Sokcho tofu restaurant under Café Neorae for dinner: Yetgoeul Sundubu

Dinner at Yetgoeul Sundubu, in the same building as Café Neorae

After stopping by Café Neorae in Sokcho, I had dinner at Yetgoeul Sundubu (옛고을순두부) on the first floor of the same building.

Having the café and the restaurant in one building made getting around easy, and I picked a warm tricolor tofu hotpot for dinner. Since it shares a building with Café Neorae, you can do a meal and a café in one go, and the parking is managed together, which was handy. If you're wondering where to eat dinner on a Sokcho trip, this is a spot that doesn't throw off your route.

There's a photo hanging in front of the restaurant on the main road, so if you've driven toward Seoraksan you may well have passed it. The bearded man in it is the owner of Yetgoeul Sundubu.

Yetgoeul Sundubu location, hours and parking

Yetgoeul Sundubu is at 114 Wonamhaksapyeong-gil, Sokcho, Gangwon, and it's open daily from 07:00 to 20:00. Break time is 15:30 to 17:00, and last order is 19:00.

• Amenities: reservations, groups welcome, takeout, separate men's/women's restrooms, Wi-Fi, pets allowed
• Parking: available (valet available)

Turn onto the old road of Sundubu Village from the Hakssapyeong Sundubu Village Hanwha Condo side, and it's on the first floor of a 3-story building. There's a private lot in front of the restaurant plus a second lot for when it's full, so parking is zero worry.

Parents run the restaurant, their son runs Café Neorae

At first I saw that you get 10% off at Café Neorae with a Yetgoeul Sundubu receipt, and that they manage parking together, and thought the two shops collaborate really well. Turns out the parents run Yetgoeul Sundubu and their son runs Café Neorae. It felt heartwarming to see a family each running their own space.

The entrance aquarium and free soybean pulp

At the entrance there's an aquarium with fresh seafood and abalone for the jjamppong sundubu (spicy seafood soft tofu stew), and a freezer of soybean pulp (kongbiji) that you can take if you need it. I came to Café Neorae before and took some of this pulp home and enjoyed it.

The tricolor tofu hotpot, featured on TV several times

• Oneul N, episode 2603: tricolor tofu hotpot / jjamppong sundubu (aired Nov 5, 2025)
• 2TV Saengsaeng Jeongbo, episode 1377: tricolor tofu hotpot / jjamppong sundubu (aired Aug 26, 2021)
• Live Today (Saengbangsong Today), episode 1919: tricolor tofu hotpot (aired Jul 19, 2017)

Yetgoeul Sundubu is a Sokcho favorite that has been on TV many times. As you'd expect, it gets a lot of customers at lunchtime.

Right when you walk in, you see dried pollack strips for sale and sacks of Yeoncheon beans, which Yetgoeul Sundubu uses.

Is Yetgoeul Sundubu dog-friendly?

Yes, Yetgoeul Sundubu has a dog room. If you're looking for a dog-friendly sundubu restaurant or a dog-friendly restaurant in Sokcho, you should be able to eat comfortably with your dog.

Dinner right after break time: the atmosphere

When you look for good food in Sokcho, sundubu is everywhere. I was excited because Yetgoeul Sundubu is said to make its own tofu.

We came shortly after break time ended at 5 o'clock, so there weren't many customers, but people started pouring in soon enough. The place is big, so it looks comfortable for group diners too.

True to a Sokcho sundubu restaurant, the menu centers on tofu dishes, so it seemed like a good fit for anyone searching for a tofu place in Sokcho.

We ordered the tricolor tofu hotpot (small) for 2 at ₩32,000, plus 2 extra pot rice servings.

The self-serve corner, where you take whole plates

The self-serve corner at Yetgoeul Sundubu was a bit unusual. The banchan (side dishes) are kept on plates in a refrigerator. A Naver receipt photo review event is also running, so keep that in mind.

Small tricolor tofu hotpot for 2: how did it taste?

The tricolor tofu hotpot arrived. The tofu with beet and mugwort looks so pretty! As the name says, it had tofu in several colors, which looked appetizing, and we enjoyed the hotpot bubbling warmly right at the table.

The tofu kept its soft texture and went well with the broth, and it was nice to taste several kinds of tofu at once.

It made a hearty dinner. Eating tofu stew hotpot-style, simmering as you eat, seemed to make it even tastier.

Plenty of people look for jjamppong sundubu in Sokcho, but that day I wanted something warm rather than something spicy, so I chose the tricolor tofu hotpot.

If you want to enjoy the mild flavor of sundubu, or you're looking for a place to eat near Sokcho Sundubu Village, Yetgoeul Sundubu is worth a look too.

Basic banchan and thick tofu jeon

The basic banchan at Yetgoeul Sundubu were tasty too, and a thick pan-fried tofu (tofu jeon) came out as well, which was great.

Rice is separate with the tofu hotpot, so add pot rice

I was told rice isn't included with the tricolor tofu hotpot, so I ordered pot rice (gamasotbap), and I was glad I did. Maybe because they use good rice, the rice is delicious and the nurungji (scorched rice) is too.

We enjoyed the tricolor tofu hotpot with a generous spread.

Yetgoeul Sundubu and Café Neorae: one building, one outing

What also stuck with me is that Café Neorae and Yetgoeul Sundubu share a building, so it's easy to go on to the café after eating. If you plan to visit Café Neorae on your Sokcho trip, get dinner sorted at Yetgoeul Sundubu on the first floor.

Or go the other way: eating at Yetgoeul Sundubu first and then heading up to Café Neorae would make a good route too.