Sokcho sashimi takeout: Jinmi Hwal-eo Center at Jungang Market

During our trip to Sokcho, my husband and I went to Jungang Market to pick up sashimi for dinner. Our destination was Jinmi Hwal-eo Center (진미활어센터) in the basement of Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market. We ordered farmed assorted sashimi for two, plus the raw squid my husband had been looking forward to.

How do you find Jinmi Hwal-eo Center in the market basement?

After entering the market and following the signs, we came to doors with stairs going up in the middle. Exiting through either door, we found stairs going down to the basement on the opposite side.

Going down these stairs leads to the basement seafood and sashimi center.

In the basement, we checked the layout map. From where we came down, we simply walked straight ahead to reach Jinmi Hwal-eo Center in unit 145.

What sashimi did we order, and how much was it?

There were actively moving seafood items in front of the shop. We looked around the shop and its seafood before ordering.

The snow crabs looked healthy too.

We ordered farmed assorted sashimi for two and one squid. The squid was priced at market rate, and it cost ₩20,000 for one on the day we visited. My husband had been waiting for two or three months to eat raw squid when we came to Sokcho.

The owner asked whether we ate only flounder and rockfish, and I said we ate everything. They then asked whether flounder and amberjack would also be okay, and we said yes.

Are there tables for eating in instead of taking out?

While waiting for our order, we also looked at the tables. The shop seemed fairly spacious, with room for several people to sit together. Cleaning up at our accommodation can be a bit inconvenient, so I thought eating at the shop could be a good option too.

How were the portions and takeout packing at our accommodation?

Back at our accommodation, we unpacked the sashimi. The ramen we ate alongside it did not come from the sashimi shop; we prepared it separately using the Hangang ramen machine at the convenience store in our accommodation.

We ordered the assorted sashimi for two, and it felt like a lot of food. It may look like less in the photo because the plate is large, but once we laid it out, the portion was generous. The raw squid we ordered with it also looked smooth.

They included lettuce and sauces with our order. There was also an ice pack inside the insulated bag.

The sashimi felt fresh and had a pleasantly chewy texture. I prefer small lettuce leaves to tearing up large ones, and these were a convenient size for making one-bite ssam (lettuce wraps).

We were both hungry, and with the raw squid my husband had been waiting for, we finished everything. There was still the cleanup at our accommodation, but the takeout sashimi made a generous dinner for the two of us.

What are the listed hours and parking details?

The hours listed when I visited were 10:00–21:00, with last orders at 19:30. It was listed as closed on the second Wednesday of every month, while August through October were listed as having no days off.

The information said that you can use the Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market parking lot and that parking vouchers are provided. The restroom is at the entrance from the underground parking lot into the market.