Sokcho Korean restaurant with parking and 15 banchan: Jin Seiromushi

Finding a proper Korean set-meal restaurant in Sokcho is surprisingly tricky. I went to Jin Seiromushi, a place with semi-private room-style seating, a clean spread of various side dishes, and hongge-jang (soy-marinated red snow crab) as the star — a great spot to take your parents.

Where is Jin Seiromushi in Sokcho, and what are its hours?

Jin Seiromushi's hours are 10:30 - 21:00, with a break time from 15:00 - 17:00. Lunch last order is 14:00, dinner last order is 20:00, and the restaurant is closed every Tuesday.

Jin Seiromushi, a Sokcho red snow crab restaurant, is located in Jo-yang-dong. It's a 12-minute walk from Sokcho Express Bus Terminal and a 16-minute walk from Sokcho Beach. It's also close to the Seonsa-ro heritage site in Jo-yang-dong, so it's a good spot for a walk after your meal.

There's a large dedicated parking lot for the restaurant. Parking really matters when dining with parents, and it was convenient having one right next to the restaurant.

Interior & Menu

This is the inside of Jin Seiromushi. The restaurant is quite spacious, so it looked like it could easily handle a group gathering.

The tables had plenty of space between them so conversation was comfortable, and the tables themselves were on the larger side.

About half the interior is divided off room-style, which seems perfect for a meal with parents, a meeting-the-in-laws occasion, or a family gathering.

You order using the tablet at the table. The signature dish at Jin Seiromushi, a Sokcho favorite, is pyeonbaek-jjim (steamed dish in a cypress box). You can choose a 2-tier or 3-tier version depending on the number of people.

Grilled dishes are also available — from basic Korean beef chadolbaegi to beef chadolbaegi with octopus, and beef chadolbaegi with abalone.

These are the set meals that are a good choice when dining with parents: hot pot rice, hongge-jang (soy-marinated red crab), flower crab soy marinade, marinated abalone, and shrimp set meal.

15 side dishes: a full Sokcho Korean set meal spread

These are the basic side dishes that come with the set meal at Jin Seiromushi, a Sokcho Korean set meal restaurant. They're said to be made with care by hand every morning.

There were 15 side dishes total, including the seasoned greens that older folks tend to love — enough to make a full meal on its own.

I think japchae (glass noodle stir-fry) is a staple of festive Korean spreads, but it's actually one of the harder dishes to get right. This japchae was delicious. In a lot of Korean set meals, the japchae noodles are overly soft and under-seasoned, but here it was just right — you could tell the owner is skilled.

Grilled pork bulgogi and grilled fish were also part of the set, which makes it a great lineup for families with kids too.

A doenjang (soybean paste) stew packed with tofu and zucchini also came out bubbling in a stone pot.

Hongge-jang & shrimp jang

We ordered one red crab set meal and one shrimp set meal. Both came neatly plated together on one dish.

Hongge-jang, along with pyeonbaek-jjim, is one of the signature dishes at Jin Seiromushi. It's made only with live Sokcho red snow crab. Rather than making a big batch at once, they say it's made fresh in small amounts every day for freshness.

Jang-style crab dishes are usually thought of as salty, but their secret recipe includes various vegetables that add savory depth while keeping the saltiness in check.

Mixing an egg yolk into the crab shell along with the secret sauce and rice was genuinely so delicious.

There were 7 shrimp in total.

The texture was so soft it practically melted in your mouth, and the savory marinade paired just as well with the shrimp.

The sticky hot pot rice was a perfect match with both the shrimp jang and the hongge-jang.

Finishing with sungnyung (scorched rice tea) from the hot pot made for a clean, satisfying end to the meal.

That was Jin Seiromushi, a Sokcho Korean set meal restaurant and red snow crab spot that's great to visit with parents.