Gangneung Korean set meal with cockle salad: Saimdang Bueok
In short
Saimdang Bueok is a hanjeongsik (Korean set meal) restaurant on Jukheon-gil in Gangneung. Ordering the Saimdang Han-sang set twice, once with Chodang sundubu (soft tofu soup) and once with miyeok-guk (seaweed soup), for 19,000 won each brought 12 side dishes plus grilled fish, jeyuk-bokkeum (spicy stir-fried pork) and butter-grilled Korean red scallops, and the cockle salad and the pork seasoning were the two dishes that kept the rice bowl emptying. With a large parking lot and a clean dining room, Saimdang Bueok is an easy choice for a family meal with parents.
Good to know
- Hours
- Daily 10:30-20:00 (last order 19:15)
- Ojukheon Han-sang
- 14,000 won
- Saimdang Han-sang + Chodang sundubu
- 19,000 won
- Saimdang Han-sang + miyeok-guk
- 19,000 won
- Yulgok Han-sang + steamed skate + sundubu/miyeok-guk
- 35,000 won each
- Yulgok Han-sang + boiled pork jowl + sundubu
- 35,000 won
- Ordering rule
- One menu per person required; everyone at a table orders the same menu
- Children
- Ages 5-9: 9,000 won extra per child; ages 10 and up: one menu per person
- Parking
- Large lot in front of the restaurant
- Seating
- Sofa seats by the window
- Price reference
- ₩14,000 ≈ $10.5 · ₩19,000 ≈ $14 · ₩35,000 ≈ $26 (2026-09-26)
as written by the visitor on Aug 15, 2026
Today I'm introducing Saimdang Bueok (사임당부엌).
Parking and dining room at Saimdang Bueok
Saimdang Bueok is a hanjeongsik restaurant on Jukheon-gil in Gangneung, with a large parking lot right in front. The first thing I liked as soon as I arrived was that huge parking lot! There's nothing worse than showing up for a meal and stressing out over finding a spot before you've even eaten, but here you can come without that worry.
Walking inside, the interior is clean and tidy overall. There are also sofa seats by the window, which were comfortable and nice.
The lighting has a subtly nice mood too, and there are little potted plants here and there, which were fun to look at.
Saimdang Bueok menu prices and ordering rules
Saimdang Bueok's menu is built around han-sang (single-table full course) sets. The Ojukheon Han-sang is ₩14,000, the Saimdang Han-sang comes with either sundubu or miyeok-guk for ₩19,000, and the Yulgok Han-sang adds steamed skate or steamed pork jowl for ₩35,000.
- Ojukheon Han-sang ₩14,000
- Saimdang Han-sang + sundubu ₩19,000
- Saimdang Han-sang + miyeok-guk ₩19,000
- Yulgok Han-sang + steamed skate + sundubu ₩35,000
- Yulgok Han-sang + steamed skate + miyeok-guk ₩35,000
- Yulgok Han-sang + steamed pork jowl + sundubu ₩35,000
One menu per person is required! Kids aged 5-9 are an extra ₩9,000 per person, and from age 10 up, each person needs their own full menu. Also, everyone at the same table has to order the same type of menu, so it's worth knowing before you visit.
At Saimdang Bueok, the side dish lineup changes a little with the season's ingredients, so apparently you can taste different banchan (side dishes) depending on when you visit.
What comes with the Saimdang Han-sang: 12 side dishes and grilled fish
We ordered the Saimdang Han-sang, one with sundubu and one with miyeok-guk.
The dishes started coming out one by one and the table filled up fast. The Saimdang Han-sang comes with 12 familiar side dishes — kimchi, stir-fried zucchini, stir-fried mushrooms, braised soy sauce beef, seasoned greens, japchae (glass noodle stir-fry), and more — plus grilled fish, jeyuk-bokkeum, and grilled scallops.
The cockle salad, the best side dish on the table
The cockle salad in particular! This one was a serious rice thief too.
The spicy seasoning was so good. It wasn't overly harsh but really woke up your appetite, so my chopsticks kept going back for more.
Jeyuk-bokkeum and cabbage wraps with gangdoenjang (rich soybean paste)
And the jeyuk-bokkeum. That seasoning is a magic trick.
The glossy red sauce was soaked all the way into the meat, so it was a total rice thief even eaten plain.
You can also put the pork on the cabbage that came alongside it, add a bit of the seasoned doenjang, and wrap it up — 👍👍
The spicy-sweet pork sauce plus the sweetness of the cabbage plus the savory, salty doenjang together — so good 👍
Grilled fish and butter-grilled Korean red scallops
The grilled fish was better than expected, too.
The outside was grilled golden and crispy while the inside stayed moist!
It was seasoned so well that my chopsticks kept going back for more.
And then the grilled scallops. I usually hesitate to eat scallops since a lot of them are from Japan, but these were domestic red scallops!
The scallops were topped with butter and grilled, giving them a nutty, sweet flavor that I loved. Having scallops like this served alongside a hanjeongsik made the whole menu feel a bit more special.
Chodang sundubu or miyeok-guk: which soup was better?
We ordered our soups separately, one sundubu and one miyeok-guk. Since we were in Gangneung, I had to have sundubu one more time before leaving.
A spoonful of the soft, fluffy tofu kept going down smoothly, nutty and delicate.
The miyeok-guk had plenty of seaweed too, with a rich, savory broth.
Everything else was delicious too, but the pork seasoning and the cockle salad seasoning were completely my style.
The tomatoes and pineapple for dessert were refreshing too!!
Who should eat at Saimdang Bueok?
With its large parking lot and clean interior, it seemed like a good place to take your parents for a meal or to visit as a family.
If you're in Gangneung and want to eat sundubu, plus grilled fish, jeyuk-bokkeum, and a variety of side dishes all at once and be full, I'd recommend visiting Saimdang Bueok, a hanjeongsik restaurant in Gangneung.
Where it is
6 Jukheon-gil 85beon-gil, Gangneung-si, Gangwon-do, South Korea, 1st floor강원특별자치도 강릉시 죽헌길85번길 6 1층
