Cruise Ships Call at Sokcho (속초) Port Three Times This

Hello, this is 속초어때 (Sokcho Eottae). It is now 2 a.m. on Friday, October 2. In Sokcho (속초) it is 15°C with clear skies. The daytime high will be 19°C and the low 13°C, with a 0% chance of precipitation. The sea temperature is 22.6°C and waves are 0.7 m, so the sea is calm too. The Seorak Cultural Festival (설악문화제) opens this evening, but instead of the festival, today we'd like to talk about the cruise ships coming into Sokcho Port this month. Foreign cruise ships will call three times in October, and two of those calls are by a ship coming to Sokcho Port for the first time.

October Sokcho Port Cruise Schedule: the 17th, 19th and 25th

In February this year, Sokcho City announced six cruise calls at Sokcho Port for 2026. Three have already taken place: the Westerdam in April, the Costa Serena in May and The World in September. The remaining three all arrive in October.

October 17 (Sat) Westerdam (82,862 tons): The ship that arrived in April as this year's first cruise is coming back once more.
October 19 (Mon) Seabourn Encore (41,865 tons): This is its first call at Sokcho Port.
October 25 (Sun) Seabourn Encore: The same ship comes in again six days later.

Sokcho City expects this year's six calls to bring 12,500 foreign tourists to Sokcho. However, exact arrival and departure times have not been released yet. The April Westerdam call was also first announced for the 17th, but the ship actually arrived on the 18th. If you are planning around these dates, it is safer to check Sokcho City's announcements again a few days before the ship arrives.

Where It Got Crowded When 2,700 People Came Ashore in April

Looking at past calls gives a good idea of where it will be busy this time. On April 18, the Westerdam sailed in from Hakata, Fukuoka, Japan, and reached the Sokcho International Cruise Terminal (속초국제크루즈터미널) in the morning. It left for Kanazawa, Japan, the same evening. About 2,700 passengers and crew spent the day in Sokcho.

That day, Sokcho City kept 7 shuttle buses running between the terminal and 속초관광수산시장 (Sokcho Gwangwang Susan Sijang; 중앙시장, Jungang Sijang). Inside the market, many foreign visitors bought food and souvenirs, and there were reportedly lines for the hanbok experience and the Hangul calligraphy experience. In the end, the crowds gathered at the cruise terminal, the market, and the Abai Village (아바이마을) and gaetbae (갯배) ferry area, which is within walking distance of the market.

It was much the same when The World visited in September. The ship arrived at 9 a.m. on September 15 and spent three days and two nights at Sokcho Port before leaving for Busan (부산) at 8 p.m. on the 17th. It was Sokcho Port's first 'overnight' cruise. Its roughly 500 passengers and crew explored 중앙시장 and Abai Village, and also visited the DMZ Museum in Goseong (고성), Naksansa Temple (낙산사) in Yangyang (양양) and Coffee Street in Gangneung (강릉). That time, 4 shuttle buses ran between the terminal and the market every 30 minutes.

For Travelers: On Arrival Days, Just Change When You Go to the Market

If you are in Sokcho on the 17th, 19th or 25th, you will probably be going to the same places as the cruise passengers. Even so, there is no need to change your whole itinerary.

Go to 속초관광수산시장 early in the morning or in the evening: On a one-day port call, passengers come ashore in the morning and get back on the ship before evening, so the market is busiest during the day. If you plan to buy dakgangjeong or raw fish, go early in the morning, or wait until late afternoon when the cruise passengers return to the ship.
The gaetbae line may get long: The gaetbae that crosses to Abai Village can only carry a fixed number of people at a time. When groups crowd in, the wait gets longer, so if you are in a hurry you can go around by Seorak Bridge (설악대교) instead.
Saturday the 17th and Sunday the 25th also bring weekend crowds: On these days, cruise passengers are added to domestic weekend travelers. The public parking lots around the market tend to fill up early in the morning, so it is easier to leave your car at your accommodation and walk, or take a city bus.
To watch the ship from a distance: At over 80,000 tons, the Westerdam is big enough to be seen from many places in the city. If you look down at the port from Sokcho Expo Tower (속초 엑스포타워) or from the Cheongchoho Lake (청초호) area, you can see the whole ship at once.

For Residents: More Opportunity Than Inconvenience

Grocery shopping may be a little less convenient for residents, but for merchants these are days when sales clearly go up. The Seabourn Encore is a mid-sized 40,000-ton-class cruise ship, and many ships of this size are luxury vessels that mostly sell expensive cabins. As with The World in September, the number of passengers may be small, but each person may spend a lot.

Signs in front of your shop: Just putting up an English menu or price list makes a difference to how customers respond. In April, too, shops with picture menus drew the most customers.
Card payments: Most foreign passengers use overseas cards. If your card terminal does not accept overseas cards, check this in advance.
Shop early in the morning: If you shop at 중앙시장, it is easier on arrival days to go early, before the shuttles start running.

Why Sokcho City Is Putting Effort into Cruises

This year Sokcho City has been promoting itself as a 'cruise hub port of the East Sea Rim'. It took part in a cruise expo in Florida, USA, in April and in the International Cruise Forum in Jeju (제주) in July, and in May it pitched to Japanese cruise lines in Tokyo. As a result, Japan's Mitsui Ocean Cruises has agreed to bring the 'Mitsui Ocean Fuji' (32,000-ton class, 450 passengers) to Sokcho Port in November 2027. This will be the first time a Japanese cruise ship has called at Sokcho.

In May, the 110,000-ton-class Costa Serena sailed a 'homeport cruise' that departed from Sokcho Port, and 300 Sokcho citizens and Gangwon Province residents joined it as a trial group. Sokcho City plans to use Sokcho as a departure point, not just a short port of call. It was also announced that tourism spending in Sokcho this summer was up 7.6% on last year. Sokcho City wants to increase spending on lodging and at night, so cruises that bring thousands of people ashore at once are quite important visitors.

속초어때 believes that if cruises are to mean more than just numbers, what matters is whether these visitors actually spend money in the markets and side streets. A one-day port call does not leave them much time, so the challenge ahead is deciding what to show them along their route.

Today's Sokcho at a Glance

Weather: 15°C and clear before dawn, daytime high 19°C, low 13°C, 0% chance of precipitation. Temperatures will drop in the evening, so bring a jacket if you go out.
Sea: Water temperature 22.6°C, waves 0.7 m, calm. The beaches have already closed for the season and there are no lifeguards, so avoid swimming.
Congestion: 켄싱턴호텔 설악 (Kensington Hotel Seorak), 금호리조트 설악 (Kumho Resort Seorak), Sinheungsa Temple (신흥사), Deungdae Beach (등대해변), Sokcho Expo Tower and Yeongnangho Lake (영랑호) are all showing as very crowded. The Expo area, where the Seorak Cultural Festival is held, is expected to get even busier from this evening.
Traffic: Traffic is moving smoothly on Misiryeong-ro (미시령로), Donghae-daero (동해대로) and Seoraksan-ro (설악산로). However, more cars may be coming in from this afternoon, when the National Foundation Day holiday begins.
Events: The Seorak Cultural Festival runs from today through the 4th. At 2 p.m. the same day, the Sokcho Arirang Preservation Society (속초아리랑보존회) will perform 'Arirang Carried on the Sea' as the first act of the Jeongseon Arirang Festival (정선아리랑제) joint performance.

To Sum Up

Cruise ships call at Sokcho Port three times in October: the Westerdam on the 17th, and the Seabourn Encore on the 19th and 25th.
Arrival times have not been announced yet, and as happened last April, a call could be pushed back by about a day.
On arrival days, 속초관광수산시장 and Abai Village are busiest during the day, so just go earlier or later.
This year's six calls end this month, and the next new ship is Japan's 'Mitsui Ocean Fuji' in November 2027.

Today we looked at the schedule for the three cruise calls at Sokcho Port this month, along with tips for getting around on arrival days. Did you find it helpful? We'll be back next time with even more useful information.