Yujinjeong 유진정

Yujinjeong is a cheongdung duck hot pot restaurant on Siamgol-ro in Geumseong-myeon, Damyang, Jeollanam-do. The menu is concentrated on one duck hot pot, portioned as a half, whole, or one and a half birds. Seasoned boneless duck cooks in a perilla-seed broth, while large baskets of minari and chives are blanched a little at a time in the manner of shabu-shabu. The broth begins relatively light rather than heavily thickened with perilla. As duck and vegetables cook, rendered poultry fat, nutty seed flavor, and the green aromas of minari and chives accumulate, gradually giving the soup more body. Cheongdung duck retains a firmer grain than the thick slices used for familiar duck barbecue, and the seasoned boneless pieces suit a hot pot in which meat and broth are eaten together. Minari contributes crisp, hollow stems and a forceful herbal aroma. A brief dip softens the leaves while leaving the stems firm. Chives are more pungent and cut through the weight of duck fat. Blanched greens and duck can be dipped into a mixture of perilla powder and vinegared chili paste, adding nuttiness, acidity, and heat to the mild broth. Partway through the meal, dried ground mugwort is stirred into the pot. Its bitter, earthy fragrance rises over the duck and perilla, separating the earlier minari-led soup from a more herbal second stage. Stone-pot rice then enters the remaining broth with mugwort powder to form fried rice. The grains absorb duck stock and perilla while the bottom presses against the hot surface, producing soft rice above a browned layer and carrying the mugwort aroma into the final solid course. Water added to the scorched rice remaining in the pot makes sungnyung, a warm toasted-rice drink that follows the concentrated hot pot. Two diners can begin with a half portion and balance meat against a large amount of greens. A larger group increases the same composition to a whole or one and a half birds rather than switching dishes. The broad hall and vehicle area support tables holding a large pot, baskets of greens, dipping sauce, and stone-pot rice at once. The meal is defined by its sequence: briefly blanched minari and chives, duck and perilla that deepen the broth, dried mugwort added midway, and rice and sungnyung at the end. Each step reuses the same pot while changing its aroma, texture, and concentration.