Most tourists visit Sokcho to climb Seoraksan. But what do you do when you're only in town for less than 24 hours? The five-day weekend everyone was anticipating finally arrived last Friday. Since it was the closest thing we had to a Spring Break, I sought out any opportunity to finally leave Seoul and explore other parts of Korea.
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| 18,100원 one-way |
My friend Edgar decided to tag along. Sunday morning, he and I headed over to the Express Bus Terminal to see if we could get two tickets to Sokcho, a popular beach town on the east coast.
Normally, people book their tickets online and because it was a holiday weekend, tickets were selling out fast. Still, we took a shot in the dark and were ultimately rewarded with seats for an 11:00 AM trip.
Since this was another one of those trips we embarked on spontaneously, we had no idea what Sokcho had to offer for tourists (still don't). I, for one, only knew that the town existed because EXO visited it on an episode of EXO's Showtime. So... what'd we end up doing here? Three things:
1. Get tan at Sokcho Beach • 속초해변
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| It was sunny the next day... |
Because Sokcho is a beach town, many people go here in order to show off their chiseled bodies. Sokcho Beach is the most popular one because (1) it is named after the town and (2) is approximately fifty feet away from the bus terminal everyone gets off at. Apparently though, the city doesn't officially open it until July... which we found out from joint-numbing water. Still, that doesn't stop people hanging around.
2. Eat seafood at Daepohang Port • 대포항
Daepohang is where Marine Guesthouse—the lovely hostel we stayed at—is located. It is also home to a fish market where you can enjoy the dopest of the dope, freshest of the fresh seafood. It was here where I discovered one of my new favorite foods of all time: 오징어순대 (ojingeosundae; stuffed squid).
3. Watch the sun rise at Seorak Sunrise Park • 설악해맞이공원
Having lived on the West Coast for my entire life, this was my first time ever visiting the east coast of any country. Thus, it was only appropriate to watch the sunrise.
Edgar and I woke up at exactly 5 AM and immediately jogged a third of a kilometer to the park where we waited in the bitter cold for twenty minutes. On the horizon, it looked cloudy and I was beginning to fear that the haze would prevent us from seeing the sun.
But then, just like the baby sun from the Teletubbies, a glimmer of light no bigger than a speck of dust peaked above the water and I think I literally started to cry. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
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