Ramen near Deungdae Beach in Sokcho for an after-swim dinner: Ichiba

After a full day of swimming at Deungdae Beach in Sokcho, I went looking for something hearty and warm to thaw out my chilled body — and found Ichiba Ramen, a Sokcho ramen spot everyone was raving about. The deep, rich broth smell alone was pulling in a crowd.

Where is Ichiba Ramen, and its hours and parking

Ichiba Ramen is at 348 Jungang-ro, Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do. It's open 9:00–21:00, with last order at 20:30.

• 📍Location: 348 Jungang-ro, Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• ⏰Hours: 9:00–21:00 (last order 20:30)
• 🅿️Parking: A few spots in front of the restaurant, or Deungdae Beach public parking lot

More than just a good bowl of ramen — Ichiba Ramen let me feel the depth of proper ramen philosophy!

The Sokcho ramen shop opened by a chef from Busan's Chichibu Ramen

Ichiba Ramen is already known as a top ramen restaurant in Sokcho. The chef ran a ramen shop called Chichibu Ramen in Busan starting back in 2006, and opened this new spot in Sokcho in 2024. The smell of the broth hit me the second I walked in — amazing. My stomach, already hungry, got even hungrier.

Ichiba Ramen menu and how to order at the kiosk

At Ichiba Ramen, you order yourself at the kiosk.

Tonkotsu ramen, special tonkotsu ramen, karai ramen (spicy ramen), miso ramen, mania tonkotsu, hiyashi chuka (cold ramen), snow crab roe cream ramen, butadon (pork rice bowl), gara-age (Japanese fried chicken), chashu-don — so many options I had a happy time deciding what to order!

We ordered special tonkotsu ramen, miso ramen, and gara-age.

Inside Ichiba Ramen: seating for kids and travelers

Ichiba Ramen has a clean, tidy interior overall, with a baby chair on hand and disposable aprons available. There are counter seats plus 2-person, 4-person, and group tables. Charging ports and various charging cables are placed around the restaurant, so they can even feed travelers' phone batteries haha.

They said writing a Naver photo review gets you a choice of seasoned egg, jumbo chashu, or a bowl of rice, on the house.

Was everyone else hungry from swimming like us? Or craving hot broth? Right after we walked in, over ten more customers came in behind us, so the food took a bit to come out. It seemed to be a system where you go pick up your own food.

Special tonkotsu ramen: 30-hour broth and toppings

Special tonkotsu ramen

The special tonkotsu ramen let me taste the essence of a broth simmered for 30 hours!

No off smell at all, just a heavy, creamy broth loaded with toppings!!!! Living up to the

"special" name, it came topped with two pieces of jumbo chashu, chadolbagi (thinly sliced beef brisket), egg, bean sprouts, wood ear mushroom, and more — one bowl of this would fill up even a big eater.

Apparently the chef trained directly under five different Japanese ramen masters. I couldn't even imagine how much pride is packed into a single bowl. They only use broth simmered for a full 30 hours from fresh domestic pork bones, minimizing artificial seasonings or processed ingredients, sticking to the authentic Japanese method of drawing out flavor with time and ingredients alone. The broth was so good I drank it down to the last drop.

How salty was the miso ramen at Ichiba Ramen?

Miso ramen

The nutty flavor of Japanese miso meets the deep broth for a rich, clean flavor. It's not overpowering, but has a savory taste that lingers pleasantly, and drinking the broth felt instantly comforting. I like Japanese ramen but tend to eat things on the less salty side since the sodium can get to me — Ichiba Ramen's version seemed to have toned the saltiness down a bit, or maybe I just needed the sodium that day, but it wasn't very salty at all! I was able to enjoy the broth all the way through.

Gara-age straight out of the fryer

Gara-age, the inseparable partner to ramen! Crispy enough on the outside to crackle, and juicy on the inside. Freshly fried gara-age can't not be delicious! Haha.

I found myself thinking of a beer, but since I'd driven, that wasn't happening — a little disappointing haha.

If you're craving a hot, rich bowl of ramen after swimming or taking a walk at Deungdae Beach, come try Ichiba Ramen — a place where a Korean chef's ramen has earned the approval of Japanese masters, recreating the authentic flavor while still keeping Korean palates in mind!