Sokcho market croquettes sliced with a cake knife: Samsam Goroke

Where is Samsam Goroke in Sokcho Central Market?

Samsam Goroke (삼삼고로케) is at stall 42 on the former alley of Sokcho Central Market, across from the Mansuk Dakgangjeong (만석닭강정) main branch and to the right of Saerom Matjip. Hours are Mon–Fri 10:00–20:00 (last order 19:40) and Sat–Sun 09:30–21:00 (last order 20:40).

Sokcho Central Market has become a must-stop on any Gangwon trip. Whether you're in Sokcho, Goseong, Yangyang or Gangneung, you always end up here 😮 I heard a new hot spot had opened in the market, so I went to check it out 😍❤️

The orange interior was easy to spot from far away, so we found it right away 🧡🥰 It's nicely decorated, just what you'd want from a croquette shop 👍🏻

What croquette flavors does Samsam Goroke have?

There are 6 kinds: potato, Sokcho red crab, Sokcho roe cream, Chinese-style chili japchae, sweet red bean with seeds, and fire jjamppong (spicy seafood noodle soup flavor). They're displayed neatly in a case, which felt hygienic and nice 🥰

There's a Sokcho red crab croquette and a jjamppong croquette packed with meat. The red crab one is limited to 200 a day 🫨 so if you see it, grab it right away 🫢✨ The jjamppong one is about as spicy as Shin Ramyun, so it'd be great for blowing off stress.

There's the potato croquette, because what's Gangwon without potatoes, and the Sokcho roe cream croquette. Great ideas, and the unusual lineup made choosing fun 😍❤️

Then there's the savory Chinese-style chili japchae croquette and the sweet red bean one with chewy rice cake and seeds. I loved this lineup too.

Do they sell Gangwon liquor to go with the croquettes?

Yes! Samsam Goroke sells 23% Seoraksoju and 17.5% Donghae soju. There's also Sokcho raw makgeolli (rice wine) and corn dongdongju (floating rice wine), a Gangwon classic. The liquor lineup is distinctive and varied, which was the best 🍶

A bite of croquette with a sip of soju sounds so good ❤️😍 Personally I think Sokcho raw makgeolli or the corn dongdongju would pair best 🌽

Is there a discount on the 6-piece and 3-piece sets?

Yes, buying all 6 flavors as a 6-piece set gets you a discount 🫢 A group could buy the 6-set and cut the croquettes into little pieces to share, which sounds great.

The 3-piece set is discounted too, so the value was the best 😮

An English menu for foreign tourists

Samsam Goroke also has an English menu for foreign visitors. Walking around Sokcho Central Market, there were more foreign tourists than I expected, and I'd heard news of a new flight route between China and Yangyang, so the English menu felt like a thoughtful touch 🥰

Does Samsam Goroke fry the croquettes fresh?

They were making croquettes nonstop at the back of the shop. Getting freshly fried croquettes made on the spot is the best!

The inside of the shop is really clean too, and seeing them prepare freshly fried croquettes made me even more excited 😍❤️

The 6-piece set packaging and the receipt review event

I ordered one 6-piece set and it came packed up so neatly 😍 Each croquette is individually wrapped inside the box, so you could eat one right on the spot 😋💛🧡

Wow 😦 On top of that, if you join the receipt review event when buying a set, you get either a bottle of traditional Sokcho makgeolli or one croquette of your choice 🫨

The 6-set comes in a box like this, with one croquette sitting on top 🥰 Each wrapper has a sticker showing which croquette it is, and the character on it is so cute 🥹💛

Handmade croquettes at Sokcho Central Market, the best! 🥹 Whenever I came here I only thought of dakgangjeong (sweet fried chicken), squid sundae (stuffed squid), sulppang (rice wine bread), tteokbokki, squid and jeotgal (salted seafood). From now on I'll come for the croquettes first ❤️😍

Trying all 6 Samsam Goroke flavors

Potato croquette: a pizza-flavored gratin

The potato croquette is packed with potato, and it isn't plain potato but a pizza-flavored gratin, so it was really, really good 🍕 Potato never fails, it's always delicious 🥔

Red crab croquette: limited to 200 a day

The red crab croquette, limited to 200 a day, was also totally the best 🫢 I thought red crab had hardly any meat, so I was amazed at how they picked out so much and packed it in. It's limited, so if you see it, buy it right away, it's a rare item 🫨💛

Sweet red bean croquette with seeds: chewy rice cake and nutty seeds

The sweet red bean croquette has chewy rice cake, and the red bean paste with seeds went so well with the croquette 🥹 We cut it with a knife or scissors and ate it piece by piece, so we filled up and finished it fast 😭

We sliced it with a knife like this, and even a cake knife cut Samsam Goroke's croquettes well, so it'd be fun as a game with a small child too 🥰

It was full of red bean paste with seeds 🥹 The thick paste is packed in, and you chew the seeds in the middle, so it was really nutty, sweet and delicious 🫨

Chinese-style chili japchae croquette: glass noodles and spicy meat

The Chinese-style chili japchae croquette is stuffed with the kind of chili japchae you eat with flower buns. With glass noodles and spicy meat, the savory depth is huge, and once you take a bite you keep going 🌶️

Roe cream croquette: salty and nutty, not heavy

The roe cream croquette was full of flavor 🫨 The moment I bit in, I tasted rich roe cream 😍 I worried the creaminess would be heavy, but it was nutty and salty with a huge savory punch, so good ❤️

Fire jjamppong croquette: deliciously spicy

The fire jjamppong croquette was spicy as the name promises, but deliciously so, and we kept eating it piece by piece 🔥😋 I cut it with the cake knife too, and it sliced right through 👍🏻

It's stuffed with finely minced meat, so the savory flavor and meat juices blended together really well 🥹💛🩵

Is Samsam Goroke good as a gift or to take home?

The packaging is pretty, so it works as a gift, and if you take it home, freeze it and reheat it in an air fryer, it's heavenly 😋🥰 Instead of the usual Sokcho Central Market snacks, these croquettes are well worth trying 😍

From nostalgic sweet red bean croquettes to ones stuffed with full dishes, 6 kinds in all, I totally recommend Samsam Goroke ❤️🥰