For Korean Thanksgiving, Chuseok (추석), my family and I took a trip to Gangwondo. Gangwondo is known for its beautiful combination of mountains and the ocean and it is one of Koreans’ favorite vacation destinations. In Gangwon-Do, my family mainly stayed in Sokcho, visiting the Seoraksan mountain, Sokcho traditional market, and Gangneung on the way back home.
In Sokcho, we went to a seafood restaurant known for Mulhwe, which is a cold soup with a lot of vegetables like cabbage, onions and carrots, and your choice of seafood (sashimi) such as ahi, salmon, flatfish, abalone and squid. The food was delicious and the ocean view was amazing at Sokcho Bongpo Moguri Mulhwe It was also very interesting to be served by a robot the whole time!
I remember visiting Seoraksan as a child with my family. Seoraksan is a Korean national park as well as Korea’s natural monument with breathtaking scenery and sacred atmosphere. Seoraksan has also been protected and reserved by Unesco since 1982 as Biosphere Reserve and Peace. We rode the cable car to the summit and enjoyed the clouds, mountains and the view of Sokcho’s downtown. If you ever have a chance to visit Gangwon-Do, my first recommendation for you would be to visit Seoraksan.
One of my favorite things about Korea is the traditional markets. Based on the city, you get to try and experience the specialties of the area through traditional markets. Sokcho traditional market always intrigues visitors with their various specialties including squid sausage (오징어 순대), hot and sweet fried chicken (닭강정), fishcake (어묵), fried donuts with sunflower seeds (씨앗호떡), fermented seafood paste (젓갈) and dried seafood (건어물). My family and I spent hours walking around, trying new food, and taking in the local culture of Sokcho. We also chose fresh seafood ourselves for dinner at the market and had a delicious meal by the ocean.
On our way back to Seoul, my family made a quick stop in Gangneung. Gangneung is a coffee-loving city and has coffee shops in almost every corner of their streets. The cafe we went to was called Tererosa, a “must” spot for coffee lovers in Korea. We also tried one of Gangneung’s specialties, coffee bread called coffee kong. It was more like a small cupcake and I loved the shape and the scent as much as I enjoyed the taste. Everytime I travel to a new city and country, my favorite experience always involves food:)
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