Four ramen broths and butadon compared at Sokcho's Ichiba Ramen

On a family trip to Sokcho after a long time away, we wrapped up some errands after work and it was already dinnertime — so off we went to try some Sokcho ramen!

Ichiba Ramen's hours and where to park in Sokcho

Ichiba Ramen is a ramen restaurant on Jungang-ro in Sokcho, open 09:00-22:00. The restroom is inside, and you can park in the space right beside the restaurant.

• ⏰ Hours: 09:00-22:00
• 🚻 Restroom: Inside
• 🅿️ Parking: Space beside the restaurant

You can feel the Japanese vibe right from the entrance. Ichiba Ramen has a parking space right on the right side of the shop, so it was super convenient to visit. Let's go in and eat!

Inside Ichiba Ramen

Unlike other Japanese restaurant interiors, the inside of Ichiba Ramen was bright and clean. There were also tons of seats with wide spacing between them, making it a comfortable place to eat.

Thanks to the owner's thoughtfulness, there are kids' chairs and bibs available on one side.

There are also cute ramen illustrations here and there.

Delicious white medicine — ramen!

The restaurant lets you make reservations through Tabling, and registering for the waitlist is easy too.

There's also a restroom inside, which was so convenient.

How to order at the Ichiba Ramen kiosk

Once you grab a seat, there's a kiosk toward the back right of the restaurant.

You choose your menu right here.

What's on the Ichiba Ramen menu

Wanting to try a variety, we ordered special tonkotsu ramen, karai (+char siu added), miso (+egg added), red snow crab roe cream, and butadon for rice.

Sokcho Love Gift Certificates and bank transfer are also accepted as payment.

On the table were pickled radish, shichimi, and pepper, so you could season it to your taste — such a nice touch.

✅ There's a Naver event where you get the dish in the photo above for free, so it's worth using.

Finally, our order arrived 👏🏻👏🏻

You pick these up before eating and return them after.

Just looking at the photos makes it look so delicious 🤤

In order: miso, red snow crab roe cream, special tonkotsu, and karai.

1. Special tonkotsu ramen

Ichiba Ramen's special tonkotsu ramen is one of their basic ramen options.

Chewy noodles soaked in the broth, and a big, melt-in-your-mouth char siu! That's the difference from the char siu in a regular tonkotsu — and different cuts of beef were added too.

The pale, milky tonkotsu broth had zero gaminess and was full of pure savory flavor.

2. Miso ramen with extra egg

Miso ramen is made with dissolved soybean paste and is usually hard to find in Korea, but Ichiba Ramen has it among their variety of ramen.

We added egg to this one, and you could clearly taste the tonkotsu flavor along with a distinct nuttiness. Interestingly, there were also lots of different vegetables in it haha.

Unlike the pale tonkotsu above, the broth carries the brown color of soybean paste. The miso ramen also had a strong character of its own! Cleaner and leaving a deeper aftertaste than the tonkotsu — recommended for those who prefer a lighter style.

3. Karai ramen: how spicy is it?

The karai ramen played a refreshing role among the heavier broths! The spiciness wasn't overwhelming, which was part of its charm.

It wasn't just a simple tongue-numbing spice — the sharpness sat on top of a deep broth base, so it felt like it would work as a hangover cure too. You can tell just from the color of the broth that it's different from the regular tonkotsu ramen, right?

4. Red snow crab roe cream ramen

This place's standout signature menu — the red snow crab roe cream ramen. A soft, rich cream-based broth is piled high with red snow crab, a local specialty of Sokcho, and salty pollack roe.

The seafood umami from the pollack roe pleasantly balances what could otherwise be a rich, heavy cream broth. The bursts of roe between noodles and the sweet flavor of the crab filled the mouth — and Mom said this was the best one.

5. Butadon (pork rice bowl)

Ramen alone just wasn't enough — Koreans need rice power!

What we ordered was butadon — smoky grilled pork brushed with a sweet-and-savory sauce, piled generously over rice with egg. Eating a big bite of it while having ramen was the best~

We went home full after our first meal in Sokcho today! 💛