Date-night bar in Sokcho: spicy baby octopus set at Seo Jubang

A late-June night in Sokcho: why we ended up at Seo Jubang

Seo Jubang (서주방) is a Korean pub on Sokcho's pojangmacha (street tent bar) street, and we went on the last night of our Sokcho trip. In late June, Sokcho is a little too cold for swimming in the sea! Even with a cardigan on, the night air felt really cold. So we spent the day in Sokcho without any beach swimming... and going back to the hotel felt like a waste...

Sokcho's pojangmacha street is famous, so I searched around and found Seo Jubang, which has a nice mood and a wide range of dishes to go with drinks! Among travelers it's known as a bar with great atmosphere, and lots of reviews said the food quality is good! It's tucked into an alley so there's no sea view, but it felt like one of those atmospheric pubs lots of people visit. It's a nice place to sit and talk over a drink, so it worked well as a date spot too 💗

Seo Jubang location, hours and parking

Seo Jubang is at 12 Yeongnanghaean 6-gil, Sokcho-si, Gangwon, South Korea (1st floor), open Monday to Saturday 18:00–04:00 and Sunday 18:00–01:00. For parking, use the roadside public parking lot at Yeongnang Beach (Lighthouse Beach).

• Address: 12 Yeongnanghaean 6-gil, Sokcho-si, Gangwon, South Korea (1st floor)
• Hours: Mon–Sat 18:00–04:00 / Sun 18:00–01:00
• Parking: roadside public parking lot at Yeongnang Beach (Lighthouse Beach)

It's not far from Sokcho Central Market and is on the pojangmacha street close to Lighthouse Beach!

Seo Jubang exterior and atmosphere

Seo Jubang takes up an entire building. It was way bigger than I expected, I was shocked! A whole building was just Seo Jubang. Even from outside, you could see quite a few people inside.

There's a pyeongsang (wooden platform seat) out front too, haha. Total grandma's-house vibes.

The inside felt warm. It's not fully retro, but somehow it gave off an old grandma's-house feeling!? We saw lots of groups of friends on trips and couples. It's the perfect place to spend the last night of a Sokcho trip. Maybe because it hasn't been open long, the place was very clean too. And it really was much bigger than I expected, so it looked suitable for big groups.

What comes in Seo Jubang's signature juansang?

Seo Jubang's signature is the juansang (주안상, a drinking-snack set), with one main dish plus squid sukhoe (blanched squid), abai sundae (Sokcho-style blood sausage) and steamed scallops all on one table. The menu is endless @-@!! The juansang brings all sorts of things in one set, so it's a really generous deal! This is what we ordered, haha.

There are loads of other mains too!! Even if you don't want seafood, there's rose tteokbokki, duruchigi (spicy pork stir-fry), grilled chicken neck and more.

Juansang main: pick 1

• Spicy jjukkumi (baby octopus)
• Spicy chicken feet
• Warm boiled pork (onsuyuk)
• Tomato flounder mulhoe (cold raw fish soup)
• Flounder makhoe (sliced raw flounder)

Spicy jjukkumi juansang: how hot is it for someone who can't handle spice?

We picked spicy jjukkumi as the juansang main, and the tray came piled with spicy jjukkumi, abai sundae, jeotgal (salted seafood), squid sukhoe, steamed scallops, white kimchi, cherry tomatoes, myeongran (salted pollock roe) and potato salad. A tray this full makes you go "wow" on its own. The photos come out pretty too, haha. The lineup is really generous!

True to its name, the spicy jjukkumi was a little hot for a spice wimp like me! But it was the delicious kind of spicy? With a drink, anything goes.. 💛 It was also packed with bean sprouts, which I love. And I felt like it would go great with rice balls too! With a drink, there's no better snack T_T

How were the squid sukhoe, abai sundae, steamed scallops and myeongran?

The squid sukhoe in Seo Jubang's juansang was really tender, maybe because it's squid season, and the abai sundae had no gamey smell at all and tasted great! The steamed scallops, oh my T_T, a whole plate of them, dipped in chogochujang (sweet-spicy vinegar chili sauce), the best! They also gave us plenty of myeongran, which I loved, haha.

Why Seo Jubang is a good Sokcho bar for a date

In Sokcho, where there are so many raw fish restaurants and pojangmacha, Seo Jubang is a good pick when you want a drink in a slightly more atmospheric spot. I really love this Sokcho bar!! I think it's even better because the menu isn't the obvious stuff. The food is good and the mood is calm, so it suits both dates and hanging out with friends.

Drinking with a sea view is great, but spending a relaxed time enjoying the atmosphere like this is part of the fun of travel too, haha. I liked that it isn't just loud and rowdy! The staff were super friendly and the food came out quickly too!

It was the most memorable of the bars we visited in Sokcho this time. It was a happy way to end the last night of the trip, haha. If you're a seafood lover like me, you'll be satisfied for sure!! 🩵