Sokcho's iconic cuisine a culinary embodiment of Korea's traumatic past

Pieces of the city’s heritage are still traceable in its culinary scene, which boasts some of the best and oldest North Korean dishes, like naengmyeon (cold noodles) and sundae (blood sausage).

Raw squid hoe at pocha (outdoor food tent) street in front of the Dongmyeong Port in Sokcho, Gangwon [JOONGANG ILBO]

Sokcho, GANGWON — Opposite high-rise apartments and concrete buildings, humble blue and orange-tiled houses dot a strip of land suspended on the ocean called Abai Village, a cluster of North Korean culture in Sokcho, Gangwon.

Comprised of displaced North Koreans who escaped to the South during the Korean War (1950-53), the community was once — and still is — an integral part of the coastal city that is now one of Korea's top summer vacation destinations.

Today, however, the community's population is quickly aging, as is the entire city; Sokcho currently has around 82,000 residents. However, pieces of the city’s heritage are still traceable in its culinary scene, which boasts some of the best and oldest North Korean dishes, like naengmyeon (cold noodles) and sundae (blood sausage).

Abai Village, inhabited by displaced North Koreans and their descendants in Sokcho, Gangwon [JOONGANG ILBO]

These storied eateries and the generations of displaced North Koreans that run them represent a fading chapter in Korea's painful modern history.

Against the backdrop of Korea's protracted division into South and North , many of Sokcho's wartime refugees from the North and their descendants have found meaning in keeping their culture and traditions alive through food in one of South Korea’s most booming tourist hubs.

The pocha (outdoor food tent) street in front of Dongmyeong Port, just about a five-minute walk from Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal, sells freshly caught squid — raw, steamed or cooked with ramyeon.

Steamed squid being prepared at the pocha street [JOONGANG ILBO]

The white top tents are relatively new, funded by the city around the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. However, the act of selling squid jjim (steamed) or hoe (raw) has existed for decades, carried on by North Korean natives in Sokcho, according to Kim Young-mi, 63, owner of one of the pocha along the port.

Pocha street [JOONGANG ILBO]

“My father-in-law, who came to Sokcho from North Korea during the war, started going to sea to catch squid and make a living,” she said. “Back then, we would lay the squid on rubber tubs and sell them crouching on the ground.”

Over a dozen pocha line the port, but they all sell the same dishes at the same prices. Squid hoe (15,000 won) is a must-try delicacy in Sokcho. The raw squid is skinned and sliced into thin strings with a subtle sweetness and a pleasantly chewy texture.

Dancheon Sikdang at Abai Village was founded in the 1970s by Yoon Bok-ja, 85, who followed her uncle to Sokcho during the Korean War from Dancheon, Hamgyong Province.

Sundae gukbap (Korean blood sausage soup with rice) at Dancheon Sikdang in Sokcho, Gangwon [LEE JIAN]

It is best known for its sundae gukbap (10,000 won), Korean blood sausage soup with rice. Served bubbling inside an earthenware bowl, the gukbap contains slightly gamey pork parts and sundae, topped with scoops of perilla seed powder and chili oil.

Yoon wasn’t in the kitchen when the Korea JoongAng Daily visited. However, one of her longtime employees said the restaurant's recipes originate from Yoon’s memories of her hometown, where locals traditionally made sundae with the leftover meat and innards of slaughtered pigs.

“The food here is how she remembers it to be back in her hometown.”

Monyeo Garibi is a hole-in-wall eatery by Daepo Port. Despite its size, it draws crowds for the nurungji squid sundae (15,000 won or $11).

The dish consists of cooked squid stuffed with fried rice, sliced horizontally in the shape of sundae, and then pan-fried to create the crispy nurungji, otherwise known as scorched rice.

Squid sundae is an iconic dish in Sokcho, a product of the cuisine of North Korea’s Hamgyong Province and Sokcho’s confluence of squid.

The eatery offers takeout, and there are plenty of sitting spaces by Daepo Port. Daepohang Huimang-gil, a promenade along the East Sea coast, about 10 minutes away by foot, offers expansive sea views with benches as well.

Nurungji squid sundae at Moyeo Garibi by Daepo Port in Sokcho, Gangwon [LEE JIAN]

Hamhung Naengmyeonok, just outside Abai Village, is a 73-year-old noodle joint that claims to be South Korea’s first-ever Hamhung naengmyeon restaurant.

Hamhung naegmyeon originates from Hamhung, the second-most populous city in North Korea. Unlike Pyongyang naengmyeon, which has a mild flavor with a strong meat aroma and thick buckwheat noodles, Hamhung naengmyeon has a much stronger, vinegary, sweet and spicy taste with thinner noodles made with potato starch.

Squid sundae, a staple in Sokcho, can also be coated with egg and then pan-cooked [JOONGANG ILBO]

On a recent Sunday, Kim and some other ladies from the squid pocha street were coaxing a 30-something foreign backpacker to their tents. They smiled warmly, waved their arms and shouted “Big squid!” and “Come, come!” in English.

She wasn’t able to draw in this particular tourist but said that she gets many people from abroad as well as locals. “They like squid jjim with somaek [beer and soju mix].

“It makes me happy seeing people enjoy our culture and food. It reminds me that it all still matters.”

BY LEE JIAN [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]