Sometimes, arriving at 2am is perfect.

After catching a late-night bus from Seoul to Sokcho, Kiwi and I arrived at what felt like a late hour – until we saw more lights and neon than some areas of Seoul. The jovial beach area – combined with some younger vacationers – meant the place was surprisingly active long after the sun went down. The standard Western carnival games were around – everything from the classic basketball toss to BB gun shooting – and were pretty popular.

 

A central shot of the main plaza. Stand here, and the beach is mere meters ahead; the bus terminal and your hotel is just a few minutes behind you.

Dome pensions, anyone? A blast from the 1950′s, perhaps – and within a stone’s throw of the beach.

After doing reasonably well on the BB gun shootout, we were handed some Roman candles. These things were passed out like candy at parades, and the beach had dozens of people shooting off fireworks til late.

 

The next morning, we awoke to spend a day on the beach. The coarse sand was a bit hard on the feet, so bring a pair of sand shoes or sandals.

While getting an umbrella certainly isn’t an requirement, they’re on some of the prime real estate. For 13,000 won, you get the umbrella for the day – just pay your money, deposit your ID and get the laminated red-and-yellow tag.

 

And now, for something completely unexpected – a small forest? Yep – not pictured nearby is a camping area with a few less trees and a few more signs of humans.

Walk down the beach (away from the overpriced umbrellas) and find plenty of open space for most anything the beach has to offer. The beach goes on for quite a long way in either direction – it’s just a matter of how far you want to walk.

As the waves grew bigger, people got more involved in trying to ride the waves. More than a few succeeded, although these two wiped out more often than not. This was the only ride I saw where both of them stayed in the boat after the wave had passed!

An ajumma collecting seaweed a hundred meters or so from the swimming area.

Now this looks like fun! This thing catches enough air to keep you vertical, even though you start off horizontal.

 

And then there are the fireworks. The convenience stores all sell them, as do a few larger shops offering everything from swimsuits to sun visors. It’s a shining example of how you can buy your way out of anything you forgot at home.

It’s a perfect way to spend a full day – relax, lay out on the beach, go swimming or inner-tubing, people watching, eating, drinking, shooting off fireworks. Beyond the immediate beach area, there’s a not much within walking distance beyond the hotels and restaurants serving the beach crowd. Not pictured here was a Viking ride (near the domes) and a batting cage – plenty going on to keep you entertained. When you’re ready to move on, there’s enough buses and taxis to make that happen.

Ratings (out of 5 taeguks): How do I rate destinations?
Ease to arrive:

Foreigner-friendly:

Convenience facilities:

Worth the visit:

Directions to Sokcho Beach: take a bus to Sokcho (from Seoul, buses leave about every half hour and cost 17,000 won). Buses only seem to arrive from Seoul’s Express Bus Terminal, the Dong Seoul terminal near Gangbyeon station, Incheon, and a few other smaller places. Once at the bus terminal, walk out one of the two exits and look left – the beach is a mere 300 meter walk from the bus terminal.

© Chris Backe – 2011
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