Sokcho salted seafood shop for generous banchan: Hwangbuja Jeotgal

A salted seafood shop inside Sokcho Jungang Market

On my Sokcho trip last week, I visited Hwangbuja Jeotgal, a great salted seafood spot in Jungang Market~ Sokcho Jungang Market is packed with delicious things to eat, and this time I stopped by a shop selling jeotgal (Korean salted seafood), which I love as a rice side dish.

It is tucked inside Sokcho Jungang Market, but the bright yellow sign really stands out, so it was not hard to find. And honestly, as soon as one group left, another came in—the place was constantly busy.

The shop was seriously clean. All the salted seafood was stored in cases, and a staff member? kept wiping down the counter, so it made me trust the hygiene standards, haha.

So many kinds of salted seafood to taste before choosing

There were quite a few types of jeotgal: galchi sokjeot (salted cutlassfish innards), ojingeo bap sikhae (fermented squid and rice), salted sea squirt, eoriguljeot (salted oysters), salted clam, salted baby squid, and...

The other containers had clear lids, but the myeongran (salted pollock roe) was sealed with silver lids. When I said I wanted to see it, they opened one for me.

There was seasoned myeongran (broken and whole pieces), white myeongran (broken and whole pieces), plus Grade 1 seasoned and white myeongran.

There was salted octopus, salted squid, changnanjeot (salted cod innards), flatfish sikhae, seasoned pollock sashimi, salted scallop, octopus soup, seed jeotgal, and so on. The selection was truly huge.

I could sample things, so I tried a few. They were not overly salty and had lots of savory flavor—total rice thief material. They had salted shrimp too, but I was so busy looking at all the jeotgal that I did not get a proper look, lol. I am running out of salted shrimp at home too...

I ordered 600g of salted octopus for ₩15,000 and 400g of low-salt white myeongran for ₩18,000. They weighed them out, then added a little extra of each.

Packing with an ice pack included

They sealed everything once in silver packaging and put it into a yellow bag.

When I opened it at home, I found they had thoughtfully included an ice pack too. Aren't these little details exactly what make you buy again?

When I opened everything at home, the myeongran was so generously packed and plump that the lid would barely close ♡ If you like jeotgal, I recommend sampling a little of each kind before choosing. I was originally only going to buy myeongran, but once I tasted them, the salted octopus was delicious too, and I got curious about the others. It seems like a good spot especially for people looking for side dishes to eat right away while traveling, or jeotgal to take home.

Ahhh, doesn't it look so good...

Myeongran and salted octopus at home

I hurriedly served some rice and ate it with a fried egg, miyeokguk (seaweed soup), and gim (roasted seaweed).

One bite of myeongran ♡ The roe was nice and plump and full, and it was heavenly with a drizzle of sesame oil.

One bite of octopus ♡ The size and freshness were completely different from the kind sold at regular supermarkets—so plump. The savory flavor was better than the saltiness, so I kept reaching for it. My only regret is not buying the seed jeotgal... I should have bought more... Why did I hold myself back? It is already almost gone...

Storage and visit information

There was a note saying to portion and freeze both the myeongran and salted octopus. I think that is to keep them fresh. Also, if you cannot make it to Sokcho, nationwide courier delivery is available. They say you also get 80g of tasting salted seafood when you spend over ₩30,000 and write a Naver receipt review.

There are several salted seafood shops in Sokcho Jungang Market, but after tasting these and bringing them home, I understood why people buy jeotgal there. The myeongran especially was more generously portioned than I expected, and it was not too salty, so I was happy with it. If I go to Sokcho again, I am definitely buying seed jeotgal too, lol. If you are planning to visit Sokcho Jungang Market, it could be worth stopping by for rice side dishes or salted seafood gifts :)