What to Eat in Sokcho — A Local Restaurant's Honest Guide

Sokcho is a port city through and through, and it overflows with food.

The problem is that trips are short. You might only get one or two meals here. So what should you spend them on?

As people who run a restaurant in town, here’s an honest answer. Not just “come to our place” — the things genuinely worth eating in Sokcho.

The local dishes

Mulhoe — and not only in summer

If you’re in Sokcho you should try mulhoe at least once. Fresh raw fish in an ice-cold, sweet-and-tangy broth: the signature dish of Korea’s east coast.

Most people think of it as summer food, but it’s a year-round dish. Plenty of our regulars insist winter mulhoe — eaten in a warm room — is the best version. It’s great after a day at the beach, and equally good as a breakfast hangover cure.

Locals genuinely eat this the morning after drinking. The cold broth settles the stomach.

New to it? See how to eat mulhoe properly. Fish first, then broth, noodles at halftime, rice at the end — that’s the order. Knowing where the dish came from makes it taste better too.

Ojingeo sundae (stuffed squid) — children love it

A Sokcho speciality that originated in Abai Village. Squid bodies are stuffed, steamed, sliced and pan-fried.

Not spicy at all, nutty and mild, which makes it a hit with kids. The sliced rounds look great on a table, too. You can order ojingeo sundae with us — many guests get it alongside mulhoe.

Seopguk — the local dish tourists miss

Seop is Gangwon dialect for wild mussels. They’re a different size from farmed mussels entirely, and the broth is far deeper.

Spicy seopguk is the local hangover cure. Tourists rarely know about it, and personally it’s the thing we most wish visitors would try. Especially good the morning after a night out.

Abai sundae — food of the displaced

Pork intestine stuffed with blood sausage filling and glutinous rice. Thicker and denser than ordinary sundae.

It was created by families who fled from the North recreating home cooking, so it is a piece of Sokcho’s history in itself. Specialist shops cluster in Abai Village.

Grilled fish and gomchi soup

As any port city should, Sokcho has grilled-fish alleys. Many places serve several kinds grilled together — very generous portions.

Gomchi-guk (snailfish soup) is a winter speciality. It looks rough and tastes clean and clear. People swear by it for hangovers. If you’re here in winter, try it.

Snacks and market bites

• Dakgangjeong — the sweet crispy chicken that made Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market famous nationwide. Built to taste good cold, so it works as a gift. Long queues at weekends.
• Ssiat hotteok and fried snacks — perfect to eat as you wander the market alleys.
• Gamja ongsimi — a Gangwon potato dumpling soup with a distinctive chewy texture. Worth trying once.

What to take home

Everyone agonises over this on the last day. Here are the safe bets.

• Dried seafood — half-dried squid (pidegi) and dried pollock (hwangtae) are the classic Sokcho products. They keep well, so they make easy gifts.
• Salted seafood — myeongran and changran jeot. Market stalls let you taste before buying. Excellent with rice, which makes them a popular gift for parents.
• Pollock products — kodari, seasoned pollock salad and other expressions of Gangwon’s pollock culture.
• Dakgangjeong — as above. Cool-bag packing is available, so it travels even in summer.

Shopping tip — dried and salted goods can be haggled at the market. Walk a few stalls before buying, and ask for vacuum packing to make transport easier.

A one-day eating route

If you want to fit in as much as possible:

• Morning — seopguk or gomchi-guk to recover. Or start with mulhoe. We open at 9 a.m.
• Lunch — a full mulhoe set in front of Sokcho Beach
• Afternoon — dakgangjeong and hotteok at the market, plus dried-goods shopping
• Evening — sundae in Abai Village, or the grilled-fish alley

Only have one meal? We’d say mulhoe. It’s the thing that’s genuinely hard to get this good anywhere but here.

Finding us

Sokcho Hangari Mulhoe is directly in front of Sokcho Beach. We’re a 3-minute walk from Sokcho Express Bus Terminal, so arriving without a car is easy, and our car park is very large if you drive.

We’re open 9:00 a.m. to 10:20 p.m. (last order 21:30). Good for an early breakfast on arrival day, and still open late.

After eating, the beach is right behind us for a walk or a swim, and our top-floor Sky Stairs viewpoint is a great photo spot.

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