Seoraksan at sunrise and sundae at the fish market — Korea's east coast soul
Sokcho is a compact port city on Korea's east coast, the gateway to Seoraksan National Park — one of the most dramatic mountain landscapes in East Asia — and a city with its own intense food identity built around the morning fish market. Abai Village, a community of North Korean refugees who settled here after the Korean War, has its own distinctive Northern cuisine, and the city's chodaegui (grilled local fish) and Sokcho-style sundae (blood sausage) are pilgrimages for Korean food lovers. The coast north to the DMZ is among the most beautiful and least-visited in the country.
Sokcho was originally part of North Korea after the 1945 partition — the 38th parallel ran slightly south of the city. It was taken by UN forces during the Korean War and became part of South Korea after the 1953 armistice, but its proximity to the DMZ (now about 15km away) has shaped its character ever since. The Abai Village district was settled by tens of thousands of North Korean refugees who crossed the lines during the war and were unable to return home — their descendants still operate the distinctive Northern-style restaurants that draw food pilgrims from Seoul.