Hello, this is 속초어때 (Sokcho Eottae). The time right now is 5 a.m. on Thursday, September 10. When you open up the congestion levels for the tourist spots in Sokcho (속초) at this hour, it is normally all quiet — but today two places are already marked 'Crowded'. Daepohang (대포항) Observatory, and Oeongchihang (외옹치항).
These two places have one thing in common: they are the spots in Sokcho that face the East Sea (동해) most directly, at the lowest angle. And today's sunrise in Sokcho is at 6:03 a.m. Exactly 63 minutes from now. The reason people have gathered at 5 a.m. is actually simple. Today is the first morning in ten days that the sun will properly rise.
Two places are busy at 5 a.m.; the other four are still quiet
Right now the congestion levels at Sokcho's main points break down like this.
- Crowded — Daepohang Observatory, Oeongchihang
- Moderate — Sinheungsa (신흥사, Seoraksan (설악산)), 신세계영랑호리조트 (Shinsegae Yeongnangho Resort), Cheongchoho (청초호), Deungdae Beach (등대해변)
What is interesting is that Deungdae Beach is 'Moderate' rather than 'Crowded'. The Deungdae swimming beach closed for the season on August 30. With the flow of people onto the sand at an end, those who move around at dawn have changed direction — not to the beaches, but to the ports and observatories.
There is a reason. Anyone who has photographed a sunrise will know that a sunrise shot from bare sand is surprisingly flat. All you are left with is the horizon and the sky. At Daepohang or Oeongchihang, on the other hand, the breakwater lighthouse, the moored fishing boats and the silhouettes of the tetrapods stand in the foreground. The moment the sun rises, those silhouettes drop to black and the photograph gains depth. The people who go out of their way to the ports at dawn go knowing that.
Sunrise is at 6:03, so you should claim your spot by 5:30
Today in Sokcho the sun rises at 6:03 a.m. and sets at 6:42 p.m. That makes 12 hours and 39 minutes of daylight. Two and a half months past the summer solstice, the days have grown noticeably shorter.
The most common mistake here is 'arriving right at sunrise time'. The sky is actually at its most beautiful not at the moment the sun comes up but 20 to 30 minutes before — the twilight window when the band above the horizon spreads from orange into purple. The sun takes only two or three minutes to lift itself fully above the horizon. Arrive at 6:03 and it is already over.
- Recommended arrival time: 5:30–5:40 a.m.
- Allow 5 to 10 minutes to park and find your spot. On a day like today, already marked 'Crowded', parking inside the port is difficult.
- At Daepohang, the observatory deck has a wider view than the breakwater side.
- Yeonggeumjeong (영금정, the pavilion and rock-island deck below the Sokcho Lighthouse) is another representative sunrise spot. Note that the lighthouse observatory building itself can only be climbed after it opens in the morning, so at dawn you will be using the pavilion section below.
- Oeongchi Badahyanggi-ro (외옹치 바다향기로) opens at 6 a.m. from April through September. Since that overlaps almost exactly with sunrise, we recommend watching the sunrise from the port side and going in for a walk after the sun is up. Some sections may be closed depending on weather conditions, so it is safest to check whether it is operating with the Sokcho City Tourism Division (033-639-2362) before you visit.
The sea that was 4 m yesterday is 1.3 m today
There is a reason the sea off Sokcho is quiet this morning. Right up until early yesterday morning a wind-wave advisory was in effect across all waters of the central East Sea, and wave heights rose as high as 4 m. Water was coming over the breakwaters.
But as of this morning, the figures are these.
- Wave height 1.3 m — about a third of yesterday's
- Water temperature 23.8°C — down 0.1°C from 23.9°C the day before
- 0% chance of rain, clear skies
A water temperature of 23.8°C is a drop of about 3 degrees from the 26-degree range at the end of August, in under three weeks. The cooling of the water has clearly picked up speed. But there is one thing that must be pointed out here: all of Sokcho's swimming beaches are closed. Do not go in just because the water is still in the 20s. There are no lifeguards and no buoy lines. Accidents after closing happen outside the swimming beaches rather than inside them, and on the days that 'looked fine'.
On days when the waves are low, the place to be especially careful of is the breakwater tetrapods. When the water is calm they look like something you could climb, but at dawn the moss has not dried and the surface is at its most slippery. Please do not go down there for the sake of one photograph.
Today's tide is 6-mul, and low tide is at 8:01 a.m.
Sokcho's tidal range is not as large as that of the West Sea (서해), so people do not pay much attention to the tides — but if you are going to walk the rocky shore or the coastal decks, it is worth knowing. Today is 6-mul (6물), and the times are these.
- High tide 02:59 / 14:02
- Low tide 08:01 / 21:13
By the time you have watched the sunrise and eaten breakfast, it will be right around low tide at 08:01. That is when the water has pulled back the furthest, so the intertidal rocks are exposed and it is the most relaxed time to walk along the shoreline. Conversely, high tide is at 2 p.m., so a walk on the coastal decks or the rock sections is far more comfortable in the morning. At 속초어때 as well, whenever we guide you through a coastal walking course, we tell you to always look at these high and low tide times together with it.
From 17 to 22 degrees, today is a 'day for walking'
Today's temperatures in Sokcho are 17°C at present, a high of 22°C and a low of 17°C. The daily swing of 5 degrees is not large, but if you head out going by the numbers alone, you may regret it at dawn.
- On the coast, it feels 2 to 3 degrees colder than it actually is. If you are heading out for the sunrise now, be sure to bring a windbreaker.
- A daytime high of 22°C is on the cool side for early September in Sokcho. A short-sleeved shirt with one thin layer over it is enough for the whole day.
- On a day that clears up after a run of cloudy ones, it is easy to let your guard down about UV. With reflection off the sea on top of that, it is a good idea to bring sunscreen.
At 22 degrees, clear, with a 0% chance of rain, honestly it would be a waste to spend the day indoors rather than outside. Seoraksan, Yeongnangho (영랑호) or Cheongchoho — whichever it is, walking is the right answer today.
All three access roads are flowing freely — if you are going to move, now is the time
Here is the current state of the main roads coming into Sokcho.
- Misiryeong-ro (미시령로, toward Seoul) — Free-flowing
- Donghae-daero (동해대로, coast and downtown) — Free-flowing
- Seoraksan-ro (설악산로, toward Seorak) — Free-flowing
It is a weekday Thursday at dawn and the rain has stopped, so this is a natural result — but considering that all three were jammed at once every weekend for the past two weeks, today is the best day to travel. Sinheungsa on the Seoraksan side is still 'Moderate' too, so if you set off now you can start a morning hike with time to spare. Note, though, that the Seoraksan trails have set entry cut-off times by course, so we recommend checking the Korea National Park Service's guidance in advance before you climb.
If we project how the crowds will move, Daepohang and Oeongchihang will thin out once in the middle of the morning after the sunrise crowd has left, and then fill up again after lunch. If you have raw fish or mulhoe in mind, going in during the 11 o'clock hour is the most comfortable way to avoid a wait.
Things worth catching in Sokcho today and tomorrow
Separately from the clear weather, Sokcho has a few worthwhile events on this week.
- Tomorrow (Friday the 11th), the seafood direct-sale market 해뜰날 (Haetteulnal) — it runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the event hall of 속초농협 하나로마트 엑스포점 (Sokcho Nonghyup Hanaro Mart Expo Branch). Six local seafood processing companies will sell squid sundae, salted seafood, semi-dried seafood and more at 20–50% off. Visitors receive a tarpaulin bag, and the first 150 people who spend 50,000 KRW or more will additionally receive domestic first-harvest seaweed.
- 속초사랑상품권 (Sokcho Sarang Gift Certificate) at a 15% discount — it has been raised from the previous 10% to 15%, and the monthly purchase limit per person has gone up from 500,000 KRW to 700,000 KRW. Use the full limit and you save up to 105,000 KRW. They can be bought in the 지역상품권 착 (Jiyeok Sangpumgwon Chak) app and used at 4,505 local participating merchants. Yangyang (양양) and Goseong (고성) have raised theirs to 15% as well.
- Chuseok falls on Friday, September 25, which is D-15 as of today. The gift certificates have a monthly limit, so it works in your favour to split your purchases across this month and next.
- The 61st Sokcho Seorak Cultural Festival will be held from October 2 to 4. It is the weekend right after the Chuseok holiday, so if you are going to book accommodation, now is the time when there is still room.
To sum up
Today in Sokcho: sunrise 6:03, sunset 6:42, wave height 1.3 m, water temperature 23.8°C, 0% chance of rain, a high of 22°C. The sea, which was shut in by rain and rough water all last week, has opened up for the first time in a while, and all three access roads are clear as well. The fact that Daepohang Observatory and Oeongchihang are busy at 5 a.m. must mean that the people who knew that first have already taken their spots.
There are still 63 minutes left. Bring a windbreaker, and pick somewhere you can reach by 5:30. The season for going into the sea has passed, but for looking at the sea, this is one of the best mornings of the year so far.
Today we have gone over the sunrise time and sea conditions in Sokcho at dawn on Thursday, September 10, along with the tides and the events worth catching this week — was it useful? 속초어때 will continue to bring you Sokcho exactly as it is at this very hour. We will be back next time with even more useful information.
