Source: https://heyseorak.com/spots/kim-song-sun-amai-jeotgal Last-Updated: 2026-10-24 --- # Kim Song-sun Amai Jeotgal (김송순아마이젓갈) Category: shop | Type: shop | Area: abai | Price range: moderate Address: 1F, 82 Cheongho-ro, Sokcho, Gangwon Phone: 0507-1336-1293 Hours: Mon–Sun 10:00–17:00 English menu available: Yes ## Trust and freshness - Verification: interview / 2026-10-21 - Menu freshness: updated 2026-10-24T13:36:54.283+00:00 Kim Song-sun Amai Jeotgal is a third-generation fermented seafood shop in Sokcho's Abai Village. It carries the name of the grandmother who settled here after fleeing Hamgyeong Province during the Korean War. Fish left from her daily sales became the flounder sikhae she shared with neighbors, then a product people came to buy. Flounder fermented with millet and chili remains the family's signature. Expect tang, salt, and a pronounced fermented aroma. The shop invites you to taste before choosing a tub to take away. Pro tip: Try the flounder sikhae before buying: 500g is ₩16,000 and 1kg is ₩30,000 on the photographed list. Taste first, select your tubs from the freezer, and bring them to the staff for insulated packing. Gift boxes use 220g tubs; ask for product prices before choosing a set, as the list gives packaging surcharges only. Gift packaging is available for 220g tubs only: a three-slot or five-slot box adds ₩3,000; a paper bag adds ₩2,000. These are packaging surcharges, not total set prices. Open daily 10:00–17:00. Naver lists free parking, reservations, Wi-Fi, takeaway and delivery. Ask the shop about delivery coverage and transport conditions. Use the main listed address, 1F, 82 Cheongho-ro; an older directions paragraph says 81, so contact the shop if needed. ## Story ### How it started Kim Song-sun arrived in Sokcho among families displaced from the north during the Korean War. In Abai Village, many expected their stay to be temporary. She made a living buying fish through the fisheries cooperative and carrying it on her head to sell from early morning. What remained became sikhae, the fermented fish she knew from home. Neighbors shared it, word spread, and people began asking to buy it. The third-generation operator returned to Sokcho at 27 after working in performance planning in Seoul. The day after arriving, they built a website and began selling online, giving customers farther away a way to order the family's food. In 2015, Sokcho City recognized Kim Song-sun as a local specialty master in flounder sikhae. ### Philosophy The family makes its own sikhae and pollock roe products. For sikhae, fish is salted and washed before millet, chili, and other seasonings are added. Fermentation then develops the sourness and aroma that define it. Some customers are children of families displaced from the north, returning for a food they remember from home. ### Signature Start with Ga-ja-mi Sik-hae, the shop's best-selling flounder product. The operator describes a process of cleaning, salting, washing, and seasoning, followed by roughly 15 to 30 days of maturation. Millet ferments alongside the fish. The resulting flavor is tangy, salty, and distinctly pungent, so tasting a little first is a useful way to decide whether it suits you. ### Finding the place Taste the products you are interested in, then choose your tubs from the freezer and bring them in a basket to the staff for packing. The photographed product list offers 500g and 1kg sizes. Basic packing uses an ice pack with an insulated box or bag. Ask the staff about storage and transport for your onward journey. ### For international visitors The operator recalls demonstrating and serving sikhae to around 20 European chefs at an event organized by a cultural foundation. Familiarity with foods such as anchovies gave the visitors a starting point for asking about fish fermentation. In-store tasting is advertised, but a regular interpreted workshop has not yet been launched. Show the Korean product name and the pack size you want when buying. ## What's for sale ### Sikhae (식해류) - **Ga-ja-mi Sik-hae** (가자미식해; English: Flounder Fermented with Millet) — 500g (500g) ₩16,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩30,000 ⭐ Signature The family's signature flounder sikhae, fermented with millet and chili. Tangy, salty, and distinctly pungent; try a little before choosing a pack. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Myeong-tae Sik-hae** (명태식해; English: Fermented Pollock with Grain) — 500g (500g) ₩16,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩30,000 Pollock prepared as sikhae, a fermented fish product made by the family. A second way to explore the shop's northern Korean food tradition. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Haet-tte-gi Sik-hae** (햇떼기식해; English: Fermented Fish with Grain) — 500g (500g) ₩16,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩30,000 A family-made sikhae sold under the local name Haet-tte-gi. Ask staff which fish is used before choosing. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. ### Jeotgal & Seasoned Seafood (젓갈류) - **Teuk Myeong-ran Jeot-gal** (특명란젓갈; English: Special Salted Pollock Roe) — 500g (500g) ₩19,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩37,000 One of the family's three pollock roe products, listed as Teuk (special). Ask staff how it differs from the regular and white varieties. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Baek Myeong-ran Jeot-gal** (백명란젓갈; English: White Salted Pollock Roe) — 500g (500g) ₩20,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩39,000 The family's Baek (white) pollock roe product. The name alone does not establish its seasoning, salt level, or use of additives. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Il-ban Myeong-ran Jeot-gal** (일반명란젓갈; English: Regular Salted Pollock Roe) — 500g (500g) ₩17,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩32,000 The family's regular pollock roe product. Compare it with the special and white varieties when tasting. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Tong Myeol-chi Jeot-gal** (통멸치젓갈; English: Salted Whole Anchovies) — 500g (500g) ₩16,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩30,000 Whole anchovies sold as jeotgal, a salted seafood product to take home. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **O-jing-eo Jeot-gal** (오징어젓갈; English: Salted Squid) — 500g (500g) ₩14,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩25,000 Squid jeotgal, one of the shop's seafood products available in two pack sizes. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Nak-ji Jeot-gal** (낙지젓갈; English: Salted Octopus) — 500g (500g) ₩15,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩27,000 Octopus jeotgal, packed for takeaway in a 500g or 1kg tub. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Chang-nan Jeot-gal** (창난젓갈; English: Salted Pollock Innards) — 500g (500g) ₩15,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩27,000 Pollock innards prepared as jeotgal. Show the Korean name when asking to taste this variety. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Cheong-eo-al Jeot-gal** (청어알젓갈; English: Salted Herring Roe) — 500g (500g) ₩14,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩25,000 Herring roe jeotgal, sold by pack weight for takeaway. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Kkol-ttu-gi Jeot-gal** (꼴뚜기젓갈; English: Salted Small Squid) — 500g (500g) ₩13,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩25,000 Small squid jeotgal, with 500g and 1kg packs listed on the photographed menu. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport. - **Myeong-tae Hoe-mu-chim** (명태회무침; English: Seasoned Pollock) — 500g (500g) ₩13,000 / 1kg (1kg) ₩25,000 A seasoned pollock product listed as myeongtae hoe-muchim. Ask staff about preparation; the name is not a confirmation that it is raw. Note: Choose 500g or 1kg. Ask staff about full ingredients, allergens, storage, and transport.