Donghae chicken stew spot after Chorokbong hike: Mukho Sotbokkeumtang

After hiking Chorokbong in Donghae, Gangwon, we stopped by Mukho Sotbokkeumtang, a spot known among locals in Mukho. The chicken stew, eaten with a gorgeous ocean view and Kkamak Rock in sight, was fantastic — here's the full review.

Mukho Sotbokkeumtang hours, address and parking

• 📍 Address: 151 Iljul-ro, 2F Unit 7, Donghae-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea
• 🕔 Hours: Daily 11:00–23:00
• 🅿️ Parking: Available in front of the restaurant (free)

Where is Mukho Sotbokkeumtang? Near Dojjaebigol and Kkamak Rock, on the second floor

Located at 151 Iljul-ro, 2F Unit 7, Donghae-si, Mukho Sotbokkeumtang is close to major Donghae attractions like Mukho Port, Dojjaebigol, and Kkamak Rock, so it's a convenient stop to add to a travel itinerary.

There's a spacious parking area right in front of the restaurant, so no need to worry about parking!

There are seats on the first floor too, but we were shown up to the second floor.

There was a reason we were led upstairs. The moment we walked in, the wide-open sea view through the windows was breathtaking, and the clean, spacious interior is well set up for group gatherings or family visits.

Mukho Sotbokkeumtang menu and the three spice levels

Along with the signature dakbokkeumtang (spicy braised chicken) for one whole chicken, Hanwoo daechang gopdoritang, and woo samgyeop doritang, there were various main dishes and side menus available.

You can choose bone-in or boneless chicken stew, and the spice level is split into 1 (basic), 2 (Shin Ramyun level), and 3 (fire chicken level).

The add-in options are really varied — octopus, baby octopus, Hanwoo daechang, woo samgyeop, fish cake skewers, rice cake, hooroorook rice cake, wide glass noodles, mixed add-ins, porridge add-in, ramyeon noodles, kalguksu noodles — and the fish cake skewers seemed to be the most popular.

There are also several rice options — fried rice, rice balls, flying fish roe rice balls, plain rice — so you can pick whatever suits you. We weren't that hungry so we skipped ordering one separately, but the fried rice looked like it would be the best.

There's also a wide range of drinks and alcohol — great for lunch, but chicken stew makes such a good drinking snack too, haha~~

Pot-lid chicken stew (small), 30,000 won: bone-in at spice level 3

The two of us ordered the basic chicken stew (small), bone-in, spicy.

The basic side dishes were kkakdugi (radish kimchi), seasoned bean sprouts, baek-kimchi (white kimchi), pickles, and onion-chive sauce — the baek-kimchi was mild and delicious, so my chopsticks kept reaching for it 😋

If you need more side dishes, you can use the self-serve corner.

Next to the self-serve corner there are aprons and baby chairs. Good for family outings too, haha!

If you leave a photo review on Naver, you can get a fish cake skewer, so make sure to participate!!

While waiting for our order to cook, we carefully read the sign explaining how to eat it 200% deliciously~~

It said the chive sauce plus minced garlic combo is the owner's favorite, and since my husband and I already love chicken stew loaded with minced garlic, we asked for some.

Cooked fresh in a big pot right when you order, the sotdeukkeong dakbokkeumtang grabbed our attention with its visuals alone. We took a photo comparing it to my hand — it's really huge, isn't it? Haha

A truly legit ocean-view restaurant 🩵

It comes out already cooked once, but needs another 10 minutes of boiling. The owner checks on it now and then.

Finally, the owner gave us the go-ahead to eat.

Rice cake first!

Can't resist the chicken leg — we shared one each, nice and even. No gamey smell at all, tender and soft in texture, and the sauce wasn't too intense so it felt easy to eat. It's level-3 fire chicken spicy, but not spicy at all!

After eating the meat for a while, we noticed the potatoes were perfectly soft and floury, so we mashed them into the broth to eat. The flavor gets richer and more concentrated the longer it simmers, so if you have time, I'd recommend letting it boil down further before digging in.

Is Mukho Sotbokkeumtang worth a visit?

Eating the freshly cooked pot chicken stew with such a gorgeous ocean view added a visual thrill on top of the eating pleasure, which raised our satisfaction even further. It's conveniently close to tourist spots, and the taste, portion size, and price — reasonable even for a tourist-area location — make it a place I'd recommend to anyone in Mukho looking for a hearty lunch spot with family or friends, or anyone who's tired of seafood!