Sokcho sundubu restaurant with swallows under the eaves: Jinsol

A sundubu (soft tofu stew) restaurant near Seoraksan that's great for breakfast — Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu

Why Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu on Seoraksan hiking morning?

For breakfast on the second day of our Sokcho family trip, we picked Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu in Haksapyeong. Thankfully the weather forecast for that day turned out wrong, and honestly I was so relieved haha.

But... while the sky over Sokcho was this clear, the view of Ulsanbawi Rock from Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu was full of clouds, which had me a bit worried.

Still, they'd predicted heavy rain and instead it was so sunny, so — challenge accepted, let's go to Seoraksan!! You really have to see the mountain in person, so on the morning we decided to hike, breakfast was at Sokcho's sundubu spot, Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu, let's go~

With the clear sky and all, the parking guidance was really friendly too, made things easy. Parking available right in front of the restaurant.

Open at 7:30am: inside the dining room at 8:40

This place opens early from 7:30am, so I'd highly recommend it to anyone looking for a good breakfast spot in Sokcho. We arrived around 8:40am and there were so many families eating already. The space is really spacious too, so group meals work fine.

Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu / 118 Wonamhaksapyeong-gil, Sokcho, Gangwon, South Korea / Daily 07:30–20:00

Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu menu and prices

The menu is on the chopstick holder too

and written big on the wall too, so you can check it easily either way haha.

• Chodang sundubu ₩12,000
• Spicy sundubu (Eolkeun Sundubu) ₩14,000
• Tofu hot pot, dried pollack soup, Jinsol set meal, grilled pollack set, bulgogi baekban, wild greens bibimbap
• Side dishes: grilled pollack, acorn jelly, plain tofu, potato pancake

There's a good variety of side dishes too, so you can build a pretty hearty full spread.

Write a Naver photo review and you get free acorn jelly, so I'd really recommend writing that Naver review too haha.

Spicy sundubu, Chodang sundubu and the self-bar banchan

Ta-da~~ here comes the food we ordered. We ordered spicy sundubu and Chodang sundubu, and the side dishes came along too, ta-da~~

If you want more banchan, just help yourself as much as you like at the self-bar.

The spicy broth of the eolkeun sundubu~~ and the pale, milky Chodang sundubu too — we ordered to each of our tastes and had a proper hearty, delicious breakfast.

The side dishes felt like a skilled mom's home cooking too — seaweed namul, japchae, stir-fried anchovies, cucumber muchim, kimchi, and sweet braised potatoes — perfect!

Is this buckwheat? A thin buckwheat pancake came out too, and it was delicious.

The pale, milky Chodang sundubu has that mild, savory tofu broth that's the real deal.

Free acorn jelly for a Naver photo review

And~ the acorn jelly, which we got from writing the Naver receipt review, was so savory it's the real deal too.

You know jelly like this tastes even better scooped up spoonful by spoonful, right? Haha.

Was the sundubu worth it? Verdict and opening hours

A hearty, properly delicious breakfast before heading to Seoraksan on our Sokcho family trip — Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu is a certified sundubu spot. The side dishes were neat and generous, the service was friendly, and overall it was so satisfying that I'd give it 200% revisit intention.

Hours are from 7:30am to 8pm, with last order at 7pm, so keep that in mind~~

Don't miss the swallow family nesting under the eaves

One more thing — if you go to Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu, definitely check out the eaves. There's actually a swallow family that's built such a pretty nest and welcomes you there. These little ones are baby swallows, and I heard the mother was teaching them to fly. Aww, so cute~ watching them wait for their mom was just adorable haha. I would've liked to see them flying with their mom if we'd had more time, but we missed it since we had to head to Seoraksan haha.

I got a photo proof at Seoraksan National Park haha, but sadly Seoraksan was covered in clouds like this — we took the cable car up to Gwongeumseong but couldn't see anything, which was a bummer. We decided we'll give it another shot in fall on a nicer day!! Haha.