A Table Raised by West Sea Tidal Flats and Currents: The Taste of Soy-Marinated Crab, Grilled Tongue Sole and Blue Crab Stew

At 470 Geumgang-ro in Gaejeong-myeon, on the way into Gunsan, is Gyegok Garden, with 400 seats and parking for 100 cars. Female West Coast blue crabs full of roe are aged in soy sauce simmered with about ten medicinal herbs such as angelica root and licorice. It serves the resulting soy-marinated blue crab set meal, not salty and gently sweet, along with spicy marinated crab and spicy blue crab stew, 11:00–21:30 all year.

Gungjeon Kkotgejang Main Branch at 24-5 Gungpo 1-ro in Jochon-dong, east of downtown, is another stop you cannot leave out of a Gunsan crab tour. It is open 10:00–21:30 all year round, with 240 seats and a free parking lot. It serves the Gungjeon soy-marinated blue crab set meal and spicy marinated crab with neat side dishes.

If you want a crab meal during an old downtown walk without driving out of town, Hanjuok at 31 Guyeong 2-gil is a good choice. It sits in the alley between the Modern History Museum and Chowon Photo Studio, so it fits naturally into a walking route.

Open 11:00–21:00 all year round, it serves a savory blue crab set meal along with a marinated king prawn set meal with a firm, bouncy texture. The 1st and 2nd floors together seat more than 100 people, which makes it handy for family travelers at lunch or dinner.

Along with blue crab, another star of Gunsan's sea table is the tongue sole, a sea fish of the tonguefish family in the flatfish order. Its skin is thin and it has few small bones, so when grilled or steamed, its mild, nutty flesh is excellent.

Namdo Bapsang on Seonyudo Island (79 Seonyubuk-gil) in the Gogunsan Islands lets you try a Gunsan grilled tongue sole set meal and Seonyudo Island littleneck clam knife-cut noodle soup during your island trip. It is open all year round, 09:00–19:30 on weekdays and 08:30–20:00 on weekends. It feeds everyone from travelers who reach the island early in the morning to walkers who get hungry around sunset.

A big advantage is that all four are open all year round, with no day-of-week limits. If a large parking lot and plenty of seats come first, as for a tour bus or a large family gathering, Gyegok Garden on Geumgang-ro (400 seats) or Gungjeon Kkotgejang Main Branch in Jochon-dong (240 seats) suits you.

If you are walking the old downtown alleys, try blue crab and king prawns at Hanjuok on Guyeong 2-gil. If you are on a Gogunsan Islands drive or a No. 99 bus trip, order grilled tongue sole and clam knife-cut noodle soup at Namdo Bapsang on Seonyudo Island. That makes for the smoothest route.