Gangneung cocktail bar near Gangmun Beach, open till 3am: Yahwa

After a dinner in Gangneung and staring at the sea until I'd had my fill, going straight back to my accommodation felt like a waste haha. But walking into a crowded bar alone as a solo traveler felt awkward too, and the quiet cafés were already closing for the night.

So the place I ended up finding was Yahwa Honsulbar Gangneung Gangmun Beach branch!

Where is Yahwa Honsulbar Gangmun Beach branch, and what are the hours?

Yahwa Honsulbar Gangneung Gangmun Beach branch is at 19 Changhae-ro 350beon-gil, 1F, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do (jibun address: 182 Gangmun-dong, Gangneung-si), South Korea. It's open from 20:00 to 03:00.

Since it's near Gangmun Beach, it was easy to swing by after an evening at the water, but honestly the vibe here felt noticeably different from the Yahwa Honsulbar branches I'd been to in Seoul. Being a solo-drinking bar in a travel destination, quite a lot of actual solo travelers were coming through the door.

I'd always imagined a 'honsul bar' (solo-drinking bar) as somewhere you sit alone quietly, have a drink, and leave — but this place had a slightly freer atmosphere than that.

Bar-counter seats at Yahwa Honsulbar: drinking alone without feeling awkward

The inside of Yahwa Honsulbar Gangneung Gangmun Beach branch is mostly bar-style seating, so walking in alone doesn't feel weird at all. Since there are already plenty of people there to drink solo, sitting by yourself is actually the norm lol. The lighting isn't the overly bright bar look — it's a bit dim and warm, which made it comfortable to sit with a single cocktail! With the liquor bottles on display and the staff mixing cocktails right in front of you, just sitting there already felt like being at a proper bar.

Yahwa Honsulbar cocktail menu and prices

The menu has quite a variety of cocktails, including Yahwa's signature drinks: Yahwa, Dohwa, Kkotjam, Byeori Jineun Bam (The Night the Star Falls), and Dalbit Jagyak (Moonlight Peony).

• Yahwa ₩18,000
• Dohwa ₩15,000
• Black Russian ₩12,000
• Jun Bug ₩13,000
• Long Tea ₩14,000
• Cosmopolitan ₩14,000
• Catharsis ₩13,000
• Jack Coke ₩12,000
• Earl Grey Highball ₩13,000

I brought a rough sample of the menu here. Cocktail prices at Yahwa Gangneung Gangmun Beach branch run from about ₩13,000 to ₩18,000, which felt reasonable for enjoying one or two drinks at a bar with a good atmosphere.

That night I was more in the mood to drink and soak in the atmosphere, but if you're the type searching things like 'Gangneung Gyeongpo solo bar Gangmun cocktail,' picking through the menu will be half the fun haha. Even if you don't know cocktails well, you can just tell the staff what you like and let them pick — so it's not intimidating even for a first-timer.

Why solo travellers fill this Gangmun Beach bar

If solo-drinking bars in a city like Seoul tend to draw people stopping in for one drink after work, at Yahwa Honsulbar Gangneung Gangmun Beach branch you could really feel the traveler crowd. When I was there, there were people who'd come to Gangneung alone specifically to drink solo, and others just sitting by themselves nursing their own drink and passing the time.

But on the flip side, I also saw people naturally striking up conversation with their neighbors and getting friendly lol.

At first everyone's sitting alone, and then at some point they're chatting with each other, and later I even saw a group heading off together for round two hahaha. I guess that kind of atmosphere is really only possible in a travel destination.

It's kind of amazing how you can meet someone for the first time today and suddenly be laughing and chatting like friends. And it's not like you're forced to mingle, either — that's what I liked about it. If you just want to drink alone, you can stay alone; if you want to talk to the person next to you, that can happen naturally too!

There are also games available, so breaking the ice is easy haha. So for anyone searching 'Gangneung Gyeongpo solo bar Gangmun cocktail' who's wondering 'I'm traveling alone, what do I do in the evening?' — this place fits especially well. Have dinner near Gangmun Beach, look at the sea, come in for a drink, and if the mood's good, stay a bit longer before heading back to your accommodation.

Open until 3am: a late-night stop after Gangmun Beach

The best part, above all, was the late hours. Yahwa Honsulbar Gangneung Gangmun Beach branch operates until 3am. Around Gangmun Beach, there are plenty of places to go in the evening, but a lot of them close earlier than you'd expect for a travel destination. This place staying open until 3am made it a solid option to drop into when you're not sure where else to go after being out elsewhere.

There really were guests coming in at late hours, and it seemed like some people moved over here after other bars had already closed, to keep the night going. Perfect for when you're on a trip and the night is ending too fast lol.

If you're traveling solo like me and thinking 'should I just have a drink tonight and watch people?' — this could be a pretty fun choice.

Especially if you're searching 'Gangneung Gyeongpo solo bar Gangmun cocktail,' it's a plus that you don't need to travel far from Gangmun Beach to get here. After a full day wandering around near the sea, ending with a cocktail as your last stop really rounds out the trip.

Is Yahwa Honsulbar worth it for solo drinkers?

Just because it's called a solo-drinking bar doesn't mean you have to drink alone and lonely, and it's not a place where you're forced to socialize either — you can enjoy it however you feel that day. On a night you want a quiet solo drink, just drink solo; and if you happen to meet someone you click with, chatting and heading to round two is possible too haha.

I actually felt like this free-flowing atmosphere is what makes solo bars in travel destinations more fun. If you're searching 'Gangneung Gyeongpo solo bar Gangmun cocktail' and deciding where to go, Yahwa Honsulbar Gangneung Gangmun Beach branch is worth a visit on a night you want to play until late near Gangmun Beach!