Hello, this is Sokcho Eottae. As of 8 PM on Saturday, September 19, the temperature in Sokcho (속초) is 21°C with a few clouds. By the numbers alone it looks like good weather for a walk, but today's chance of rain is 100%. Six spots are all rated 'Very Crowded': Sokcho Port, Cheongchoho Lake (청초호), Dongmyeong Port (동명항), 관광수산시장 (Gwangwang Susan Sijang), the Abai Village (아바이마을) gaetbae ferry, and the resorts toward Seorak. Donghae-daero (동해대로) is congested, and Misiryeong-ro (미시령로) and Seoraksan-ro (설악산로) are moving slowly. Sokcho is packed this weekend evening.
Let's set aside the crowded tourist spots for a moment, because today we'd like to share a slightly different kind of news. This month, Sokcho City confirmed the three winners of the '2026 Sokcho Citizens' Award'. Add up the years of their contributions and you get more than 100 years. One person has 40 years, another 20, and the third 40. We've laid out in order who has done what, when and where you can see the award ceremony, and why it's worth knowing about even as a traveler.
Who are this year's Sokcho Citizens' Award winners in the three categories?
Sokcho City held a screening committee meeting on September 9 to review contributions to community development and residents' quality of life, and selected the winners in three categories as follows.
- Regional Development Award – Jeon Byeong-cheol, CEO of ㈜원일에스앤티 (Wonil S&T Co., Ltd.)
- Culture and Arts Award – Kim Yeong-sun, President of the Sokcho Arirang Preservation Society
- Social Service Award – Lee Ae-ja, Consultant at the Korea Senior Citizens Association Sokcho Branch
The award ceremony will take place at the opening ceremony of the 61st Seorak Cultural Festival (설악문화제) on October 2. This means the awards will be presented not at a separate administrative event, but on stage on the first day of a festival where residents and tourists gather together.
Regional Development Award winner Jeon Byeong-cheol has a connection to the bus stops you've been waiting at
For more than 40 years, Jeon Byeong-cheol has run a steel and metal structure manufacturing company, installing public transportation facilities and road safety facilities. He served as chair of the regional operations subcommittee of the Gangwon State chapter of the Korea Specialty Contractors Association, and he is now vice president of the Sokcho Marine Industrial Complex Council, helping resident companies cooperate with one another.
Not many people pay attention to public transportation or road safety facilities in everyday life. Still, in a city like Sokcho, with strong sea winds and frequent heavy snow in winter, how sturdily metal structures hold up is a matter of safety. On weekends when tourists flock in, Donghae-daero is jammed and people line up at the bus stops too. The fact that a local company has built and maintained such facilities for decades is the background to this award.
Culture and Arts Award winner Kim Yeong-sun has spent 20 years uncovering and documenting Sokcho Arirang
Of the three, Kim Yeong-sun is probably the most active these days. For more than 20 years, she has uncovered and documented Sokcho Arirang, building a foundation for passing it on. She has taught traditional singing to children at the Sokcho Cultural Center and local elementary schools, and helped Sokcho Arirang get designated as an Intangible Heritage of Gangwon State in 2024.
As it happens, on September 15, right after the winners were announced, the Sokcho Arirang Preservation Society led by Kim signed a memorandum of understanding with the Sokcho branch of the Gangwon People's Artist Federation (branch head Park Yong-min). The two organizations will run joint projects for the next 5 years, with a fairly clear division of roles.
- Sokcho Arirang Preservation Society: artistic areas such as directing performances, designing education programs, and managing professional instructors and performers
- Gangwon People's Artist Federation, Sokcho branch: administration, budget execution, and cooperation with outside organizations
- Joint projects: regular performances, education, hands-on and competition events, cultural and arts content development, preservation of records and materials, links with local festivals, and domestic and international exchange
The idea is to bring together work the two organizations had been doing separately, and to expand activities that had centered on performances into education and documentation as well. Sokcho City also said it will continue to support transmission activities now that a foundation for private-sector cooperation is in place. Intangible heritage disappears when no one sings it. Work that one person has carried for 20 years is now shifting to a structure supported jointly by two organizations.
Practical tip: If you'd like to hear Sokcho Arirang in person, check the performance and event schedule on the Sokcho Culture and Tourism Foundation website. Traditional performances are often linked with local festivals such as the Seorak Cultural Festival. If you're coming to Sokcho during the festival, we recommend first checking the performance timetable for 'Sokcho Arirang'. Just a few days ago, on September 14, the Sokcho Cultural Center and the Sokcho Domun Nongyo Preservation Society also held a public Domun farming songs event in Sangdomun Village. Traditional music events are being held one after another in Sokcho this month.
Social Service Award winner Lee Ae-ja has 10,000 volunteer hours
Over more than 40 years, Lee Ae-ja has served the community through a career in public service and work with civic organizations. According to the 1365 Volunteer Portal, her cumulative volunteer time is about 10,000 hours, and in 2023 she was named Gangwon State's top volunteer.
To get a sense of how long 10,000 hours is: volunteering 8 hours a day without a break would take 1,250 days, or nearly 3 years and 5 months. At 4 hours every weekend, it would take 48 years. She now works as a consultant at the Korea Senior Citizens Association Sokcho Branch, keeping her close to the front lines of senior welfare. Sokcho has a high proportion of older residents, so this kind of work is felt all the more in the community.
Practical tip: If you live in Sokcho and want to start volunteering, set your region to 'Sokcho-si' on the 1365 Volunteer Portal and look through the recruitment notices. Your volunteer hours are logged automatically, which makes it easy to print a record of your service later.
The award ceremony is at the October 2 Seorak Cultural Festival opening, and here's why it's worth adding to your trip
This year's Seorak Cultural Festival runs from October 2 to 4 under the theme 'Seorak, Colored Together', at Sokcho Expo Plaza and around Seorak Rodeo Street (설악로데오거리). Here are the key dates to know.
- October 2, 7 PM: Opening ceremony (including the Citizens' Award ceremony). Cast members from Mr. Trot 3 and Sokcho-born singer Shin Seung-tae will take the stage.
- October 3, 2 PM and 5 PM: Street parade on Seorak Rodeo Street
- During the festival: About 55 hands-on booths on the Expo lawn plaza and surrounding streets
The opening day, October 2, is a Friday a few days after the Chuseok holiday (September 24–27). If you couldn't make it to Sokcho over the holiday, this weekend could be an alternative. However, the opening ceremony lineup is likely to draw big crowds. Parking around Expo Plaza may be difficult in the evening, so it's better to leave your car at your accommodation and walk, or use public transportation.
For reference, 'Dalma! Ridge Trail Walk', a pre-festival program of the Seorak Cultural Festival, takes place tomorrow, Sunday, September 20. The course starts at Seolhyang Park in Seorak-dong and passes along Seorakhyanggi-ro, Dalmabong Peak, Gyejoam Hermitage, and Sinheungsa Temple before coming down to Sogongwon at Seoraksan (설악산). Only the first 500 people who registered in advance can take part. If you've signed up, be sure to check the weather information below.
What to keep in mind in Sokcho tonight and tomorrow
Apart from the award ceremony news, we've also put together information for those currently in Sokcho.
- An umbrella is a must: There are only a few clouds right now, but today's chance of rain is 100%. Tomorrow's Sunday forecast is also cloudy with rain. If you're joining tomorrow's Dalmabong hike, the rocky sections may be wet and slippery, so bring hiking boots and a raincoat.
- Temperature: Today's high is 23°C and the low is 19°C. It drops to 18–19°C at night, so it's a good idea to bring a light jacket for walks by the sea.
- Sea: Water temperature is 23.2°C and wave height is 1 m, so it's not very rough. However, breakwaters and tetrapods get slippery on rainy nights, so please don't climb on them.
- Traffic: Donghae-daero (coastal and downtown sections) is congested. The Sokcho Port, Dongmyeong Port, and 중앙시장 (Jungang Sijang) areas are all very crowded, so getting around downtown may be faster on foot than by car. If you're heading back to Seoul, Misiryeong-ro is moving slowly, so allow plenty of time for departure.
- Dinner: The areas around 관광수산시장 and Dongmyeong Port are at their busiest right now. If you don't mind eating a bit later, it's much easier after 9 PM.
Why is this news worth knowing for travelers too?
You might think the Citizens' Award is about residents and has nothing to do with travelers. But much of what you see and hear while traveling in Sokcho is the result of what people like these have built over many years. That goes for the bus stop where you wait for the bus, and for a single line of Sokcho Arirang you hear at a festival. The same is true of the energy at senior centers where older residents gather. That's why Sokcho Eottae tries to consistently share news like this, just as much as tourist-spot crowd levels and the weather.
If you go to the opening ceremony on October 2, don't just watch the trot performances and leave; please give a round of applause during the award ceremony as well. It's the moment when more than 100 years that three people have built up are recognized with an award.
Today we looked at the stories of the three 2026 Sokcho Citizens' Award winners, the 5-year joint agreement to pass on Sokcho Arirang, the award ceremony schedule at the October 2 Seorak Cultural Festival opening, and tonight's weather, crowds, and traffic in Sokcho. Did you find it helpful? We'll be back next time with even more useful information.
