Dog-friendly tofu restaurant near Seorak Waterpia in Sokcho: Jinsol

A few days ago the cool wind made me itch to just get in the car and go, so after work I drove to Sokcho. It's one of Gangwon's top travel spots, and whenever I visit I like to have sundubu (soft tofu stew) for lunch. Before heading up Seoraksan, I stopped for lunch at Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu, a sundubu restaurant near Seorak Waterpia in Sokcho.

My first plan was naengmyeon-style makguksu, but with the chilly wind I went back and forth and finally decided — let's go get warm Chodang sundubu instead.

Where is Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu, and where do you park?

Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu is at 118 Wonamhaksapyeong-gil, Sokcho-si, Gangwon, in the neighborhood down and to the left just before you reach the entrance to Seorak Waterpia. It's open 7:30–20:00, so breakfast is possible, and it's a pet-friendly restaurant.

When you arrive, you can park right in front of the restaurant. There's also a large parking space next to the building big enough for tour buses, so it looks like group reservations would work here too. As I turned on my blinker and pulled in, a staff member came out to direct me to a spot — made parking easy. You know a restaurant is good when there's someone directing parking, right? Because it means lunchtime gets busy.

Inside Jinsol Halmeoni Sundubu and the dog-friendly room

Through the door there's a space up front where you can wait or have a cup of tea after your meal. The main dining hall is very spacious, and every table has that plastic tablecloth you often see at seafood restaurants — I liked how hygienic that felt. The owner greeted us with a warm smile.

This is also a pet-friendly restaurant, and there was another pet visiting while I was there too. If you come with a pet, there's a separate pet seating area with its own door.

Ordering Chodang sundubu, the bulgogi set meal and modubu

We ordered Chodang sundubu, the bulgogi set meal, and modubu (firm pressed tofu). Side dishes came first to whet the appetite — stir-fried anchovies, seaweed stem, buckwheat pancake, cucumber salad, all dishes I love 😊 You could feel the care put into them. Every single one was worth reaching for, so we ate our way through all of them evenly. If you run out, there's a self-serve corner, and we refilled the stir-fried anchovies and seaweed stem. Suited my taste perfectly haha.

Bulgogi set meal cooked at the table on a burner

The bulgogi set meal came out first. Out came the burner 👏👏👏 Wait, this is one serving?? Glass noodles, mushrooms, vegetables — I had no idea a bulgogi set could look like this. Cooking it fresh at the table meant it stayed hot and delicious right to the last bite. Highly recommend the bulgogi set if you're dining with kids.

Sweet-and-salty bulgogi, the soul food of Korea — that classic bulgogi flavor we all love. The meat was thick-cut but tender and never chewy, and with a good amount of broth left over, mixing it into rice made the bowl disappear fast. Ended up ordering an extra bowl of rice haha 🍚🍚 And now for today's star — the Chodang sundubu makes its entrance, milky broth and tofu.

How did the Chodang sundubu taste?

The Chodang sundubu is the white version, with soft, crumbly tofu that melts away like snow. The first taste is mild, but a touch of seasoning comes through at the end — you really get that clean, deep tofu flavor ❤️ If it's too bland you can add soy sauce, and I enjoyed about half in its natural state and drowned the other half in soy sauce haha. With the saltiness added it tasted right, but after two or three spoonfuls I found myself missing that first plain taste... next time I'll go easy on the soy sauce 😅

Modubu and stir-fried kimchi

Then the modubu arrived — wow, this place is generous with everything. Three thick, hearty pieces of tofu with stir-fried kimchi on the side. The kimchi had a pleasant tang, and the modubu, though rustic-looking with visible tofu texture, had a nutty flavor to enjoy. By this point I was getting full — the portions were huge. A bite of the stir-fried kimchi cleared the palate, and somehow there was still room for more haha.

Breakfast or lunch before heading to Seoraksan

After finishing a filling, satisfying tofu meal, we headed off toward Seoraksan. There were photos and writing about Seorak on the restaurant wall — such a beautiful mountain. Near Waterpia, serving Chodang sundubu from breakfast onward, this is a solid sundubu spot in Sokcho.