During one of my frequent trips to the airport, the family had dinner at Jewel Changi. We wanted to go for tempura, but couldn’t find the place as the layout of Jewel is quite confusing. In the end we settled for Korean.
Gwangjang Gaon offers a pretty authentic Korean dining experience, complete with thoughtful plating that reflects real care in presentation. And to save you the embarrassment of trying to pronounce the Korean dishes, you can pick from the ordering app what you want to eat.
Located on the second level of Jewel Changi, it’s set against the lush backdrop of the airport’s beautiful garden, offering diners a glimpse of the iconic Rain Vortex. Founded by renowned Korean culinary professor Park Hyo-Soon, this is Gwangjang Gaon’s first overseas outlet, with their restaurant in Korea receiving multiple prestigious accolades including Korea’s Blue Ribbon.
And as usual, banchan (side dishes) are included with each main course order and can be refilled. There were only four types of side dishes but they were all delicious. But they were all kimchi-type banchan, so it was difficult to eat more without any steamed rice.
Bibimbap 비빔밥
You can see the bibimbap 비빔밥 on most tables. The term bibim means “mixing” and bap is cooked rice. A colourful medley of over 13 ingredients layered over rice, with your choice of red pepper paste, soybean paste, or a balanced mix of both.
Sliced beef, a selection of sautéed vegetables called namul, and several sauces, usually soy, doenjang (a soybean paste that provides a salt and umami kick) and gochujang (chilli pepper paste adding a spicy kick). An egg is then cracked on top just prior to serving. And once handed the dish, after briefly admiring the mosaic of edibles lain carefully atop your rice bowl, you mix the still-hot ingredients together, folding the sauces and the gooey eggy goodness throughout. Hearty, vibrant, and comforting.
Tteok-Mandu Guk 떡만두국
Tteok-Mandu Guk 떡만두국 brings together soft tteok, handmade mandu, and a delicate beef broth that hits all the right spots. Often enjoyed on Lunar New Year for prosperity, this savoury dish is garnished with egg strips, seaweed, and chopped scallions.
The soup represents new and fresh beginnings. The cylinder rice dumplings found in tteokbokki are thinly sliced into small circular shapes. These shapes represent Korean coins for a profitable year.
Korean mandu are intentionally designed to be large, often palm-sized, to function as a substantial, filling meal rather than just a side dish. Historically, this size allowed for filling them with, and extending, limited meat portions with, affordable ingredients like tofu, kimchi, and glass noodles, particularly in northern regional styles. But these days, they are filled with minced pork (or beef) with chopped vegetables, and no other fillers.
Bossam
Bossam 보쌈 is a popular Korean dish featuring pork belly boiled in a fragrant broth with spices, garlic, and ginger until tender, then thinly sliced and wrapped in fresh lettuce, perilla leaves, or salted napa cabbage.
The pork belly here is boiled and simmered for hours, and served alongside cabbage and homemade kimchi, accompanied by traditional condiments such as the saeujeot (fermented shrimp sauce). You can ask for more ssam (wrap) as the first serving was quite little. I guess many Singaporean would just eat the pork belly straight up.
The speed of serving the food is not the fastest so do cater for more time if you are dining here before catching a plane. The food will make a homesick Korean take the next plane home. Even the service level would remind one of home (sarcasm in this comment intended.)
Gwangjang Gaon 광장가온
78 Airport Boulevard, #02-243, Jewel Changi, Singapore 819666
Visited Feb 2026
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