Hello, this is 속초어때 (Sokcho Eottae). As of 5 p.m. on Friday, September 11, Sokcho (속초) is 23°C with a few clouds. The chance of rain is 0%, and the sun sets at 18:40. With the weekend coming up, many of you are probably planning to go to the market for fish for Chuseok ancestral rites. If it isn't urgent, though, it's better to put off this weekend's shopping for a few days. From next Wednesday (September 16), if you buy domestic seafood at 속초관광수산시장 (Sokcho Gwangwang Susan Sijang), you can get up to 30% of your purchase back in Onnuri gift certificates. Today we explain how to make sure you get the refund at this event, and we also cover what's happening in Sokcho this Friday evening.
Five days starting next Wednesday: the refund event at 속초관광수산시장
For Chuseok, Gangwon State (강원특별자치도) is holding seafood Onnuri gift certificate refund events at three traditional markets in the province. The participating markets are 도래미시장 (Doraemi Sijang) in Wonju (원주), 황지자유시장 (Hwangji Jayu Sijang) in Taebaek (태백), and 속초관광수산시장 in Sokcho (formerly 중앙시장 (Jungang Sijang)). Sokcho is the only one in the Yeongdong region.
- Period: September 16 (Wed) to 20 (Sun), 5 days
- Eligible: Domestic seafood bought at participating stores
- Refund: If you spend at least 34,000 KRW but less than 67,000 KRW in one day, you get 10,000 KRW back. If you spend 67,000 KRW or more, you get 20,000 KRW back. Refunds are paid in Onnuri gift certificates.
- Limit: 20,000 KRW per person for the entire event period
- How: Take that day's receipt to the refund booth inside the market. After it is checked, you receive the gift certificates.
속초관광수산시장 held a refund event in the same format last June. That time, the refund booth was set up in the seafood complex cultural space on the market's 2nd floor, and about 130 stores took part. The booth location and hours for this Chuseok event have not been announced yet, so check the 2nd floor first when you arrive.
Just remember 34,000 KRW and 67,000 KRW
If you only go by the phrase 'up to 30%', you could lose out. The refund isn't a percentage of what you spend. It's a fixed amount for each spending bracket, so the actual refund rate varies a lot depending on how much you buy.
- 33,000 KRW purchase: 0 KRW refund. You miss out by 1,000 KRW.
- 34,000 KRW purchase: 10,000 KRW refund, about 29%
- 65,000 KRW purchase: still a 10,000 KRW refund, about 15%
- 67,000 KRW purchase: 20,000 KRW refund, about 30%
- 100,000 KRW purchase: 20,000 KRW refund, 20%
The worst outcome is stopping somewhere in the low-to-mid 60,000 KRW range. Say your yellow croaker and frozen pollock fillets for the ancestral rites come to 64,000 KRW. You're better off adding one squid or a bag of shredded dried pollock to go over 67,000 KRW. You'd spend 3,000 KRW more and get 10,000 KRW more back. The limit is 20,000 KRW for the whole event period, so splitting your shopping across several trips won't get you more. Reaching 67,000 KRW in a single purchase is the most efficient way.
This event's notice doesn't say whether receipts from different stores can be combined or whether ID is required. At past events in other regions, people sometimes had to verify their identity with an ID card or mobile phone along with the receipt, so we recommend bringing both. Get a separate receipt from each store, and ask at the booth whether they can be combined.
What's excluded from the refund
Not all seafood bought at the market qualifies for a refund. The announced exclusions are as follows.
- Imported seafood: Always check the country-of-origin sign. Shops often display domestic and imported products side by side.
- Government stockpile items: Seafood that the government stockpiled and is releasing at a discount does not qualify.
- Seafood bought with Zero Pay Seafood Festival (수산대전) vouchers: You can't combine this refund with other discounts.
- Items bought at non-participating stores: Before you pay, just ask, “Is this a participating store for the refund event?”
- Receipts from other days: The purchase must be made on the same day you take the receipt to the booth.
Travelers should also know one more thing. Having raw fish sliced at the market to take away counts as a seafood purchase, but a meal at a restaurant is a different matter. Check that your receipt shows a seafood purchase and that the store is taking part, and you'll avoid a wasted trip. Price checks and unannounced inspections are also reportedly planned, so don't try tricks like inflating or splitting receipts.
When is the best time to go?
This year Chuseok falls on September 25 (Fri), and the holiday runs from the 24th (Thu) to the 27th (Sun). The refund event ends on the 20th (Sun), four days before the holiday starts, so it doesn't overlap with the busy shopping days right before Chuseok. It's best to shop on different days depending on the item.
- Dried seafood and semi-dried or frozen fish for the rites: Buy dried pollock, semi-dried squid, and cleaned frozen fish early, on the weekdays of the 16th–17th, to get the event benefit.
- Fresh fish and shellfish: If freshness matters, buy them right before the holiday. For these items, you're choosing freshness over the refund.
- Avoid the last day, the 20th (Sun): It's both a weekend and the last day of the event, so the market and the parking lot are likely to be crowded.
Residents will find weekday mornings less crowded. Travelers can get 20,000 KRW back just by visiting the market on the 16th or later during their trip. The key point: if you buy this weekend (12th–13th), you won't get this benefit.
Friday, 5 p.m.: Sokcho right now
Right now, commuter traffic and weekend tourists are arriving at the same time. Traffic is slow on Misiryeong-ro (미시령로), toward Seoul, and on Donghae-daero (동해대로), along the coast and downtown. Only Seoraksan-ro (설악산로), toward Seorak, is moving smoothly. Among tourist spots, 신세계영랑호리조트 (Shinsegae Yeongnangho Resort) is very crowded, and 마레몬스 호텔 (Maremons Hotel), 켄싱턴호텔 설악 (Kensington Hotel Seorak), Cheongchoho Lake (청초호), Sinheungsa Temple (신흥사), and Oeongchi Port (외옹치항) are crowded. If you're driving around downtown this evening, use the inland roads instead of Donghae-daero, and allow some extra time to check in at your accommodation.
- Temperature: Currently 23°C, with a high of 24°C and a low of 17°C. It cools down quickly after sunset, so bring a light jacket.
- Sunset: 18:40. The sunset glow over Cheongchoho Lake or Yeongnangho Lake (영랑호) is worth seeing from around 18:10.
- Sea: Calm, with a water temperature of 24.5°C and waves of 0.5 m. High tide was at 14:49 today, and low tide is at 21:48.
- Weather warnings: According to the Korea Meteorological Administration's 16:10 announcement, no warnings or advisories are in effect for the Gangwon east coast or the central East Sea (동해).
The sea may be calm and the water warm, but all Sokcho beaches closed at the end of August, so there are no lifeguards. Please just dip your feet. For the weekend, the forecast calls for occasional clouds on Saturday, and overcast skies on Sunday that turn mostly cloudy in the afternoon.
Sokcho news in brief this week
- 2026 Sokcho Citizens' Award (속초시민대상) recipients selected: The recipients are Jeon Byeong-cheol, CEO of ㈜원일에스앤티 (Wonil S&T Co., Ltd.), for regional development; Kim Yeong-sun, president of the Sokcho Arirang Preservation Society (속초아리랑보존회), for culture and arts; and Lee Ae-ja, a consultant at the Korea Senior Citizens Association Sokcho Branch (대한노인회 속초시지회), for social service. The awards will be presented on October 2 at the opening ceremony of the 61st Seorak Cultural Festival (설악문화제), which runs from October 2 to 4.
- Plans for the Sokcho Childcare Complex Support Center (속초육아복합지원센터): The center will be built in Yeongnang-dong (영랑동) at a cost of about 27.5 billion KRW, with four floors above ground and a total floor area of 2,968㎡. At an interim report meeting on the 8th, participants discussed the use of each floor and the layout of the indoor playground and hands-on activity spaces. The center is scheduled to open in 2029.
Once the location and hours of the market's refund booth are announced, 속초어때 will let you know right away.
Today we covered next week's seafood Onnuri gift certificate refund event at 속초관광수산시장 and what's happening in Sokcho this Friday evening. Did you find it helpful? Just remember these two numbers, 34,000 KRW and 67,000 KRW, and your Chuseok shopping will cost a lot less. We'll be back next time with even more useful information.
