TRAVELER STORY · 강원
Written by AI from Korea Tourism Organization travel-course data. It is not a real visitor’s review, so check hours and travel times before you go.
Following the soft, nutty flavor of Chodang sundubu from a beloved tofu village to a poet’s pine forest and the waters of Gyeongpoho.
In Chodang-dong, tofu tastes less like a dish than a place: sea air, pine shade, and a bowl warm enough to slow the day.
The first thing I noticed was the smell: warm soybeans, clean broth, and a faint edge of the sea drifting through Chodang Sundubu Village, Gangneung’s celebrated tofu quarter. I had come for Chodang sundubu, soft tofu traditionally set with seawater from the East Coast, because some foods explain a region better than any monument can.
At the table, the tofu arrived pale and trembling, almost cloudlike, with a flavor that was gentle but not shy. Chodang sundubu is not just soft tofu; it is tofu shaped by saltwater, local habit, and generations of cooks who understand restraint. One spoonful tasted nutty, clean, and quietly rich.
The village offers many versions: dubu-jeongol, a bubbling tofu hot pot; modu-bu, firm block tofu served simply; and haemul-jjamppong sundubu, soft tofu in a spicy seafood noodle-soup style that speaks fluently to modern cravings. I tried the seafood-spiked version for contrast, and the bowl snapped awake with chile heat, briny shellfish flavor, and the silkiness of tofu underneath it all.
Chodang Sundubu Village is one of Gangneung’s signature food stops, built around chodang-dubu, soft tofu set with clean East Sea seawater instead of ordinary coagulant. Along its restaurant-lined lanes, travelers can taste sundubu, silky uncurdled tofu stew; dubu-jeongol, tofu hot pot; modu-bu, plain pressed tofu; and haemul-jjamppong sundubu, spicy seafood noodle-style soft tofu soup.
Steam rises from bowls, soybean warmth hangs in the air, and the village carries the plain comfort of a meal made from water, sea, and patience. Murals showing the tofu-making process add a handmade rhythm between restaurant signs and parked cars.
Come hungry, then compare each shop’s take on Chodang tofu, from mild, nutty bowls to fiery seafood versions. After eating, continue toward the Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon birthplace site, the pine grove, or Gyeongpoho Lake for an easy post-meal walk.
Heo Nanseolheon Birthplace Site in Chodang-dong preserves the memory of Heo Nanseolheon, one of the Joseon dynasty’s most gifted women writers, and her brother Heo Gyun, author of Hong Gildongjeon. Beyond the pine grove, a restored scholar-family hanok reveals raised gateways, low walls, a main hall, men’s quarters, women’s quarters, a well, and a mill, all arranged with spare precision.
After a meal of chodang dubu, Chodang-style tofu set with seawater bittern, the site feels like a pause between appetite and memory. Pine resin, packed earth, tiled roofs, and the shadow of a plum tree give the courtyard a lived-in gravity.
Walk first through the pine woods, then enter the hanok compound to notice how the narrow women’s gate and separated living areas reflect Joseon-era social space. The memorial park is always open, and the site supports stroller use and accessible travel with accessible parking, routes, restroom facilities, public transport access, audio guides, braille information, and stroller access.
Gyeongpoho Lake, a broad natural lake in Gangneung linked to the sea, has long drawn travelers for its open water, old legends, and views from nearby Gyeongpodae Pavilion. After a meal of chodang-dubu, tofu set with seawater bittern, the lakeside makes an easy walk where reeds, winter ducks, and reflected moonlight carry the story onward.
The air feels briny at the edge of the lake, with wind crossing the water from the coast and reeds scratching softly along the path. In winter, mallards and mandarin ducks gather on the surface, turning the lake into a living, rippling map.
Follow the lakeside path after visiting Chodang-dong’s tofu restaurants and watch for the migratory bird habitat in winter. Admission is free, parking is available, and fishing is prohibited because the lake is a protected natural area.
Pine needles whispered underfoot as I left the restaurants behind and walked toward Heo Nanseolheon Historic House Site, a restored hanok, or traditional Korean house, linked to one of the Joseon dynasty’s most gifted women writers. The path made the shift feel deliberate: from appetite to memory, from bowls and steam to wood, earth, and shade.
Chodang takes its name from Heo Yeop, the father of Heo Gyun, author of Hong Gildongjeon, and Heo Nanseolheon, the poet whose brilliance appeared early and burned out young. She began showing extraordinary literary talent as a child, endured a difficult life, and died at 27. After her death, her brother helped preserve part of her work in Nanseolheon-jip, a collection of her poems.
Inside the low walls and raised gate, the house felt composed rather than grand. The daechong, an open wooden hall; sarangchae, the men’s quarters; and anchae, the inner quarters, suggested a world of etiquette and separation. Yet what lingered most was not architecture. It was the thought of a young woman writing with precision inside a society that gave her so little room.
The air beneath the pine trees felt cooler on my skin, resinous and dry, a welcome counterpoint to the heat of haemul-jjamppong sundubu still glowing on my tongue. After a filling tofu meal, this is the move: walk, let the village recede, and give the body time to catch up with the senses.
Heo Nanseolheon Historic House Site is also thoughtfully accessible, with features including accessible parking, routes, restrooms, public transport access, audio guides, braille information, and stroller-friendly facilities. That matters here, because the pleasure of the place is not hidden behind effort. It is in the approach, the pine shade, the quiet yard, the pause before entering.
Hours are practical to note: the memorial park is open at all times, while the memorial hall and tea-experience hall operate 09:00–18:00 with a break from 12:00–13:00, and the traditional tea-experience hall operates 12:00–17:00. I timed my visit after lunch, when the house seemed to hold the afternoon light with particular grace.
By Gyeongpoho, the lake spread wide and reflective, its surface catching the sky in long, silvered sheets. This natural lagoon, connected to the sea, has been admired for centuries, not only for its scenery but for the stories, prehistoric traces, and literary footsteps gathered around it.
I did not try to make the lake an afterthought. It deserved its own tempo. Gyeongpoho is known as a place where nature and cultural memory sit side by side, and from Gyeongpodae Pavilion the moon reflected on the water has long been praised as one of Gangneung’s great sights.
Standing there after the tofu village and the poet’s house, I understood why the route works. The day begins with something humble and nourishing, then opens into poetry, pine, and water. Nothing shouts. Everything stays with you.
What remained was the taste of softness: tofu set by seawater, pine shade around an old house, and a lake holding light without hurry. Gangneung made nourishment feel cultural, personal, and beautifully unforced.
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