Sokcho bakery café: not-too-sweet kids' potato bread, Bultan Gamja

Whenever I go on a trip to Sokcho, for some reason I always end up bringing something home with me. This time, instead of a typical souvenir, I picked snacks that are good to share with the kids: Sokcho's famous Bultan potato bread (burnt potato bread) and squid jjondeugi (chewy dried squid snack) 🥔🦑

I spotted this place while searching for Sokcho bakeries, and after taking the food away and trying it, it was fine as a snack on the trip and also good to eat again once back home.

Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store: location, hours and parking

Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store (속초불탄감자빵 본점) is at 34-20 Haksapyeong-gil, Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do, on the 1st floor. It is open 09:00-18:00 and closed on Thursdays. There is a large parking lot, and every menu item can be taken away.

• 📍 Address: 34-20 Haksapyeong-gil, Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do (1st floor)
• ⏰ Hours: 09:00-18:00 (closed Thursdays)
• 🚗 Parking: large parking lot
• ☕ Every menu item available for takeout

What does the exterior of Bultan Gamja's main store look like?

Unlike an ordinary bakery, the main store has a pretty hip, distinctive exterior even from the outside. The vibe is different from the touristy shops you often see in Sokcho, and there were good photo spots right outside.

I came here while searching for a good Sokcho bakery. This isn't a place you walk into just for the bread; the mood is pretty hip from the outside already.

Rather than the clean, bright look of a typical bakery, the exterior has more personality, so it catches your eye even as you pass by. It's different from the touristy-looking shops you often see in Sokcho, which I actually found fun.

When you're moving around with kids, you snap a photo as soon as you find a pretty spot, and this place had good photo points even outside 📸

I walked in thinking, "Is this really where they sell potato bread?", and only once inside did the Bultan potato bread come into view! With the distinctive exterior flowing into the bakery space inside, the whole shop felt like a small travel stop of its own.

What can you see inside the shop?

Step inside and the first thing you see is the display of black Bultan potato bread. Further in, there are displays of other snacks and a space for coffee, ades and tea. The space doesn't feel cramped, so it was easy to look around with the kids.

The first thing that caught my eye inside was, of course, the Bultan potato bread. Maybe because it's black, it feels completely different from an ordinary bread display.

Going in with the kids, we naturally wandered deeper into the shop looking at everything, and the space felt roomy rather than cramped.

Besides the potato bread, many other snacks were on display, so picking them out one by one was fun too. Inside, there's also a space where you can enjoy coffee, ades and tea.

So I went in thinking, "I'll just grab the potato bread and go," and ended up looking at everything. This time takeout was the goal so we didn't stay long, but next time it would be nice to eat in with a drink.

How does Bultan potato bread taste as a kids' snack?

Bultan potato bread is a bread with fluffy potato inside a black skin. It's plain rather than sweet, which made it a perfect kids' snack. The outside is chewy and the inside soft, a different texture from ordinary bread.

The black exterior is what you notice first. At first glance you wonder if the bread was literally burnt 🤣 The black color comes from squid ink, I was told.

Cut it in half and, unlike the outside, the inside holds fluffy potato. It tastes like it's made to bring out the potato's natural flavor, so it was milder and plainer than I expected. Not sweet, so it's perfect as a kids' snack!

The outside is chewy and the inside soft, a different texture from regular bread. I prefer plain snacks to sweet breads, so I quite liked it.

What about the potato bread reheated at home?

I reheated the Sokcho potato bread I'd brought home just a little. Once warm, the bread part turned soft and the potato inside became tender, so it was much easier to eat. I especially liked feeling the chewy outside and the fluffy potato together. Even if you can't eat it right away on the trip, you can reheat it at home, so it's a good snack to bring back.

How was the squid jjondeugi we packed along with it?

At the main store I also packed squid jjondeugi along with the potato bread. It's fun to chew, and the more you chew, the more a subtle squid flavor comes through. It was nice to split them up: potato bread for the kids, squid jjondeugi for the adults.

It felt like a shame to buy only the potato bread, so I picked up squid jjondeugi too. If the potato bread is a soft, plain snack, the squid jjondeugi is one that's fun to chew.

The more you chew, the more you notice that distinctive squid flavor, so it was easy to keep picking at one piece after another. The kids ate the potato bread and the adults ate the jjondeugi, so I was glad I'd packed both.

Would I recommend Bultan Gamja's main store as a Sokcho dessert stop?

Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store was a good place to stop when you want a snack with a distinctive look and mood. After a Sokcho trip with kids, I'd recommend packing the Bultan potato bread and squid jjondeugi together to take home.

Sokcho has so many great restaurants and cafés, but this was a nice place to stop in when, like this time, you want a snack with some atmosphere and a bit of novelty. The Bultan potato bread is unusual even in its black looks, and the mix of plain potato and chewy bread stayed in my memory. Adding the squid jjondeugi made it a good fit as a Sokcho trip snack too.

If you're traveling in Sokcho with kids and looking for snacks to take home, it's worth a stop. Next time I'm in Sokcho, I'll definitely pack the potato bread again 🥔