Sokcho market gangjeong stall with less-sweet rice snacks: Ibuja Mayak

Finding a grain gangjeong stall inside Sokcho Central Market

Ibuja Mayak Gotgan is a grain gangjeong stall inside Sokcho Central Market. Weirdly, whenever I visit Sokcho, Sokcho Central Market is a place I just can't walk past. Even when I'm full, I end up wandering in anyway hahaha 😆

There are so many famous spots in Sokcho Central Market — chicken gangjeong, squid sundae, fritters, salted seafood — that I ended up browsing around this time too. But among all that food, one place quietly caught my eye: Ibuja Mayak Gotgan! With all the flashy dishes around, the neatly arranged grain gangjeong actually stood out more. 😊

What does grain gangjeong at Ibuja Mayak Gotgan look like?

On the display at Ibuja Mayak Gotgan, gangjeong made from various grains — brown rice, black rice, white rice — sit neatly lined up. It looks clean just from a glance. There's genuinely so much to eat wandering around Sokcho Central Market. At first I planned to just go for chicken gangjeong or the other famous Sokcho Central Market food, but I stopped in my tracks passing by Ibuja Mayak Gotgan.

Honestly, when I think of gangjeong, I used to picture the slightly hard, super-sweet kind from before, but this felt different. It had that sense of the grain's own nutty flavor still being alive.

Brown rice, black rice, white rice: which one keeps you reaching?

Once I tried it, I understood why it caught my eye. Ibuja Mayak Gotgan's grain gangjeong has subtly different flavor and texture depending on the grain — brown rice, black rice, white rice — and all of them are basically nutty. Best of all, none of them were sharply, aggressively sweet.

At first I thought I'd just try one or two and stop... but it's the kind of thing you keep reaching for haha. Crunchy, with that distinct grain nuttiness, it goes well with coffee, and it's also good just to pop one when your mouth feels idle. ☕️ These days a lot of snacks lean hard into sweet or salty, so it was nice that grain gangjeong felt relatively easy to eat without that heaviness.

Is grain gangjeong a good snack for kids?

My kid genuinely ate Ibuja Mayak Gotgan's grain gangjeong well. Personally, this was the part I liked most. Honestly, whenever you buy a snack at a market, you end up wondering whether your kid will actually eat it — some things taste great to adult palates but are too spicy or intense.

But maybe because it's nutty and crunchy, my kid ate this grain gangjeong as a snack really well. 👧🏻👦🏻 I'd give one and they'd ask for another... in the end I'm not sure if I bought it for myself or for the kid's snack haha 😂 Still, being able to give a grain-based snack instead of regular chips felt pretty satisfying.

Does the gangjeong stay crisp hours later?

It was great that Ibuja Mayak Gotgan's grain gangjeong holds onto its crunchy texture quite well even after some time. With this kind of snack, it's often delicious the moment you eat it but goes soft not long after.

You don't have to finish it all on the spot while traveling — it's fine to bring it back to the guesthouse or take it home and eat it piece by piece. So it should also suit people looking for something light from Sokcho Central Market to bring home to parents or family as a travel souvenir. 🎁

Where is Ibuja Mayak Gotgan in Sokcho Central Market?

You'll find Ibuja Mayak Gotgan inside Sokcho Central Market (Sokcho Tourist Fisheries Market). Sokcho Central Market sits around Jungang-ro147beon-gil in Sokcho-si, Gangwon-do, so it's easy to stop by during a Sokcho trip.

So many famous Sokcho Central Market restaurants and food stalls are packed into the market that it's a good idea to browse around and stop in as part of the route. We weren't even planning to go just for grain gangjeong — we found it while browsing the market, and it ended up being the most memorable thing. 😋

A small find among Sokcho Central Market's famous food stalls

When you think of Sokcho Central Market, chicken gangjeong or squid sundae are what come to mind first — that was me too. But actually wandering the market, there's real fun in discovering these smaller finds one by one.

Ibuja Mayak Gotgan in particular was satisfying — the nutty flavor and crunchy texture of the brown rice, black rice and white rice were good, and it went over well as a snack for my kid too. 👍 Staying crunchy even after time passes was a pretty big plus too!

If you're planning to try your way through Sokcho Central Market's famous restaurants, I'd recommend not just chasing the well-known menus but also slowly wandering through the market. You might pick up an unexpected find like this one. Next time we're at Sokcho Central Market, I think we'll quietly stop by again haha — this time I'll set some aside for myself before the kid takes it all. 😎