We attempted to investigate antibacterial and proteolytic activities of bacteria isolated from three ethnic fermented seafoods in the east coast of South Korea, gajami sikhae, squid jeotgal, and fermented jinuari (Grateloupia filicina). Bacillus cereus ATCC 14579, Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 15313, Staphylococcus aureus KCTC 1916, Escherichia coli O157:H7 ATCC 43895, and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium ATCC 4931 were selected to determine the antibacterial activity of the bacterial isolates. Among 233 isolates from the three foods, 36 isolates (15.5%) showed antibacterial activity against B. cereus ATCC 14579, the highest incidence of inhibition, followed by S. aureus KCTC 1916 (7.7%) and L. monocytogenes ATCC 15313 (6.0%). However, only five and three strains among the isolates exhibited inhibitory activity against Gram-negative indicators, E. coli ATCC 43895 and Sal. enterica ATCC 4931, respectively. The proteolytic activity of the isolates was determined via hydrolysis of skim milk after 24, 48, and 72 h incubation. After 72 h incubation, 72 out of 233 isolates (30.9%) showed proteolytic activity, and the isolates of fermented jinuari exhibited the highest incidence of proteolytic activity (60%, 36 isolates). These results suggest that ethnic fermented seafoods in the east coast of South Korea might be a promising source of bacterial strains producing antibacterial and proteolytic compounds.