Source: https://heyseorak.com/spots/poco-a-poco
Last-Updated: 2026-04-26

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# Poco a Poco (포코아포코)

> Say the romanized name when ordering. Staff will understand even if your pronunciation isn't perfect.

Category: cafe | Type: eat | Area: tourist_fishery_market | Price range: moderate
Address: 1F, 2 Subok-ro 201beon-gil, Sokcho, Gangwon
Phone: 0507-1472-4550
Hours: Mon–Thu 11:00–21:20, Fri–Sat 11:00–23:20, Sun 11:00–21:20 (Open later on Friday and Saturday nights. A short walk from the Sokcho Public Parking lot.)
English menu available: Yes

## Trust and freshness
- Verification: interview / 2026-04-24
- Menu freshness: updated 2026-04-24T08:30:05.911+00:00

A small handmade gelato shop a block from Sokcho's public parking lot, where a Goseong-born owner churns her own flavors using organic dairy, triple-washed produce, and not a single artificial additive. The syrup is boiled down from scratch every morning, the fruit is whatever's peaking that week, and the signature flavor — a makgeolli gelato made from rice grown just up the coast — is the one regulars come back for.

Pro tip: The Sokcho Makgeolli scoop is the one flavor you won't find anywhere else in Korea — it's made with makgeolli brewed from Goseong rice, and it's strictly for adults. The flavor list rotates with the season; ask what's new that week. If you're taking gelato back to the hotel, the 1+1 box set saves up to ₩6,000 over buying the boxes separately.

## Story

### How it started
She was born in Goseong, grew up in Sokcho, and has lived on this coast her whole life. Before gelato she worked in fashion retail, then stepped away for a few years to raise her kids. When she came back to work, she wanted to build something of her own — something that would stand in one spot long enough for returning travelers to find it again. Poco a Poco opened in March 2022, originally with a business partner; she now runs it solo, scooping every cone herself.

### Philosophy
Her rule is simple and uncompromising: zero artificial additives. No stabilizers, no emulsifiers, no pre-made pastes. The milk comes from an organic dairy. The fruit is either pesticide-free or certified organic, and every piece gets rinsed under filtered water at least three times before it goes in the churn. She boils her sugar syrups down from scratch every morning and adjusts the sweetness by hand, so the base tastes different from one batch to the next. 'Because there are no additives at all,' she says, 'the texture of each ingredient comes through in its own way' — some flavors silky, some almost icy, each one a portrait of its raw material.

### Signature
The one flavor that brings people back is the Sokcho Makgeolli gelato. The rice is grown in Goseong, the makgeolli is brewed from that rice, and the result is a gelato that tastes unmistakably of this coast — lightly sweet, faintly yeasty, with a cloudy depth you can't fake. It's the rare flavor that reads 'local' on the first spoonful. She puts an 'adults only' label on it for a reason: enough alcohol survives the churn to matter.

### Finding the place
After a cone, walk ten minutes to Lake Yeongnangho. The owner's favorite spot in the whole city — she says the Seoraksan ridgeline is visible from every angle of the lake, and the view doesn't get old no matter how many times you see it. The shop itself sits a short walk from the Sokcho public parking lot, which makes it an easy stop between the central market and Cheongchoho.

### Seasonal notes
The flavor board rotates all year. Spring gets tender young mugwort (ssuk) gelato and, a little later, chamoe (Korean melon) when the melons hit peak sweetness. Summer is sorbet season — strawberry and apple-mango year-round, then peach, plum, nectarine, and watermelon come and go as each fruit comes into its moment. Fall and winter lean into warmer, roastier flavors like black sesame and pistachio. Ask what's new; something usually is.

### For international visitors
One memory she keeps coming back to: a foreign guest came in with his Korean girlfriend, filmed the entire churning process on his phone, bought the same flavor three times in a row, and then waited fifteen minutes for a freshly made batch just so he could taste it straight from the machine. She doesn't speak much English, but she says the scoop itself usually does the talking. Families with twin siblings seem to find the shop at an unusually high rate — she's lost count.

> 인공첨가물 자체가 아예 안 들어가다 보니까 재료들마다 가지고 있는 질감 특징이 되게 달라요 — 'Since no artificial additives go in, each ingredient comes through in its own texture.'

## Dietary Summary
- Total menu items: 37
- Vegan options: 7
- Common allergens: milk, gluten, egg, nuts, sesame

## Menu

### Gelato Flavors (젤라또 맛)

- **Sok-cho Mak-geol-li** (속초 막걸리 (미성년자 X)) — ⭐ Signature
  The house signature. Made with makgeolli brewed from rice grown in Goseong — lightly sweet, faintly yeasty, cloudy and unmistakably local. Contains alcohol; not served to minors.
  Ingredients: organic milk, Goseong rice makgeolli | Allergens: milk, gluten | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box. Contains alcohol — adults only.
- **Gang-won-do Gam-ja** (강원도 감자)
  A quietly local flavor built on Gangwon-grown potato — gentle, starchy-sweet, with the kind of earthy comfort that only comes from a root vegetable in cream.
  Ingredients: organic milk, Gangwon potato | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Geu-rik Yo-geo-teu** (그릭 요거트 (유기농))
  Tart, thick, and clean — made from organic Greek yogurt with nothing artificial to mask the tang.
  Ingredients: organic Greek yogurt, organic milk | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Mal-cha** (말차 / 제주 녹차)
  Matcha made with Jeju-grown green tea — deeply grassy, a little bitter, rounded out by organic milk.
  Ingredients: organic milk, Jeju matcha | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Saeng-ttal-gi-u-yu** (생딸기우유)
  Fresh strawberries mashed into organic milk gelato. No syrups, no purées — just whole fruit and dairy.
  Ingredients: fresh strawberry, organic milk | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Saeng-min-teu-cho-ko-chip** (생민트초코칩)
  Real mint leaves — not extract — blended into an organic milk base and studded with dark chocolate chips. Cooling and herbal, not toothpaste-y.
  Ingredients: organic milk, fresh mint, dark chocolate chips | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Ttal-gi So-reu-be** (딸기 소르베)
  Dairy-free. Pure strawberry and house-boiled cane syrup — bright, tart, and clean.
  Ingredients: strawberry, cane syrup | Dietary: Vegan | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box. Dairy-free.
- **Ae-peul-mang-go So-reu-be** (애플망고 소르베)
  Dairy-free. Perfumed, honey-sweet apple mango with nothing but fruit and syrup. Tastes like biting into a ripe mango straight from the fridge.
  Ingredients: apple mango, cane syrup | Dietary: Vegan | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box. Dairy-free.
- **Sok-cho-ba-da So-geum-keo-pi** (속초바다 소금커피)
  Espresso-deep coffee gelato finished with a pinch of Sokcho sea salt — a local twist that amplifies the coffee rather than competing with it.
  Ingredients: organic milk, espresso, Sokcho sea salt | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box. Contains caffeine.
- **Sol-ti-deu Ka-ra-mel** (솔티드 카라멜)
  Caramel cooked down from scratch every morning — buttery, bittersweet, with just enough salt to keep it grown-up.
  Ingredients: organic milk, caramel, sea salt | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Seu-teu-ra-chi-a-tel-la** (스트라치아텔라 (핑크초코칩))
  Italian classic done the Poco a Poco way — clean organic milk gelato threaded with shards of pink chocolate. Milky, snappy, a little playful.
  Ingredients: organic milk, pink chocolate chips | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Yu-gi-nong Ssal-bap** (유기농 쌀밥)
  A gelato made from organic Korean rice — nutty, gently sweet, and weirdly comforting. One of those flavors that sounds unusual and tastes like home.
  Ingredients: organic milk, organic Korean rice | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Eo-rin Ssuk** (어린 쑥)
  Spring-only in spirit. Made with young mugwort (ssuk) — grassy, faintly bitter, deeply Korean. Tastes like the first warm week of March.
  Ingredients: organic milk, young mugwort | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box. Strongest in spring.
- **Cho-ko-o-re-o** (초코오레오)
  Dark chocolate gelato with crushed Oreo cookies folded in — the crowd-pleaser, especially with younger visitors.
  Ingredients: organic milk, dark chocolate, Oreo cookies | Allergens: milk, gluten | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Cho-ko-cho-ko** (초코초코)
  For the chocolate maximalist — deep cocoa on a chocolate base, with no fruit or novelty getting in the way.
  Ingredients: organic milk, dark chocolate, cocoa | Allergens: milk | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Ku-keu-da-seu** (쿠크다스)
  A nostalgic Korean take — gelato flavored like the iconic Couque d'Asse wafer cookie. Light, buttery, and vanilla-laced.
  Ingredients: organic milk, Couque d'Asse wafers | Allergens: milk, gluten | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Pi-seu-ta-chi-o** (피스타치오)
  Real pistachio, ground in-house — rich, a little savory, and the color that actual pistachios are (not neon green).
  Ingredients: organic milk, pistachio | Allergens: milk, nuts | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.
- **Heuk-im-ja** (흑임자)
  Roasted black sesame ground into the base — toasty, faintly smoky, with the gentle bitterness that makes this flavor unforgettable.
  Ingredients: organic milk, black sesame | Allergens: milk, sesame | Serving: Pick as part of a cup or take-home box.

### Gelato — Cup (젤라또 — 컵)

- **Keop (Han-ga-ji Mat)** (컵 (1가지 맛)) — ₩5,000
  A single scoop of any house flavor, served in a cup. Comes with a small taste-scoop on the side so you can sample one more.
  Serving: Includes one bonus taste-scoop.
- **Keop (Du-ga-ji Mat)** (컵 (2가지 맛)) — ₩6,500
  Two scoops, two flavors, one cup. Comes with a bonus taste-scoop so you can squeeze in a third.
  Serving: Includes one bonus taste-scoop.

### Gelato — Take-Home Box (젤라또 — 박스포장)

- **Bak-seu S** (박스 S (500g, 3가지 맛)) — ₩19,000
  A 500g take-home box with three flavors of your choice. Great for two to three people sharing back at the hotel.
  Serving: Pick 3 flavors from the current board.
- **Bak-seu M** (박스 M (700g, 4가지 맛)) — ₩25,000
  A 700g take-home box with four flavors. The sweet spot for a small family trip.
  Serving: Pick 4 flavors from the current board.
- **Bak-seu L** (박스 L (1000g, 4가지 맛)) — ₩32,000
  A full 1kg take-home box with four flavors. Bring an insulated bag if the drive is long.
  Serving: Pick 4 flavors from the current board.

### Gelato — 1+1 Set (젤라또 — 1+1 세트)

- **Il-deo-ra-gi-il Se-teu S+S** (1+1 세트 S+S (500g×2, 6가지 맛)) — ₩36,000
  Two S boxes — pick six flavors total. Saves ₩2,000 compared with two Box S orders.
  Serving: Pick 6 flavors. ₩2,000 discount vs. buying two boxes separately.
- **Il-deo-ra-gi-il Se-teu M+M** (1+1 세트 M+M (700g×2, 8가지 맛)) — ₩47,000
  Two M boxes — eight flavors total. Saves ₩3,000 compared with two Box M orders.
  Serving: Pick 8 flavors. ₩3,000 discount vs. buying two boxes separately.
- **Il-deo-ra-gi-il Se-teu L+L** (1+1 세트 L+L (1000g×2, 8가지 맛)) — ₩58,000
  Two full L boxes — eight flavors total, 2kg of gelato. The biggest discount: ₩6,000 off vs. buying two boxes separately.
  Serving: Pick 8 flavors. ₩6,000 discount vs. buying two boxes separately.

### Coffee (커피)

- **A-me-ri-ka-no** (아메리카노) — ₩3,500
  A clean espresso-based Americano — the house's gelato-friendly palate cleanser.
  Ingredients: espresso, water | Dietary: Vegan | Serving: Hot or iced.
- **Yu-gi-nong U-yu Ka-pe-ra-tte** (유기농 우유 카페라떼) — ₩4,500
  Espresso with the same organic milk that goes into the gelato — creamy, round, and not over-sweetened.
  Ingredients: espresso, organic milk | Allergens: milk | Serving: Hot or iced.
- **Yu-gi-nong U-yu Ba-nil-la-ra-tte** (유기농 우유 바닐라라떼) — ₩5,000
  Organic milk latte with real vanilla — the sweet-tooth option without the artificial flavoring.
  Ingredients: espresso, organic milk, vanilla | Allergens: milk | Serving: Hot or iced.

### Bakery (베이커리)

- **Bel-gi-e Wa-peul** (벨기에 와플) — ₩4,000
  A crisp Belgian-style waffle — pairs beautifully with a scoop of gelato on top if you ask.
  Ingredients: flour, butter, egg | Allergens: milk, gluten, egg
- **Keu-rim-chi-jeu Peu-re-jeul** (크림치즈 프레즐) — ₩4,000
  A soft pretzel filled with cream cheese — salty, savory, and a nice foil to the sweet gelato board.
  Ingredients: flour, cream cheese | Allergens: milk, gluten
- **Mal-len-ka Jo-gak Ke-i-keu** (말렌카 조각 케이크) — ₩6,500
  A slice of Marlenka — the layered honey cake from the Czech Republic. Soft, honeyed, and rich. An unexpectedly good pairing with black sesame or pistachio gelato.
  Ingredients: honey, flour, walnut | Allergens: milk, gluten, egg, nuts

### Beverage (음료)

- **A-i-seu-ti (Bok-sung-a)** (아이스티 (복숭아)) — ₩3,000
  A classic peach iced tea — chilled and refreshing.
  Ingredients: peach tea | Dietary: Vegan
- **A-syat-chu Bok-sung-a** (아샷추 복숭아 (+커피)) — ₩3,700
  The Korean 'a-shot-chu' — peach iced tea with a shot of espresso added. Fruit-sweet on top, coffee-bitter on the finish.
  Ingredients: peach tea, espresso | Serving: Contains caffeine.
- **Re-mon-ti / Ja-mong-ti** (레몬티 / 자몽티) — ₩4,000
  A hot or iced citrus tea — choose lemon or grapefruit. Made with real citrus syrup.
  Ingredients: lemon, grapefruit, honey | Dietary: Vegan | Serving: Pick lemon or grapefruit.
- **E-i-deu** (에이드 (레몬 / 자몽 / 패션후르츠)) — ₩4,500
  A sparkling citrus ade — pick lemon, grapefruit, or passion fruit. Bright and sharp, a great palate reset between scoops.
  Ingredients: lemon, grapefruit, passion fruit, sparkling water | Dietary: Vegan | Serving: Pick lemon, grapefruit, or passion fruit.
- **So-reu-be E-i-deu** (소르베 에이드 (자몽 / 레몬 / 패션후르츠)) — ₩6,000
  Sparkling ade topped with a scoop of matching fruit sorbet — the drink and the dessert in one glass.
  Ingredients: fruit sorbet, citrus syrup, sparkling water | Dietary: Vegan | Serving: Pick grapefruit, lemon, or passion fruit. Dairy-free.