Weekend Tote Carrier · 26 stories

Linen Tote, Seoul/Gyeonggi and Incheon and Gangwon Shopping, Stays and Beauty

Writes about shopping streets, small stays, and beauty counters across Seoul, Gyeonggi, Incheon, and Gangwon, alongside the odd cafe or bar worth a stop. · Writes about: Restaurants · Cafés · Hair & beauty salons · Bars · Shopping · Stays

PlaceSokcho, GangwonStays

Sokcho motel with a shared microwave for market takeout: Winners Motel

Winners Motel is a 24-hour motel in the Meokgeori food district of Gyo-dong, Sokcho, close enough to Sokcho Jungang Market to bring market food back to the room. The writer used the CU convenience store on the ground floor, the shared microwave in the lobby and the parking lot in front of the building, and was happy with the clean bedding in the non-smoking room, the hair straightener, the OTT streaming and the bathroom toiletries. For an affordable, well-located and clean place to stay in Sokcho, Winners Motel is a good-value choice.

Written Jul 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonStays

Gangneung pension with a white Room 501 and wine glasses: Your Anmok

Your Anmok (당신의안목) Anmok branch is an ocean-view pension on the Anmok Beach café street in Gangneung, Gangwon, with rooms from the 2nd floor of the Coffee Bean Bread building. The writer stayed in Room 501, a white-toned room with a spa tub by the picture window and wine glasses and an opener among its amenities. Room 501 at Your Anmok shows the Gangneung sea from both the bed and the tub, making it a good pick for travelers who want a clean, stylish stay in Gangneung.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho croquette shop, all 6 flavors as a souvenir: Samsam Goroke

Samsam Goroke is a handmade croquette shop in an inner alley of Jungang Market in Sokcho, Gangwon, selling six flavors: red crab, Abai, jjamppong, gochu japchae (stir-fried peppers), potato and pollock roe cream. The writer took home all six Samsam Goroke flavors as a gift, with sets at ₩9,000 for 3 pieces or ₩17,000 for 6, and named the Abai croquette, filled with japchae and Abai sundae (Sokcho-style Korean sausage), the favorite. For an uncommon food souvenir from a Sokcho trip, the Samsam Goroke 6-piece set is a good fit.

Written Jul 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho container bakery: watch potato bread being made, Bultan Gamja

Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread Main Store is a container-style potato bread bakery on Haksapyeong-gil in Sokcho, Gangwon. On a Sokcho trip, the writer looked around the baking area and watched a video of how the bread is made, then bought one box of squid ink potato bread (4 for ₩10,000) and 12 squid-flavored jjondeugi (chewy Korean snack sticks) for ₩10,000. Sokcho Bultan Gamja Bread's potato bread pairs a chewy crust with a mild mashed-potato filling, making it a good dessert to carry home as a travel souvenir.

Written Jul 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonShopping

Sokcho market gift shop: oil-free oatmeal gangjeong, Sokcho Yetgokgan

Sokcho Yetgokgan (속초옛곳간) is a shop at the far inner end of Sokcho Jungang Market in Sokcho, Gangwon, specializing in handmade gangjeong (crunchy grain bars), oranda (sweet puffed-grain clusters) and snack gift sets. After tasting the oatmeal gangjeong, buckwheat gangjeong and nut oranda, the writer bought the oatmeal gangjeong and barley sprout buckwheat chips, and found both light and crisp with no greasy taste. For a healthy snack gift set from a Sokcho trip, Sokcho Yetgokgan is a good fit.

Written Jul 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonRestaurants

Gangneung container restaurant, sekkoshi mulhoe set: Yeonhwa Maeul

Yeonhwa Maeul Kkomak Bibimbap is a Korean restaurant on Pungho-gil in Gangdong-myeon, Gangneung, specializing in cockle bibimbap and mulhoe (cold raw fish soup) and housed in a large container-style building. The writer ordered the 48,000 won set for two (two servings of cockle bibimbap plus one assorted mulhoe), wrapped the cockle bibimbap in perilla leaves and plain laver, and finished the mulhoe, packed with sekkoshi (finely sliced bone-in raw fish), with fresh noodles. For Gangneung travelers who want mildly seasoned cockle bibimbap paired with refreshing mulhoe, Yeonhwa Maeul Kkomak Bibimbap is a good meal.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonCafés

Sokcho bakery: 3-week freezer gift & 1-hr parking, Sokcho Sulppang

Sokcho Sulppang (속초술빵) is a traditional sulppang (steamed makgeolli bread) shop near the entrance of Sokcho Jungang Market (Sokcho Tourist & Fish Market) in Sokcho, Gangwon, fermenting its bread with raw makgeolli. The writer had 3 freshly steamed loaves packed, including some as gifts, tasted Sokcho Sulppang's bread warm on the street and again cooled at the lodging, and found it stayed chewy even after cooling. Because the bread keeps about 3 weeks in the freezer, Sokcho Sulppang is an easy pick for a Sokcho souvenir.

Written Jul 2, 2026Sponsored
PlaceSokcho, GangwonRestaurants

Sokcho market garlic dakgangjeong, a cold beer snack: Seomin Gapbu

Seomin Gapbu Sijang Dakjip (서민갑부 시장닭집) is a dakgangjeong (crispy glazed fried chicken) shop near the end of an alley in Sokcho Jungang Market in Sokcho, Gangwon, and it also runs the original Ttokinae Twigim (똑이네 튀김) fritter shop. The writer took away the mild garlic dakgangjeong, tasted some right away and ate the rest cold the next day as a beer snack. The chicken never turned tough and the sauce soaked in further, so it was good to the last piece. For a more flavorful Sokcho takeout snack than ordinary dakgangjeong, Seomin Gapbu Sijang Dakjip's garlic dakgangjeong is the answer.

Written Jul 2, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiCafés

Large container café in Paju: soft and firm peach bingsu, Fruit Forest

Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store is a large fresh-fruit bingsu (Korean shaved ice) café on Dolgoji-gil in Paju, Gyeonggi. The blogger weighed mango and melon before choosing the peach bingsu, which mixes soft and firm peaches under ice cream and blueberries, and rated it among the best bingsu they had eaten lately. For a peach bingsu sweetened by the fruit itself that never gets cloying, Fruit Forest Paju Direct Store is the place to go.

Written Jul 3, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGangneung, GangwonCafés

Gangneung gift café floor by floor: photos to excavator—Gangneung Sand

Gangneung Sand Main Branch is a café and dessert shop in Seonggok-dong, Gangneung, specializing in Gangneung Sand, the city's signature souvenir sandwich cookie. The writer toured the 1st-floor photo exhibition, ordered at the 2nd-floor kiosk, explored the 3rd-floor excavator experience zone, then took home 1 box each of coffee and Chodang corn Gangneung Sand; freezing them slightly, as staff recommended, made the texture even better. Gangneung Sand Main Branch is a great Gangneung souvenir shop for sightseeing and gift shopping in one stop.

Written Jul 1, 2026Sponsored
PlaceGoyang, GyeonggiRestaurants

Tonkatsu date in Ilsan, Goyang: fillet & loin sets, Jeongseong Katsu

Jeongseong Katsu Ilsan KINTEX (정성카츠 일산킨텍스점) is a handmade tonkatsu restaurant in Daehwa-dong, Ilsan, in Goyang, Gyeonggi, near Kintekseu Station. On a date for two, we ordered the hire katsu (pork fillet) set and the rosu katsu (pork loin) set and also got naengmomil (cold soba) through a Naver receipt review event; the juicy fillet, the crisp, nutty loin and the rich curry stood out. For a neat, well-made tonkatsu date near KINTEX, Jeongseong Katsu is a good fit.

Written Jul 23, 2026Sponsored
PlacePaju, GyeonggiCafés

Paju bakery baguette with cream dip, freezing tips: Boulangerie Tan

Boulangerie Tan Unjeong Main Branch is a takeout-only bakery in Unjeong (Dongpae-dong), Paju, where a line forms even at the 10am opening. The writer took home gourmet butter salt bread, a French baguette, mentaiko (spicy pollock roe) potato salt bread and a carrot rapée chicken sandwich, and Boulangerie Tan staff explained how to freeze leftovers, thaw them naturally and reheat them in an air fryer. Boulangerie Tan stands out for salt bread that is crisp outside and soft inside, and a carrot rapée sandwich that even a carrot hater enjoyed.

Written Jul 22, 2026Sponsored