Yuzu gabburi oranda gift box shopping at Sokcho Yetgokgan, unit 31

Sokcho Jungang Market, the famous landmark of Sokcho. My family loves oranda, so once they knew I was traveling to Sokcho, I absolutely had to bring home some oranda from "Sokcho Yetgokgan," the go-to shop for market gift-box snacks. I visited Sokcho Yetgokgan inside Sokcho Jungang Market.

Sokcho Yetgokgan location and parking — it's unit 31, not 104

🏡 Address: 38 Jungangsijang-ro 6-gil, unit 31, Sokcho, Gangwon, South Korea. Naver shows the address as unit 104, but when I actually visited, the shop was located at unit 31 — worth keeping in mind.

For parking, use the Sokcho Tourist and Fisheries Market parking lot! Since I made a purchase, they gave me parking support. At ₩400 per 30 minutes, it's cheap, safe, and close — I'd highly recommend this lot.

* If you stop your car briefly on the road in front of Sokcho Jungang Market, you'll get caught on camera and enforcement patrols come by often, so it's much more relaxing to use the paid parking lot.

⏰ Hours: Daily 09:00–20:00

What food gift boxes does Sokcho Jungang Market offer?

Sokcho Yetgokgan has a wide variety of menu items that make great food gift boxes from Sokcho Jungang Market.

• Nurungji red rice-brown rice gwajeul
• Syrup 500g, 1kg
• Ginger syrup 500g, 1kg
• Doraji-deodeok syrup 500g, 1kg
• Brown rice yugwa, red rice yugwa
• Yuzu gabburi oranda
• Yakgwa, and more

This summer's heat wave was unusually intense, and fewer people look for yugwa on hot days, so when I visited, they weren't selling yugwa at all — they said they'd start making it again once the weather cooled down. Unfortunately I couldn't even see it in person.

Tasting the yuzu gabburi oranda — not your average oranda flavor

Since passing tourists might be curious about the taste of Sokcho Yetgokgan's yuzu gabburi oranda, they had a tasting plate ready. I, too, arrived and asked

Can I try the oranda?

and they very readily held out the plate to me. Eureka! 💡

If you think all oranda tastes the same, you'd be wrong. Sokcho Yetgokgan's yuzu gabburi oranda wraps your mouth in yuzu flavor and aroma, and it melts away softly and sweetly. It wasn't hard at all — soft, with a texture and mouthfeel perfectly suited for kids' snacks or as a palate cleanser for older folks. I really loved it.

The older you get, the more you need to protect your teeth, and this soft oranda put no strain on mine — it was perfect for me too.

Sokcho Yetgokgan drinks — dongdongju, buckwheat makgeolli, sweet pumpkin sikhye

They also sold Gombaeryeong fresh corn dongdongju — a traditional yeast corn liquor from the 1960s–70s reworked in a modern style — buckwheat makgeolli, and sikhye and sweet pumpkin sikhye that anyone can enjoy easily.

The sweet pumpkin sikhye looked delicious, but it's sold frozen, which seemed considerate for people heading straight home or hot travelers on the go. I figured I'd have to try the taste another time, so I quickly grabbed just my two boxes of yuzu gabburi oranda and moved on to the next stop.

Doraji-deodeok syrup that wins over older palates

The owner of Sokcho Yetgokgan was personally boiling down doraji-deodeok syrup and offered me a taste, but I hesitated and missed the chance — a bit of a shame. I kept overthinking it, worrying it might taste bitter or unfamiliar... ㅠㅠ Next visit, I plan to try it and put it on my list as a gift for my parents.

Finished one box in the car on the way home

On the drive home from Sokcho, I devoured a whole box of yuzu gabburi oranda in no time as a sugar boost. I'd missed a meal so I was hungry, but honestly, the crunch followed by the way it melted so smoothly in my mouth was so good that I polished off that whole amount in one go(?). Even I was surprised. Hahaha.

I'd prepared two boxes as gifts, and finished one of them before even getting home... Sometimes I scare myself with how much I eat and how much I love eating — I think that day was one of those times.

As an after-meal dessert with family

After finishing a meal, instead of coffee, I pulled out Sokcho Yetgokgan's yuzu gabburi oranda as dessert. It wasn't a gift anymore — it was mine. Hehehe. Being able to enjoy both the crunchy bite and the melt-in-your-mouth softness at once, I think next time I'll need to buy a lot more of Sokcho Yetgokgan's yuzu gabburi oranda. Since it makes me crave coffee less, I'd say it's a genuinely good dessert and snack for me.