Sokcho and Seoraksan were our first Korea destination outside the Seoul metro area. Back then we decided one day we’d return to these places, and this Chuseok holiday we did.
Why go back, when there are so many destinations in Korea we have not seen at all? Teresa, a Romanticist, is all about revisiting places:
Five years have past; five summers, with the lengthOf five long winters! and again I hearThese waters, rolling from their mountain-springsWith a soft inland murmur.—Once againDo I behold these steep and lofty cliffs,That on a wild secluded scene impressThoughts of more deep seclusion; and connectThe landscape with the quiet of the sky.
—Wordsworth, “Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey, On Revisiting the Banks of the Wye during a Tour. July 13, 1798.”
The point isn’t the landscape, but the mind’s reflection on that landscape, which becomes richer still when those reflections include memories of earlier visits.
Robert, more simple in his tastes, likes hiking and fish, both abundant in Seoraksan and Sokcho. Between the memories, hiking and fish, there was something for everyone.
We did mix it up some, however. Last visit, we stayed in the mountains near Seoraksan National Park and visited Sokcho. This visit we stayed in Sokcho, in a hotel overlooking the East Sea, and traveled to Seoraksan—about a 40 minute bus ride. We liked staying in Sokcho better. The mountains of Seorksan and the sea of Sokcho are both beautiful, but there is more to do in Sokcho, a sizable city.
From our hotel room we saw beautiful sunrises:
We really enjoyed the market and food in Sokcho, which we had not had much of a chance to experience last time we were here. Robert got shasimi from a live fish that was then filleted. Teresa had fried shrimp about which she had mixed feelings, since the shrimp are not deveined or peeled, but you couldn’t tell from the smile as she ate it. We both enjoyed kimchi wrapped in pork belly. Because why not?
Yes, we ate a lot of good food, but we also got a lot of exercise hiking. Last trip to Seoraksan, we hiked to Ulsanbawi Rock. This time, we hiked the Biryong Waterfall and Towangseong Falls Observatory Course. On this hike, we especially enjoyed all the almost Dr. Seuss-like steps and bridges that made our hiking easier—though not easy, because it was a fairly steep climb—and the falls themselves.
And finally, the falls:
On this visit, we also took the park’s cable car to one of the park’s mountain peaks, a short hike after the five-minute cable car ride. We were rewarded with misty views of the valleys below. And Teresa had some time to reflect on the way her mind experiences nature and enjoy other emotions while sitting out the last part of the climb, up some steep rocks without steps or guardrails. Robert went up and came back down, unedified.
The next day was all about the sea. We enjoyed sitting on the rocks along the coast and watching the waves, as well as views of the harbor.
We capped off this day with a meal of barbecued fresh fish. Teresa must have been thinking about generosity, since she does not much like fish. Robert appreciated this generosity, since he had a fantastic meal. Should you be in Sokcho, and like fish, we highly recommend 88 Saengseon Gui. There is no ordering; it’s just one meal of a variety of fish, grilled for you. And of course a variety of sides.
After all that fish, what more? We left the following morning. A five and a half hour bus ride in Chuseok holiday traffic made us happy to be home.
It looks like a great trip!
Ok, this is now on my list of things to do!