Chuseok, Korea’s Thanksgiving, is a 4 day weekend (5 day weekend some of us) slotted at the end of Septemeber, beginning of October. I’d been recommended time and again too see Jirisan and Seoraksan, two of the largest mountains on the Korean mainland.

Having 5 days off, and the fact that to get there from Joella is a 4 hour bus ride north to Seoul, followed by a 2.5 hour bus ride east to the ocean side city of Sokcho, a few friends and I thought it best to make the Journey too Seoraksan, despite the risk of traffic due to 75% of Koreans leaving their home town for the holiday.

Worth Seeing: I’d give Sokcho it’s self 3.5 stuffed squids out of 5. The mountains are 5 for 5 easily, but Sokcho it’s self is s a seaside town that’s a little rough around the edges. No different than Wasaga Beach in Canada or, as a friend of mine mentioned, Blackpool in the UK . That said though, the mountains do make it a must sea and the food was phenomenal and very fresh. 

Getting There: The way we took was a bus from Joella to Seoul (20k-30k Won), then a 2.5-3 hour bus ride from Seoul to Sokcho for around 17,000 Won.

Seoul

Getting up early Saturday morning, we caught the 8am bus out of Gwangyang headed north to Seoul. Getting there, we decided too just simply take it easy and bounced around town trying beers from Korean microbreweries (Yes they exist, Shocking I know).

We stumbled across a small hole-in-the-wall cafe that was nothing more than a well-decorated door way down into a cozy basement cafe. After some pineapple cocktails, we grabbed some grub next door from a rooftop patio as the sun set over downtown Seoul off in the distance. It was perfect start to an almost completely chill 5 days (minus the climbing a mountain thing).

Off to Sokcho

Early the next morning we grabbed a bus from Seoul headed too Sockho. For one of the higher class buses, it was roughly 17,000 (~18 dollars CAD) to get there, and when we hit solid traffic out of Seoul and well into the mountains, we were glad to at least be comfortable.

After what was supposed to be a 2.5 hour drive turning into a 5 hour drive, we finally passed by the towering rock formations on the outskirts of sokcho.

With our first day there, we bummed around the beach, walked around town exploring the different shops, fish markets and trying different food. Friends I was with said the area was known to have very good Soondae, so we searched out and sat down too try two types of it, one was Squid stuffed with crab and shrimp, grilled and sliced, and the other was sliced blood sausage. These certainly aren’t things I’d normally try, but it was delicious. So much so I’ve given them it’s on post.

We hung out on the beach, watching the sail boats go by, which oddly enough made me feel at home more than anywhere else in Korea has.

The sun started to set and our energy levels were waning. It was the end of a lot of travel for two days. After walking though the harbour and market and after trying some recommended cold fried chicken, we called it a night. We had alot of hiking the next day.