Sokcho pork rib restaurant with bibim naengmyeon: Kkulkkuine at 6pm

What kind of place is Kkulkkuine Charcoal Pork Ribs?

Today, while traveling in Sokcho with Itsang-i, I found a pork rib restaurant that's not really a tourist spot but genuinely popular with Sokcho locals, so let me introduce it to you! If you'd rather have local food than the famous touristy places, you really should visit this one!

• Kkulkkuine Charcoal Pork Ribs
• 86 Joyang-ro, Sokcho, Gangwon, South Korea
• Thursday–Tuesday: 17:00–22:30 (closed every Wednesday)

The restaurant from outside

Here's the exterior of Kkulkkuine Charcoal Pork Ribs, a meat restaurant famous near Cheongcho Lake. A place with an exterior like this... there's no way it's not a real gem. Gyuding-i and Itsang-i were so reassured by that time-tested look 💕

Parking at Kkulkkuine

There's also a parking lot right next to the restaurant with room for about 10 cars, so I really recommend it for family trips or group gatherings too! Getting around was so convenient.

Full at 6pm: inside the restaurant and the self-serve banchan bar

Whoa, we visited around 6pm and it was already this packed with a waiting line — can you believe it? How good must the food be to draw this many customers? Sokcho ribs, this is definitely the place...

You can freely serve yourself whatever banchan you want at the self-serve bar! Such a relief not having to worry about it!

What we ordered: 3 servings of pork ribs and bibim naengmyeon

Being the true food-lovers we are, we ordered

• 1. Pork ribs, 3 servings
• 2. Bibim naengmyeon (spicy cold noodles)
• 3. Rice, 2 bowls

That's what we went with! Everyone knows one bowl of rice per person with ribs is the unwritten rule, right...?

The free table setting and Sokcho scallop jeotgal

The basic side dish spread is really excellent too. Make sure you dip that scallion shreds in the onion sauce!

This is scallop jeotgal (salted scallop relish), Sokcho's famous specialty. They give it to you as a basic side dish and even let you refill it, so we really enjoyed it. This alone could go through 10 rounds of drinks...

True to being a charcoal pork rib place, the charcoal is glowing red hot already. Can't wait for this part!!

Marinated aged ribs grilled over charcoal

Ta-da!!! Finally, today's star arrives!! Look at that color, everyone... What sets Kkulkkuine Charcoal Pork Ribs, a great meat restaurant near Cheongcho Lake, apart is their homemade sauce and the fact that they age the rib cuts for a long time!

The sauce has soaked deep into the meat, and the color is just so good. Straight onto the charcoal fire!!!

While the meat was grilling, doenjang stew and steamed egg suddenly showed up! Wait, we didn't order those...? Turns out Kkulkkuine Charcoal Pork Ribs, that great meat restaurant near Cheongcho Lake, gives you steamed egg and doenjang stew as freebies! What amazing service is this!

Sizzling away and cooking so nicely, right?

Alright! The full spread is finally complete, so shall we dig in?

How the ribs tasted: smoky pork and rice

Ah... this is truly 100% real ribs. Soaked with that charcoal smokiness, so tender and sweet — it went straight through our rice, no question.

It's delicious eaten plain like this, but

eaten together with the onion shreds and scallion shreds served alongside, oh my... it's like paradise, wiping away all the travel fatigue we'd built up in one go.

You've got to eat rice with the ribs! Ribs here feel more like a proper meal than just a drinking snack!

Dunk fluffy rice into the doenjang stew, add tofu and various vegetables, and eat it all in one big bite... I really don't want to leave Sokcho right now.

It's delicious eaten with the meat too! This is Gyuding-i's style of eating! How will Itsang-i eat it?

Itsang-i even wraps the ribs in a lettuce wrap, haha. But the meat is so good that even loading up on a big vegetable wrap doesn't kill the meat flavor at all — if anything, it blends even more harmoniously!

Finishing the meal with bibim naengmyeon

We finished with naengmyeon (cold noodles)!! Everyone knows bibim naengmyeon is the mandatory finish to ribs, right? Pour a little cold broth into the sauce-loaded noodles and mix well, and—

Wow... the visuals are insane. The portion of noodles was huge for the price too, so we nearly burst. Today I introduced a truly local restaurant among Sokcho's food spots, one that locals actually frequent — I hope you'll be sure to visit it on your next trip to Sokcho!