Sokcho’s Seafood Markets & Coastal Eating: From Abai Village to Daepo Port

Sokcho sits on the northeastern coast of South Korea, a fishing port squeezed between the East Sea and the granite ridges of Seoraksan, and its food reflects both. Squid is stuffed and steamed into sundae, chicken is fried until it shatters, and cold noodles arrive with a slice of raw skate. Boats unload at Daepo Port, and the Abai Village waterfront still cooks the recipes brought by northern refugees. This guide covers the markets and harbours, the dishes worth planning a day around, how to buy seafood without feeling lost, and how to reach Sokcho and fit in the surrounding coast.

A Border Town That Learned to Cook by the Sea

Sokcho has a different feel from the polished beach resorts farther south along Gangwon Province’s coast. Until the Korean War the town lay north of the 38th parallel, in the northern half of the divided peninsula, and it only came under southern administration after the 1953 armistice. The North Korean border is not far up the coast, and that history is part of everyday life here, in the older generation’s accents, in the regional dishes, and in the way people talk about home.

Fishing shaped the rest. The cold current off the coast brings squid, pollack, flatfish and in winter snow crab, and for decades the harbour and the markets around it decided what was on the table. Over the years Sokcho gained the look of a modern holiday town, with a long beach, a giant observation wheel and rows of tour buses heading for the national park. But the food culture stayed practical and unfussy. People here eat fish because it came off a boat that morning, and they eat it at plastic tables, standing at stalls, or squatting over a plate of sliced raw fish.

The town is small enough to understand in a day and rewarding enough to occupy three. Most visitors arrive for the mountains and leave before they have really eaten. Spend a little longer, and the markets and harbours become the main event rather than the stopover.

Reading Sokcho’s Map: Where the Markets, Lagoons and Ports Sit

Sokcho is compact and loosely organised around water. Knowing roughly where each piece sits makes planning much easier, because several of the best food stops are only a short taxi ride apart.

Central Sokcho and Jungang Market

The urban core lies around the bus terminals and Jungang Market, a dense grid of stalls, small restaurants and shops selling dried seafood. This is the practical heart of the town and the best place to start eating. Most accommodation, convenience stores and transport connections are within easy reach.

Cheongchoho Lake and Abai Village

A short way from the market lies Cheongchoho, a lagoon joined to the sea by a narrow channel. Abai Village sits on a spit of land beside it, reached by a short cable ferry, and its streets of low houses and food stalls form one of the town’s most distinctive neighbourhoods. The observation wheel and the beachfront are nearby, which makes the area easy to combine with a seaside walk.

Dongmyeong and the Beach Strip

Sokcho Beach runs along the east side of town, backed by cafes, seafood restaurants and the occasional karaoke sign. The fishing activity around Dongmyeong Port nearby gives this stretch a working edge that a purely tourist beach would lack.

Daepo Port

Farther north, Daepo is the more serious fishing harbour, a place where boats tie up and the surrounding restaurants specialise in raw fish. It sits on the road toward Seoraksan, which makes it easy to fold into a longer day.

Yeongnangho Lake and Seorak-dong

Yeongnangho is a second lagoon, ringed by a path and more peaceful than the beach. At the northern end of town, Seorak-dong marks the approach to the national park and has restaurants geared toward hikers, with mountain vegetable dishes alongside the seafood.

Abai Village: Refugee Recipes and the Hand-Pulled Ferry

Abai Village is where Sokcho’s food story begins. During the Korean War, refugees from northeastern Korea, many from the Hamhung area, fled south and settled on this tongue of land near Cheongchoho. They expected to return home within weeks, so they stayed close to the border and built temporary shelters that gradually became permanent homes. The name “Abai” reflects the northern dialect word for grandfather, a nod to the older refugees who set the tone of the settlement.

Reaching the village is part of the experience. The gaetbae is a small flat-bottomed boat pulled across the narrow channel along a steel cable, and passengers can help haul the rope by hand. The crossing is short, just a few minutes, and the fare is only a few hundred won. It has appeared in Korean television dramas, so on busy days you may share the boat with visitors who know it from the screen. Go on a weekday morning for a quieter ride.

On the far side, narrow lanes are lined with restaurants that cook the north’s comfort food. The two dishes to prioritise are:

• Squid sundae (ojingeo sundae): A whole squid stuffed with a mixture of vegetables, glutinous rice and sometimes minced squid or pork, then steamed and sliced into rounds. It is chewier and lighter than the blood sausage most Koreans call sundae, and it is usually served with a dipping salt or a mildly spicy sauce.
• Hamhung-style cold noodles (naengmyeon): Chewy noodles made from sweet potato or potato starch, tossed in a sweet-spicy red sauce and often topped with marinated raw skate or other fish. The first bite is startling, with heat, vinegar and chill arriving together, but the combination is addictive once you adjust.

The village is also a good spot to eat slowly. Choose a table with a view of the channel and order a plate of sundae and a bowl of naengmyeon to share. Smaller restaurants may ask you to wait while squid is steamed fresh. That wait is a good sign, not a bad one.

Jungang Market: Fried Chicken, Stuffed Squid and Late-Evening Grazing

Jungang Market is the town’s best single food stop for those who like to snack their way through a place. The covered alleys and surrounding lanes pack in fruit sellers, dried-fish stalls and food counters, and the atmosphere is more local than touristy, with shoppers hauling bags of produce between the grazing visitors.

Dakgangjeong

Sokcho’s fried chicken is the headline act. Dakgangjeong is bite-sized chicken, fried crisp and tossed in a sticky sweet-spicy glaze that stays crunchy rather than going soggy. Several shops in the market sell it, and the best known have queues that stretch outside, with staff boxing up orders as fast as they can. One of the best-known stalls, Manseok, has built much of the market’s reputation, though neighbouring vendors serve their own versions at a similar standard. Ordering a mixed half-and-half with plain and spicy flavours is the usual approach, and a small box is plenty if you intend to keep eating.

Sundae, Fish Cakes and Street Snacks

Squid sundae turns up in the market as well, sold by the piece or the plate. Alongside it you will find hot fish cakes on skewers, pancakes fried on griddles, and small packets of dried squid and pollack for the journey home. Work the market in a loop, buying a little from several places rather than filling up at the first stall.

Timing

Late afternoon into the evening is the liveliest window, with workers heading home and the chicken counters at their busiest. If you hate queues, go earlier in the afternoon, or on a weekday. Cash is still the simplest way to pay at smaller stalls, although cards work at larger shops.

Daepo Port: Raw Fish Where the Boats Unload

Daepo is the place to eat raw fish in Sokcho, and it feels less like a visitor attraction than a working harbour with restaurants attached. Fishing boats tie up along the quay, and a cluster of small seafood restaurants and market stalls sits near the water. The setting is plain, with fluorescent lights, tanks of live fish and shallow tubs of crabs, but it is exactly what makes the food here worth the trip.

Daepo is best understood as a place to buy ingredients and let the staff turn them into a meal. A typical visit goes like this:

1. Walk the stalls and look at what is in the tanks and on the ice. Flatfish, rockfish, sea squirts, squid, shellfish and, in season, crab are all common.
2. Ask for a price by weight or by the plate, and confirm the total before the fish is netted.
3. Choose how it will be prepared. Most vendors will slice it as raw fish (hoe), and the bones and trimmings can usually be turned into a spicy fish soup, called maeuntang, to finish the meal.
4. Carry your order, or let the vendor guide you, to a nearby restaurant where tables, side dishes, lettuce and sauce are provided for a small extra charge.

Many of the restaurants around the port also serve set meals if you prefer not to negotiate. These are usually priced for two or more people and include a spread of sashimi, grilled fish and a stew. Daepo suits groups better than solo travellers, since fresh fish is sold in quantities that are generous for one person. A solo visitor should ask for a smaller portion or look for a restaurant offering a single-person bowl of raw fish over rice.

After eating, walk toward the breakwater and watch the unloading. Early mornings are the most active, and the gulls and the smell of the harbour make clear that this is not a staged experience.

Eating by Season: Squid, Pollack and Snow Crab

The East Sea gives Sokcho a rolling calendar of catches, and knowing the season helps you order what is actually at its best.

• Spring: Flatfish and a range of white fish are good for raw preparations, and the weather is mild enough to eat outdoors at harbour tables.
• Summer: Cold noodles and cold fish soup suit the heat. Beach crowds swell, so the markets and restaurants get busier, and it is worth being a little more careful with raw seafood, sticking to busy, high-turnover places.
• Autumn: Squid is the signature catch, and squid dishes of all kinds, from raw to dried to stuffed, are at their peak. Cool evenings suit the market food stalls.
• Winter: Pollack, which is eaten fresh, frozen and dried, defines the coldest months, and snow crab arrives in force. Crab restaurants fill with families cracking shells at long tables, and the steam and noise make winter surprisingly the best time to eat in Sokcho.

Seasons overlap, and fishing quotas and weather change the details year to year, so treat this as a rough guide and ask vendors what is good that week.

The Bowl Beyond the Market: Cold Noodles, Pollack Soup and Mulhoe

Not every great meal in Sokcho comes from a stall. A few restaurant dishes are worth sitting down for.

Pollack Soups

Dried pollack, known as hwangtae, is a fixture of Gangwon cooking. The fish hangs through the cold months, turning from silver to golden brown, then goes into pots of clear, peppery broth or into a spicy stew. Hwangtae haejangguk is the classic hangover soup, a milky, gentle bowl that is excellent after a heavy night, or simply on a cold morning. It is served with rice and kimchi, usually at modest prices.

Mulhoe

Mulhoe is a cold, tangy bowl of thinly sliced raw fish with vegetables in a chilled, mildly sweet-spicy broth, often with ice floating on the surface. It is a refreshing option in summer and an easy introduction to raw fish for travellers who find plain sashimi a challenge.

Noodles and Rice Bowls

Beyond Abai Village, many restaurants serve Hamhung-style bibim naengmyeon, sometimes with raw fish topping, alongside seafood rice bowls and plates of grilled mackerel. Along Seorak-dong, sanchae bibimbap, rice topped with mountain greens, offers a break from seafood after a hike.

How to Buy and Eat at a Korean Fish Market

Fish markets in Korea follow a rhythm that is easy once you see it, and a few habits make the experience smoother.

• Ask the price first. Prices are usually by weight or by a set plate. Confirm the total before the fish is taken out of the tank. Use a translation app if you have no Korean, and point at what you want.
• Understand the table charge. When you carry fish to a nearby restaurant, there is typically a small per-person fee for the table, side dishes and sauces. It is normal, not a trick.
• Take the whole fish. Bones, heads and trimmings will normally be returned to you or turned into a spicy fish stew. Accept the offer. It is the best part of the meal.
• Use the wrap. Raw fish is usually eaten wrapped in a lettuce or perilla leaf with a dab of spicy paste, a slice of garlic and sometimes rice. Dip lightly in soy and wasabi if you prefer the fish plain.
• Beware of overbuying. A small plate often feeds two. Start modestly and order more if needed.
• Check the freshness. Live fish should move, shellfish should close when touched, and stalls should smell of the sea rather than of anything sour.
• Bring cash and a small bag. Cash is accepted everywhere, and a spare bag is handy for dried seafood.

Dietary limits are harder to manage here than in a standard restaurant, since many dishes combine fish, shellfish and pork. If you have allergies, learn the Korean words for them in advance and show them to staff before you order.

Between Meals: Beaches, Lagoons and Sea Air

The town is pleasant to walk in, and the food stops are spaced so that you can stroll between them.

Sokcho Beach is wide and sandy, with a promenade and cafes facing the water. It is lively in summer, quiet and wind-scoured in winter, and good for a short walk after lunch in either season. The observation wheel by Cheongchoho gives a bird’s-eye view of the lagoon, the spit and the mountains behind the town, which helps you grasp how the neighbourhoods connect.

Yeongnangho Lake is the calmer alternative, a lagoon ringed by a flat path that suits a slow loop at sunset. Its edges attract anglers and cyclists, and the water reflects the mountains on clear days. If you want some peace between market sessions, this is the place.

Getting to Sokcho and Getting Around

Arriving

Express buses run to Sokcho from Seoul, and the journey takes roughly two and a half hours depending on traffic. The expressway built across the mountains cut the trip dramatically compared with the old coastal route. Another option is the KTX high-speed train to Gangneung, followed by a bus north along the coast, which takes longer overall but gives you a chance to stop in other coastal towns.

Sokcho’s bus terminals, express and intercity, sit close to the town centre and to Jungang Market, so it is easy to start eating almost as soon as you step off the bus.

Local Transport

The town is small enough that taxis are the most convenient way to link the markets, Abai Village and Daepo, and fares are modest. Ride-hailing apps work in Korea, though language settings can be fiddly, so having your destination written in Korean helps. Local buses connect the centre with the beach, Daepo and the national park, and they are cheap and frequent, but routes are posted mostly in Korean, so check with a driver or a map app.

Walking works well for the central pieces, such as the market, the lakeside and the beach. Cycling is a pleasant way to cover the flat lagoon paths, with rental available near the main sights.

Day Trips: Mountains, Temples and Fish Towns

Sokcho is a good base for exploring this part of the coast, and the best excursions pair naturally with the food theme.

• Seoraksan National Park: The obvious day trip, and close enough to combine with a meal at Seorak-dong. Local buses run from Sokcho to the park entrance. Options range from an easy walk to Sinheungsa temple to the cable car up toward Gwongeumseong fortress, and for strong hikers the climb to Ulsanbawi, a rock formation with views toward the sea. Weekends and autumn foliage season bring crowds, so go early.
• Naksansa Temple, Yangyang: A coastal temple south of Sokcho, with a seaside statue of the Bodhisattva of Compassion looking out over the water. It combines easily with the beaches of Yangyang, which attract surfers.
• Goseong and the northern coast: Heading north brings you closer to the border, with lakes, beaches and observation points where visits may be restricted and require advance checks and identification. Confirm current access rules before you go.
• Gangneung and Jumunjin: To the south, Gangneung offers coffee culture and soft tofu, while the fishing port of Jumunjin is known for its seafood market and a harbour atmosphere similar to Daepo. A visit makes a good comparison to your Sokcho meals.

Practical Notes and a Two-Day Eating Plan

When to Go

Summer fills the beaches and raises prices, while autumn and winter are better for seafood lovers. Winter is cold and windy, but snow crab and pollack justify the discomfort. Check weather forecasts for mountain trips, since conditions at the park can differ sharply from those at the coast.

Where to Stay

Accommodation ranges from budget guesthouses and motels near the terminals to beachfront hotels and larger resorts. Staying near Jungang Market puts you within walking distance of the best street food, while a beachfront room suits a more relaxed trip. Book ahead for summer weekends and autumn holidays, when the town fills up quickly.

Two-Day Plan

Day one: Start with a morning visit to Jungang Market, grazing on squid sundae and fish cakes. Take a taxi to Cheongchoho, ride the gaetbae to Abai Village and settle in for a long lunch of naengmyeon and more sundae. Walk the lakeside, ride the wheel if the weather is clear, and finish with a box of dakgangjeong back at the market in the evening.

Day two: Go to Daepo Port early, buy fish and have it sliced into a feast, finishing with a bowl of spicy fish stew. Spend the afternoon at Seoraksan or Yeongnangho Lake, depending on energy, and close with a bowl of pollack soup, mulhoe or whatever the season demands.

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📷 Featured image by Ethan Brooke on Unsplash.