10 Best Local South Korean Food to Try in Yangyang

Maguksu is a cold buckwheat noodle dish locals eat primarily during the summer months. The combination of thick and chewy buckwheat noodles, fresh vegetables, and gochujang (hot pepper paste) in a chilled, refreshing beef broth makes it a popular dish to beat the summer heat.

There are numerous variations to the dish, with each restaurant serving its unique maguksu version. Some restaurants may add chicken, beef, pork, potato pancakes, or even mung bean pancakes to the dish. Buckwheat grows in the highlands of Gangwon Province. And contrary to its name, the grain isn’t related to wheat and is therefore gluten-free.

Gamja ongsimi is a traditional dumpling soup made with potatoes and vegetables. Yangyang locals prepare the soup by grating potatoes and then mixing it with potato starch to create a dough. The dough is then divided into small chunks and hand-rolled into balls. 

The potato balls, along with various vegetables such as zucchini, shiitake mushrooms, and chilli peppers, are boiled in an anchovy broth. The nourishing dish is often topped with seaweed flakes, green onions, sesame seeds, and julienned egg crepe.

Ojingeo sundae, translated as 'squid sausage', is a local speciality and street food of Gangwon Province. The sundae consists of fresh squid tubes stuffed with chopped up tentacles, vegetables, and glass noodles. Some restaurants add pieces of pork or other meat to their squid sundaes. Be sure to ask beforehand if you're a non-meat eater.

This traditional food is popular with hungry beachgoers looking for a delicious takeaway meal after spending a few hours splashing around in the water.

Mulhoe is a freezing cold soup made with hoe, or raw fish – popular among locals in Gangwon Province. In the Yangyang region, it can get scorching hot during summer. Fortunately, this delicious Korean bowl of sweet and spicy mulhoe is a treat that can help cool you down.

The fish, and all kinds of different seafood, are chopped and added to a tangy red pepper broth. The broth is then garnished with various colourful fruit and vegetables, such as pears, onions, carrots, and cucumbers. Crispy, refreshing and highly nutritious, it's the perfect dish to eat in summer. A bonus is that the soup is also great after a night of heavy drinking.

Sanchae jeongsik is a set meal consisting of various dishes made from wild-growing roots, shoots, and vegetables collected and foraged from the mountains of Gangwon Province. This local meal is an excellent option if you're on a plant-based diet. 

Dishes vary from restaurant to restaurant, but you can expect food such as bean sprouts, lettuce, spinach, mushrooms, pumpkin squash, and grilled and sliced deodeok root. The meal comes with rice. Locals like to mix all the vegetables with the rice to make a delicious bibimbap bowl. 

Seop means 'mussel' in the dialect of Gangwon Province, and guk is the Korean word for 'soup'. This mussel soup is made by boiling locally harvested mussels with chives, soybean paste, gochujang (hot pepper paste), and an egg. 

It's highly recommended to try this dish when visiting Yangyang as it's not readily available in other regions of South Korea. According to locals, seopguk is one of the healthiest dishes to order. 

Saengseon hoe is fresh raw fish. In a coastal town like Yangyang, it’s natural for fresh seafood to be one of the best local foods to try on any visit. The raw seafood is usually served sliced or cubed with hot dipping sauces such as gochujang (hot pepper paste) and ssamjang (hot pepper paste mixed with soybean paste and spices).

Locals usually take a crispy lettuce leaf and make a tiny hot sauce wrap. After eating sashimi, some restaurants serve guests an additional dish called maeuntang (spicy fish stew).

Hwangtae jeongsik is a traditional Korean set meal where the main dish is a spicy fish soup made with hwangtae. Hwangtae is Alaska pollock hung from wooden stands in open-air fields and left to freeze-dry over several months. The resulting fish is tender, fluffy, and rich in flavour. 

While hwangtae is Korea’s national fish and is prepared all over the country, the harsh climate and bitterly cold wind in the mountainous areas of Gangwon Province make this region especially good for making this dish.