Late-night bar in Sokcho for whole tofu duruchigi: Seo Jubang

I recently took a trip to Sokcho with a friend for the first time in ages. Maybe because it was Friday night, traffic was bad, and by the time we arrived in Sokcho it was already well past 10 p.m. It felt too early to head into our accommodation and rest, and since my friend had come all the way to Sokcho after so long, she wanted a drink—so we looked for a Sokcho bar open late.

That’s how we found Seo Jubang (서주방), near the Yeongnang-dong pocha street. What I loved most was that it stays open until 4 a.m. on weekends. Since we were in Gangwon, there really weren’t many obvious places to go after arriving late, so it was nice that we could visit without worrying about the time.

Seo Jubang’s location near Sokcho’s Yeongnang-dong pocha street and late hours

Seo Jubang is on Yeongnanghaean 6-gil in Sokcho. It is near the Yeongnang-dong pocha street, where bars are clustered together, so it is a useful one to keep in mind if you are looking for somewhere suitable to visit late at night. It also felt less burdensome for travelers like us whose evening plans started late.

Even though we arrived after 11 p.m. on Friday night, there were plenty of seats, so we could settle in comfortably. That night, we decided to have a drink and catch up late into the evening for the first time in a while.

A calm interior that made conversation easy

I expected a noisy atmosphere because it was in a pocha street, but once we stepped inside, the interior was prettier and neater than I expected.

The tables were also spaced far enough apart that it did not feel cramped, which made it nice to sit with my friend, have a drink, and talk about our trip.

I find it hard to talk at very loud bars, so I cannot stay long at them. But I loved that we could talk comfortably here that night. I thought it would also be a good choice for a Sokcho date-night bar or for anyone wanting a quiet drink with a friend.

They served barley tea in a nostalgic Del Monte bottle, and it had such a wonderfully nutty flavor—seriously, the water was amazing!!

Trying several bar snacks with the Sokcho drinking set

Chandni’s pick was the drinking set and Cheongha! We ordered the Sokcho drinking set for ₩53,000 and Cheongha for ₩6,000. We chose it because we wanted to try a little of several bar snacks rather than ordering just one dish, and it was more generous than expected, so we were happy with it.

The basic snacks and alcohol came out first. Honestly, I am a lightweight, so I debated what to drink before ordering it, but with tasty snacks, the drinks went down so easily.

With the drinking set, you choose one main dish, then get a generous spread including Abai baeksundae (Sokcho-style stuffed pork sausage), boiled squid, salted scallop jeotgal, white whelks, pollack roe potatoes, and more.

I also absolutely loved being able to choose the main dish!! You can pick one from spicy webfoot octopus, spicy chicken feet, warm boiled pork, whole tofu duruchigi (spicy stir-braised tofu), tomato flounder mulhoe (cold raw-fish soup), or sliced raw flounder with sea cucumber innards jeotgal. Since we were in Sokcho, we considered mulhoe, but we heard the duruchigi was delicious too, so we chose the whole tofu duruchigi.

I am normally a homebody who does not eat much at night or stay out late, but when you are traveling, isn’t staying out late just the proper thing to do?

We are getting old, haha, but it was like, if we do not have a drink at a time like this, when will we? So I think we drank very happily!!

I was in Sokcho with my friend for the first time in ages, talking about everything that had happened in our lives, and time flew by in an instant. I think the delicious food made it even more so!!

The Abai baeksundae and salted scallop jeotgal combination

The Abai baeksundae came in easy, bite-sized pieces.

It was actually my first time trying Abai baeksundae, and adding just a little salted scallop jeotgal made such a delicious combination—salty yet clean-tasting!!

Seo Jubang is famous among Sokcho bars for its mulhoe, but I had heard its spicy seasoned squid was famous too, so I was looking forward to it. It was pleasantly tangy and exactly my kind of flavor.

And the main dish goes without saying. This is a place where the owner’s cooking skills are incredible!

How delicious is it when you put meat and kimchi on the whole tofu?!

If you are looking for a Sokcho bar open late, keep Seo Jubang near the Yeongnang-dong pocha street in mind. It was especially good for a day when, like us, you arrive in Sokcho late or want to have a relaxed drink while catching up with a friend you have not seen in ages. If you want seafood, mulhoe, and late-night drinks with a friend on a Sokcho trip, I would recommend Seo Jubang.

Wrapping up the first day of our trip while looking at the Sokcho sea!!