the end — the shellfish juices left on the grill make it taste like the whole meal in one bowl.
A rough version at home
You can’t fully recreate a beachfront charcoal table, but the method travels. Scrub fresh clams and scallops, discard any that are already open and won’t close when tapped, and grill them over charcoal (or under a hot broiler) until they pop open and the juices bubble. Add a small knob of butter to the bigger shells in the last few seconds, and serve with chojang for dipping. The one rule: pull them off the heat the instant they open — chasing a “more cooked” look just makes them tough.
Heading to the coast for it? Pair it with the festival itself — see our Boryeong Mud Festival guide for dates, tickets, and how to get there from Seoul.
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