Sokcho bakery for the drive home: gas-flame jjondeugi at Bultan Gamja

On the way home after wrapping up a Sokcho trip, I was trying to decide what to bring back for my family and ended up stopping by the main store of Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread, famous in Sokcho.

Part of the fun of a Sokcho trip is picking up a snack with some local character, and this time I went with potato bread, one of Sokcho's signature treats.

Where is Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store, and what are its hours?

Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store sits on Haksapyeong-gil close to Sokcho IC, so access was pretty easy. It's open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed every Thursday.

It's a good stop either at the start of a Sokcho trip or, like me, right before heading home at the end. If you're planning to buy potato bread as a gift, stopping here as your last stop before driving straight home seemed like a good idea.

• Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store
• Address: 3-20 Haksapyeong-gil, Sokcho, 1st floor
• Closed every Thursday, otherwise open 09:00–18:00

The potato-painted storefront on Haksapyeong-gil

The building itself at Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store already had a playful vibe. All over the building were fun little illustrations related to potatoes.

What especially caught my eye was the charred-looking black potato drawing at the entrance. It felt a bit different from a typical bakery, with its own personality, so I ended up taking photos right from the entrance.

Potato bread warmed in-store vs. frozen packs for gifts

Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread doesn't just sell potato bread — it also runs a café, so you can enjoy warm potato bread with a drink in the store. Walking inside, the space was tidier and more polished than I expected.

If you want to rest during your trip and grab a dessert, it's worth considering among Sokcho café recommendations. Potato bread eaten in the store is served warmed up, while the takeaway product is sold frozen so it travels well.

Once home, you're told to just give it a quick microwave, which made it seem like a solid gift option even for long-distance travel.

There was even a microwave set up inside the store. If you want warm potato bread right away, you can heat it up yourself, which made it easy to enjoy a quick snack mid-trip.

Pottery painting at Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread if you're with kids

Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store also had a muse-toy painting activity. I found this fun little experience while walking around the store.

It looked like you draw a face or design directly on a doll to make your own character, and I imagine families traveling with kids would love this kind of activity.

One side of the store displayed muse-toys people had decorated themselves. Each one had its own personality, and it was fun to look through them and see how differently each face and drawing was styled — time flew by faster than I expected.

It was interesting that this wasn't just a bakery where you buy bread and leave; there was something for kids to explore too.

10% off 3 boxes of potato bread, plus jjondeugi and oranda

There was also a discount worth knowing about if you're buying potato bread as a gift. Buying 3 boxes gets you 10% off, which is useful if you're planning to gift several families or friends.

Besides potato bread, they also sell various other snacks like oranda and Sokcho jjondeugi. What caught my eye was the squid-flavored jjondeugi. Sokcho makes me think of squid, so squid-flavored jjondeugi made me curious, and I bought it along with the potato bread.

This time I bought 1 box of Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread and 10 squid-flavored jjondeugi to take home. When you buy a lot of food while traveling, you sometimes worry the taste will change by the time you get home, but since the potato bread travels frozen, it made a good gift choice.

How to reheat the frozen potato bread in a microwave at home

One box of Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread had 4 potato breads inside. Once I got home and unpacked, I pulled them out right away.

On the side of the box were microwave instructions for reheating. You heat it for the suggested time first, then adjust a bit depending on how warm you want it. Microwave power varies by model, so rather than running it too long from the start, it's better to heat it for the suggested time and check the result.

What's inside the potato bread, and how chewy is it?

I split the warmed potato bread in half. The inside was packed with potato — it was striking how full it looked, almost like a whole potato had been stuffed in.

The outer bread was chewy, while the potato inside was soft. If it were just potato packed in, it could easily be dry, but since the potato inside was soft, it was surprisingly easy to eat. The combination of chewy outside and soft inside gave it a texture that felt quite different from regular bread.

Eating it warmed up felt close to eating it fresh in the store, which was a nice bonus. So it works well as a quick snack during a Sokcho trip, but also as something to bring home and share with family, or as a Sokcho souvenir for friends.

Squid-flavored jjondeugi, lightly grilled over a gas flame

I also tried the squid-flavored jjondeugi I bought along with the bread. As soon as I opened the package, a pretty strong squid smell came through. Jjondeugi tastes better lightly grilled than eaten plain, so I grilled it briefly over a gas flame.

Once lightly grilled, the jjondeugi warmed up, softened, and its chewy texture really came alive. The squid aroma rose up too, so eating it felt almost like snacking on semi-dried squid. Personally, I'd recommend grilling it lightly rather than eating it plain.

Is potato bread with jjondeugi a good Sokcho souvenir?

Buying just potato bread on a Sokcho trip is great, but picking a few different local snacks to share with family, like I did, seems like a good idea too. The potato bread has a soft, chewy texture, while the squid-flavored jjondeugi has a squid aroma and chewy bite — two very different snacks to enjoy.

What I personally found most convenient was being able to stop by and buy gifts right before heading home after a Sokcho trip. There are also Branch 1 and Branch 2 near Sokcho Jungang Market besides the main store, so it's worth keeping those in mind depending on your travel route.