Hello, this is 속초어때 (Sokcho Eottae). At 1 PM on Friday, September 18, it is 24°C in Sokcho (속초) with a few clouds. However, the chance of rain is 70%. If you looked at the sky and left your umbrella at home, it would be a good idea to keep a small umbrella in your bag. Today, before the weather, we will start with a story that concerns the wallets of most Sokcho residents. It is about the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund, for which applications closed last Friday.
3 Billion KRW of 15.2 Billion KRW Has Not Been Spent Yet
Applications have closed for the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund, which Sokcho City distributed over eight weeks from July 20 to September 11. Of the 79,238 eligible people, 76,446 received it, for a payment rate of 96.5%. Each person received 200,000 KRW, for a total of 15,289,200,000 KRW released.
As of September 4, 12,270,450,000 KRW (80.6%) of this had already been spent. That may look like a lot, but seen the other way, it also means that about 3,018,750,000 KRW is still left. Divided by the number of recipients, that works out to about 39,000 KRW per person on average. A family of four could have more than 150,000 KRW left in total.
This money has a deadline. It must be used by November 30, 2026, and Sokcho City has announced that any balance not used by the deadline will automatically expire. Including today, there are 74 days left. That may seem like plenty, but the Chuseok holiday and the Seoraksan (설악산) autumn foliage season fall in between. It is a period when it is easy to forget while staying busy.
Where Did Sokcho Residents Spend This Money?
The spending breakdown by business type shows where Sokcho residents spent the support fund first.
- Restaurants 37.0%
- Convenience stores, supermarkets, and marts 21.8%
- Clothing, general goods, and eyewear 7.3%
- Medical and health care 6.0%
- Gas stations 5.3%
About 7.2 billion KRW was spent in just two categories, restaurants and convenience stores/supermarkets/marts, accounting for 58.7% of total spending. This means people used it first for eating out and grocery shopping rather than for buying anything special. Put the other way, the remaining 30,000–40,000 KRW is the amount easiest to use on groceries or eating out. If you pay with it first when having a meal at a neighborhood restaurant or shopping for Chuseok, it will be gone quickly.
It Doesn't Work Everywhere: Three Conditions for Where to Use It
One reason balances remain is that a payment fails and people end up paying with a different card. Double-checking the conditions for where it can be used can save you a wasted trip.
- It must be a 속초사랑상품권 (Sokcho Sarang Gift Certificate) affiliated store. The support fund was paid either as a top-up in the Sokcho Sarang Gift Certificate CHAK app or as an anonymous prepaid card.
- It can only be used at affiliated stores with annual sales of 3 billion KRW or less. Even at an affiliated store, payment may not go through if its sales volume is large.
- Large-scale stores such as hypermarkets are excluded. The intent is for it to be spent at small businesses and local neighborhood shops.
If you do your Chuseok shopping at a hypermarket, you should set this money aside separately. It is easier to meet the conditions if you use local shops such as traditional markets, neighborhood butcher shops, side dish shops, or stores inside the fish market.
It's a Good Idea to Check Your Balance Today
The most common situation is not knowing how much is left. Those who received a prepaid card are especially likely to be confused, because the balance is not shown right away when paying.
- If you received it through the CHAK app: You can see your top-up history and balance right in the app. If you received family members' shares separately, you need to check each account separately.
- If you received a prepaid card: Check the information sheet you received when the card was issued, or if you are not sure, the surest way is to ask your nearest community service center.
- If you received your parents' share on their behalf: There are more cases than you might think where a card received through a proxy application or an in-person application is still sitting in a drawer. It would be good to take care of it for them when the family gathers for Chuseok.
Here is one practical approach: if you have 10,000–20,000 KRW left, use it first on groceries today or this weekend, and if you have more than 50,000 KRW left, decide in advance to use it for Chuseok ancestral rite supplies or a holiday meal out. If you try to use it all at once at the end of November, it is easy to end up with a few thousand won awkwardly left over.
For the 2,792 People Who Have Not Received It Yet
Of the 79,238 eligible people, 76,446 received it, which means about 2,792 people did not apply. The application period already ended on September 11. If someone in your family missed the application, the most accurate way to find out whether they can still receive it is to check directly with Sokcho City or your community service center. For reference, those eligible were residents whose resident registration was in Sokcho City as of June 30, and marriage immigrants and permanent residents with a registered place of stay in Sokcho.
This Also Matters to Visitors
Only Sokcho residents received this support fund, but it is spent at neighborhood restaurants and market stores that travelers also often visit. The fact that 37% of the fund's spending went to restaurants means that residents have also been flocking in large numbers to the side-street restaurants travelers stop by. On the weekend before Chuseok, market stores and popular neighborhood restaurants may be busier than usual, so it will be more comfortable to schedule your meals a little earlier or later while traveling.
Current Sokcho Weather, Sea, and Road Conditions
The daytime temperature today is 24°C, with a high of 24°C and a low of 20°C, so it is cool. Light rain is forecast along the Gangwon East Sea coast from the 18th to the 19th, with expected rainfall of less than 5 mm, which is not much. However, the temperature difference between morning/evening and daytime is large, so if you go for an evening walk, it is a good idea to bring a light jacket.
- Sea: The water temperature is 23.2°C and the wave height is 1 m. It is not yet cold for dipping your feet in, but please remember that the beaches have already closed for the season, so there are no lifeguards.
- Currently crowded places: Cheongchoho Lake (청초호), Oeongchi Port (외옹치항), and 켄싱턴호텔 설악 (Kensington Hotel Seorak) are crowded. Deungdae Beach (등대해변), 속초관광수산시장 (Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market), and Daepo Port (대포항) are moderate. If you plan to shop at the market, this afternoon is actually relatively relaxed.
- Incoming traffic (estimated): Misiryeong-ro (미시령로, toward Seoul) is flowing smoothly, but Donghae-daero (동해대로, coast and downtown) and Seoraksan-ro (설악산로, toward Seorak) are slow. If you are heading from downtown toward Seorak-dong, allow plenty of time.
Today's One-Line Summary
What 속초어때 would most like to recommend today, even before checking the weather, is checking your balance. Whether it's the app or the card, open it once and try spending the remaining amount first on this week's groceries or a meal at a neighborhood restaurant. If the 3 billion KRW is spent in time, it goes back into sales for our neighborhood shops, but after November 30, it will simply disappear.
Today we looked at the 3 billion KRW remaining balance of Sokcho's Livelihood Recovery Support Fund, its deadline, and the conditions for where it can be used. Did you find it helpful? We'll be back next time with even more useful information.
