Sokcho bakery for spicy jjamppong and red crab croquettes: Samsam Goroke

Sokcho Jungang Market! There are so many famously good things to eat here—dakgangjeong (sweet crispy fried chicken), squid sundae, salted seafood, and more 🦑—that one lap around the market has you wondering what to buy. This time, I found a slightly different Jungang Market treat: Samsam Goroke bakery :) 🍞🥐

Samsam Goroke in Sokcho Jungang Market’s Dakjeon Alley

Samsam Goroke 🍞 (Sokcho Jungang Market)

It is over by Sokcho Jungang Market’s Dakjeon Alley, and what caught my eye was that it does not just sell the usual red bean or vegetable croquettes. They have all kinds made with ingredients that bring Sokcho to mind. We chose a variety and packed up six 🛍️

The address is 28 Jungangsijang-ro 6-gil, Sokcho-si, Gangwon State, South Korea (강원특별자치도 속초시 중앙시장로6길 28), Main Alley spot 42 in Sokcho Jungang Market’s Dakjeon Alley. On weekdays, it is open 10:00–22:00, with last orders at 19:40; on Saturdays and Sundays, 09:30–21:00, with last orders at 20:40. Takeout, delivery, reservations, easy payment, group visits, and parking are all available.

Sokcho Jungang Market has so many famous foods, but if you are after a new snack beyond dakgangjeong or squid sundae, I would recommend Samsam Goroke too! There are lots of choices, so it is fun deciding, and best of all, when you cut one in half ✔️ the filling is packed in generously!

Why we chose the spicy jjamppong and red crab croquettes

Personally, the spicy jjamppong croquette 🔥 and the very Sokcho-like red crab croquette 🦀 stood out most to us. I recommend eating one right away as you browse the market, then packing several more to take back to your accommodation or home :) Samsam Goroke is at spot 42 in Sokcho Jungang Market’s Dakjeon Alley, so it is easy to find!

Croquette menu and prices featuring Sokcho ingredients

Looking at the menu, there really are more varieties than you might expect, right? ✔️🦀 Starting with the signature Sokcho red crab croquette at ₩3,700, there is the Sokcho Abai croquette at ₩3,700, spicy jjamppong croquette at ₩3,500 🔥, pollock roe cream croquette at ₩3,500 🥯, pepper japchae croquette at ₩3,500 🌶️, Sokcho potato croquette at ₩3,300 🥔, and seed red bean paste croquette at ₩3,000 🤎

They did not just give them varied names—the interesting part is putting foods you associate with Sokcho, like red crab and Abai sundae, inside croquettes. Taste matters for a travel snack, of course, but it stays in your memory when it feels like something you ate because you came here. In that sense, Samsam Goroke had a very clear concept as a Sokcho travel snack.

Packing them up as travel gifts

Like us, you can choose several varieties and take them away in a box 🛍️ They are individually wrapped too, which made them easy to carry around, and buying several to share with family was nice. When you look for travel gifts at Sokcho Jungang Market, there are items like salted seafood or dried fish that can be a matter of taste, but croquettes are an easy snack for all ages. They seem like a good option for anyone looking for a Sokcho bakery gift among the market foods!

With ingredients that suit the Sokcho image—red crab, Abai sundae, pollock roe, jjamppong, and potato—they feel more like a travel souvenir than simply buying bread. They were quite warm, so the box was left open when it was packed to keep them from getting soggy. I wondered, “What if the car smells too much?” but after about an hour, there was no smell at all~!

The spicy jjamppong croquette

Even when we got home, you could tell it was still crisp, right? At first I thought, “How can jjamppong possibly go inside a croquette?” haha. But when I cut it in half, the bright red filling was packed right in, and it looked completely different from an ordinary croquette.

The spicy jjamppong seasoning hits first with each bite, and it surprisingly went so well with the fried bread. Adding heat to a croquette, which can feel a little heavy, actually kept me reaching for more! (Almost like recovering from a hangover with a croquette...) If you like something a bit bolder and different from a standard croquette, I recommend the spicy jjamppong croquette!

The flavor of the Sokcho red crab croquette

Another one that stayed with me was the Sokcho red crab croquette. When you think of Sokcho, you think seafood, of course. With crab meat inside, it felt more refined than a croquette from an ordinary neighborhood bakery. The nutty fried crust and soft filling worked well together, and bits of crab flavor came through here and there, making it feel like, “Ah, this is a croquette I bought in Sokcho.”

A little tip for choosing great food on a trip ⭐️ I think it is a good idea to pick menus with this kind of local character!!