10 Great Restaurants in Yangyang

Head to Pine Mushroom Town in Yangyang and order their mushroom hotpot for an immune booster meal. You can accompany your hot soup with fried rice, porridge, or noodles. Pine mushrooms foraged from the mountains of Yangyang county are considered the best in the country.

These mushrooms are highly valued for their unique taste and health properties and are rich in vitamin B, protein, zinc, and other minerals that help improve your immune system. They’re also rare – only growing on the roots of 20- to 50-year-old pine trees and are harvested once a year in autumn.

Yeonggwangjeong Memilguksu is a family-run restaurant on the northern outskirts of Yangyang. Overlooking rice paddies and the lush countryside, the eatery specialises in various dishes prepared with locally sourced buckwheat. You can find Gangwon-style memil guksu (cold buckwheat noodles), memil jeonbyeong (stuffed buckwheat pancakes), memil mug (buckwheat jelly), and gamjajeon (potato pancakes). 

Memil guksu is a typical summer dish in the region. The noodles are served in a cold broth and topped with finely-chopped kimchi and half a hard-boiled egg. You may want to avoid lunchtime when the restaurant sees the largest crowd of the day.

Siloam Soba is a buckwheat noodle restaurant frequented by Yangyang locals and visitors looking for a delicious bowl of memil guksu. This traditional cold noodle salad is a local speciality of the Gangwon province. It consists of various ingredients, including vegetables, gochujang (hot pepper paste), and beef or pork.

The buckwheat noodles are served alongside dongchimi soup, which you pour over the noodles. Dongchimi is a mild and cold water-based kimchi broth made with white radish. This light and refreshing meal is a popular choice on hot summer days. 

Gamnamu Sikdang is a traditional Korean restaurant specialising in soups and rice porridges. Its dishes are topped with hwangtae (dried pollock), an Alaskan fish that has been alternatively dried and frozen in winter.

Must-tries include hwangtae gukbap (rice porridge and dried pollock) and hwangtae haejangguk (spicy soup seasoned with dried pollock). The latter is a popular hangover soup in South Korea. All mains comes with many Korean banchan (side dishes).

Sampalhoesjib is a popular sashimi restaurant near Jangyohaesuyokjang Beach, around 16 km south of Yangyang. When a restaurant has an aquarium with live sea creatures, it’s a good sign that you can expect fresh seafood there.

This eatery comes highly recommended by local Yangyang residents. Menu highlights include mulhoe, a refreshing and spicy raw fish soup of red pepper broth and seafood. All mains are served with a variety of side dishes and raw seafood.

Geumgangsan Daegehoesjib is a relaxed seafood restaurant overlooking the beautiful Naksan Beach. You can find a wide variety of seafood soups, side dishes, and mains on the menu. Standouts include sashimi, omchiguk (moray eel soup), king crab, and red snow crab ramen. 

Red snow crab is a unique species found in Korea’s East Sea. To get to the restaurant from Yangyang, head to the Yangyang Bus Terminal and take bus 9 or 9-1 to Naksan Beach, which is about 10 minutes away.

Yangyang Driver Restaurant is a place to go for a delicious, well-priced baekban feast in Yangyang. Baekban is the name given to a humble Korean eatery that serves home-style, value-for-money set meals. The meal consists of rice, soup, and banchan (Korean side dishes).

The side dishes and soups change every day. As the restaurant is near the coast, you can always find different kinds of grilled fish, such as flounder, mackerel, or cutlassfish. You'll find this eatery next to the Yangyang Bus Terminal. So while you wait for your bus to arrive, you can fill up with some local cuisine.

Hujin Sliced Fish Centre is a seafood restaurant overlooking the small Hujin Port, north of Seorak Beach. The dishes are made with produce caught by local fishermen.

The day’s catches are kept live in large tanks, so you can be guaranteed that the food that arrives at your table is as fresh as it gets. With your belly filled, walk off your seafood feast with a stroll along the promenade to Naksan Beach.

Memilkkochmagguksu is a neat and spacious restaurant in the centre of Yangyang. The eatery offers a variety of hearty, homemade maguksu (cold buckwheat noodles) dishes. The most popular dish on the menu is red maguksu, which is served in a cold, spicy broth of red pepper paste and raw fish. 

For a less fiery meal, consider ordering the memil guksu – a simple yet delicious dish of noodles, eggs, green onions, and seaweed. You can pair your meal with beer, soju and other Korean beverages. The service is friendly and efficient.

Masgol is a small restaurant on a coastal road in Yangyang, It's around 20 minutes by car from the town centre, directly opposite Yangyang International Airport and near Dongho Beach. You can find a variety of traditional Korean rice and noodle dishes on the menu. Highlights include kalguksu (noodle soup packed with fresh vegetables and umami flavour), komak bibimbap (rice with saltwater clams), and jang kalguksu (spicy noodle soup). 

Masgol overlooks a small beach, so grab a table near the large windows to enjoy scenic sea views. Try to avoid the lunchtime rush hour when the restaurant gets crowded with locals.