After Seoul, we took a 2.5hr bus ride to Sokcho, a much smaller city of just 80,000 people on the north east coast of the country. It is primarily known as the gateway to the Seoraksan National Park which is considered to be the crown jewel of South Korea's park system and the top destination for autumn leaves - which was the main reason for our visit. It is a half hour bus trip out of the city and features an extremely popular cable car ride 700m up to a rocky plateau called Gwongeumseong. Some visitors also use Sokcho as the staging point for a visit to see the de-militarised zone border (DMZ) with North Korea but we didn’t do this as by definition, the DMZ is just a 4km wide empty space.
Secondary attractions in Sokcho include the Abai village. Sokcho used to belong to north Korea until a boundary change was agreed in 1953. About 6000 people arrived from north Korea in 1951 fleeing Chinese and north Korean forces to set up camp on a publicly owned sandbar. As the borders were formalised in 1953, this refugee group were effectively trapped and their camp became permanent. Today, it is a ‘sort of’ tourist attraction, though the ramshackle buildings are gradually being replaced and the guide book fascination in the area now feels misplaced. Notwithstanding, a hand-pulled ferry spanning the 50m waterway to the sandbar still operates, charging 500 Won (about 30p/40c) for the journey.
Additionally, the city boasts 2 small ‘pavilions’ along the coast, one of which sticks out into the sea. The city is also heavily dependent on fishing and indeed I have never seen so many restaurants and shops selling live crab and other fish both around the harbour area and in the massive fisheries market in the middle of the city.