Hello, this is 속초어때 (Sokcho Eottae). At 7 a.m. on Monday, August 24, Sokcho opened the day at 26°C and clear. The air is noticeably different from this time yesterday. The parasols that filled the beaches all weekend have been folded away, and Sokcho Beach (속초해수욕장), Oeongchi Beach (외옹치해수욕장) and Cheongho Beach (청호해수욕장) officially finished their season at the end of yesterday, Sunday the 23rd. That is why the phrase people arriving in Sokcho this morning search for most is Sokcho beach closing.
But there is one fact many people miss here. Not all of Sokcho's beaches are closed. One of them, Deungdae Beach (등대해수욕장), is staying open for one extra week, through August 30. Today's article centers on that one beach, and lays out the morning after the closings in Sokcho in actual numbers.
First, Sokcho's numbers at this hour
- Weather: currently 26°C, clear / daytime high 34°C, overnight low 25°C / chance of rain 27%
- Sea: water temperature 25.3°C, wave height 0.2 m
- Crowding: Yeonggeumjeong (영금정) and the Sokcho Lighthouse Observatory (속초등대전망대) very crowded; Sokcho Beach, the Seoraksan (설악산) cable car, Daepohang Port (대포항) and Abai Village (아바이마을) crowded; 속초관광수산시장 (Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market) uncrowded
- Access roads: Misiryeong-ro (미시령로, toward Seoul) slow, Donghae-daero (동해대로, coast and downtown) slow, Seoraksan-ro (설악산로, toward Seorak) slow
A high of 34°C is the highest figure so far this week. It means the heat, which had eased off when the heat wave advisory was lifted late last week, has climbed back up. Already 26°C at 7 a.m. and an overnight low of 25°C means another tropical night tonight. With 34°C during the day and temperatures not dropping below 25°C even before dawn, today calls for a plan to stay out of the heat all day.
The one place in Sokcho where you can get in the water today is Deungdae Beach
As it wraps up summer beach operations, the city of Sokcho closed three beaches — Sokcho, Oeongchi and Cheongho — on August 23. However, taking late-summer demand into account, it decided to extend Deungdae Beach alone by one week, through August 30, and water safety lifeguards will remain posted there during the extension to keep up safety management.
Why Deungdae Beach in particular? It is a small, tidy beach in Dongmyeong-dong (동명동) in northern Sokcho, below the lighthouse at Dongmyeonghang Port (동명항). It is nowhere near the scale of Sokcho Beach, but the water deepens gently and the waves are usually calm, which makes it popular with families bringing children. In other words, it has the most manageable conditions for operating safely into late summer.
Today's sea conditions fit that choice well. A wave height of 0.2 m means practically no swell at all, and a water temperature of 25.3°C, while down from the midsummer peak (the high 26s), is still cool going in yet warm enough to stay a while. On a day when the air hits 34°C, water at 25.3°C creates a big perceived gap, so it feels far colder. Have children come out of the water about every 30 minutes to warm up.
That said, for the exact hours swimming is permitted during the extension, follow the on-site notices and the lifeguards' instructions. Sokcho's beaches have closed the water to swimmers at 6 p.m. during peak season, but this may change during the extension depending on staffing, so we recommend checking the notice board or with the city of Sokcho before you set out.
If you are heading to Deungdae Beach, the place next door is very crowded right now
This is the real variable today. Just above Deungdae Beach are Yeonggeumjeong and the Sokcho Lighthouse Observatory, and right now those two are the only spots in Sokcho rated very crowded. At 7 a.m., no less.
The reason is simple. Today's sunrise was at 5:48 a.m., and Yeonggeumjeong, with its pavilion standing out over the water, is Sokcho's signature sunrise spot. On top of that, with most beaches closing yesterday, people who had been spread across the beaches are now converging on the northern area that is still open. Yeonggeumjeong, Dongmyeonghang Port and Deungdae Beach are all within a five-minute walk of one another, so they get busy as a single cluster.
So for this area today, start by planning your parking. There are only a handful of spaces right in front of Yeonggeumjeong, and by morning they are already not turning over. Parking near the 동명항 활어센터 (Dongmyeonghang Live Fish Center) or toward the 속초시외버스터미널 (Sokcho Intercity Bus Terminal) and walking in for 5–10 minutes is much faster. Spending 20 minutes pulling in and out of a space is worse than walking — that is something you confirm every August living in Sokcho.
Can I still just go to the three closed beaches?
You can go. But getting in the water is another matter. Once a beach closes, the safety management system is scaled back, and the structure of liability for accidents changes as well. The city of Sokcho has said it will keep water safety lifeguards posted at Sokcho, Oeongchi and Cheongho beaches even after closing to continue patrols and safety guidance, but this is closer to meaning they will steer people away from entering the water than that swimming is allowed. Sokcho Mayor Lee Byung-sun also said that since residents and tourists keep coming to the beaches after official operations end, the city will pay particular attention to preventing safety accidents.
It is easy to let your guard down precisely on a calm day like today with 0.2 m waves. But the East Sea (동해) is a sea where rip currents and swells can come in suddenly even when the surface looks calm. If you are pushed out past where you can touch the bottom with no one in the watchtower, there is no one to help. At the closed beaches, go in no deeper than your ankles, stick to photos and walks, and move your swimming to Deungdae Beach. With children and pets especially, keep them one step back from the waterline.
Today's tides and timetable
- Sunrise 5:48 a.m. / Sunset 7:08 p.m.
- High tide 11:50 a.m. (+43 cm) / Low tide 7:53 p.m. (−21 cm)
- Tide cycle 4-mul, the 12th day of the 7th lunar month
Unlike the West Sea (서해), the East Sea has a small tidal range. Today the difference in sea level between high and low tide is only about 64 cm, so there is nothing like the West Sea's exposed mudflats or cut-off paths. Still, it is worth knowing. Around high tide at 11:50 a.m., the sand narrows and competition for parasol spots picks up; conversely, around low tide at 7:53 p.m. the beach widens, making it the best time for a walk right after sunset (7:08 p.m.). That combination works out quite nicely this evening.
It is Monday morning, yet all three access roads are slow
Misiryeong-ro (toward Seoul), Donghae-daero (coast and downtown) and Seoraksan-ro (toward Seorak) are all showing as slow. This picture on a Monday morning is the classic pattern of weekend travelers heading home late overlapping with weekday commuter and school traffic. Donghae-daero in particular stays sluggish all morning because coastal-road sightseeing demand continues even after the beaches close.
A practical tip: when moving around Sokcho today, taking a road one layer inside downtown instead of Donghae-daero feels faster. And the reason Seoraksan-ro is slow is that the Seoraksan cable car is currently rated crowded; tickets for the Gwongeumseong (권금성) cable car pile up in the morning, so if you are set on going today, after noon is actually the better bet.
Somewhere other than the sea that is quiet today
The only place in Sokcho currently rated uncrowded is 속초관광수산시장. With five of the six main attractions at crowded or worse and only the market quiet, it means people are still concentrated along the shoreline this early. Given today's high of 34°C, the order that works far better is to shop at the market in the morning and take shelter indoors from the midday heat. Sokcho foods that have drawn renewed attention on TV lately — ojingeo sundae (stuffed squid), galchi sokjeot (salted cutlassfish innards), mulgomtang (snailfish soup) — can mostly be found within the market's radius as well.
For reference, Waterbomb Sokcho, held on the 22nd, has already ended. It ran for a fourth consecutive year and gave a big lift to local businesses, but for anyone visiting Sokcho today, you can assume the concert-crowd variable is gone. Events and cultural programs around Rodeo Street (로데오거리) are still running, though, so scheduling something downtown in the evening makes for a full finish to the day.
In short, here is how to move today
- 8–10 a.m.: the Yeonggeumjeong area is already very crowded. If Deungdae Beach is your only goal, park near Dongmyeonghang Port and walk in
- 10 a.m.–noon: the fishery market's quiet window. Do your shopping and a late breakfast or early lunch
- Noon–4 p.m.: the 34°C stretch. Swim at Deungdae Beach, or head indoors. For the cable car, this is the better time slot
- 6–7 p.m.: the swimming cutoff window. Be sure to check the on-site notices
- 7–8 p.m.: sunset at 7:08 p.m., low tide at 7:53 p.m. Ideal for a walk on the widened sand
- Night: a tropical night with a low of 25°C. Mind your room's air conditioning and stay hydrated
This is how 속초어때 gathers Sokcho's weather, water temperature, wave height, attraction crowd levels and access road conditions every day and delivers them by time of day. We hope it helps both visitors and residents get through the day with a little less wandering.
Today we looked at sea conditions on the day after Sokcho's beach closings, the extended operation of Deungdae Beach, and tide, crowding and traffic information — was it useful? We will be back next time with even more useful information.
