Sokcho with Kids — Family Itinerary and Where to Eat

Travelling with children is a completely different exercise from travelling as adults. However beautiful the scenery, if the child is miserable the day is over.

Success comes down to two things: short distances, and easy meals.

Sokcho happens to be good at both. The main sights are clustered, so you rarely drive more than ten minutes, and what children enjoy here — sea, sand, boats, cable cars — is reliably appealing.

As a restaurant that hosts a lot of families, here is what actually helps.

What kids love here

Sand play at Sokcho Beach — half a day, gone

Gentle water depth and a wide beach. Children will play with sand for two or three hours without ever entering the sea, which means adults can sit under a parasol. Low effort all round.

Mornings are quiet. From 9 to 11 a.m. there are fewer people and less heat. Floats and sand toys are sold at beachfront shops, so you don’t need to pack them.

In summer the UV is strong — bring a rash guard and a hat.

Sokcho Eye ferris wheel — go in the morning

Right beside the beach, so no travel involved. Cabins are enclosed and safe, and children love looking down at the sea.

Go when the queue is short, in the morning. Waiting is the one thing children truly cannot do.

The gaetbae rope-ferry at Abai Village — the winner

A ferry pulled across by hand. Children get to pull the rope themselves, which gets the biggest reaction of anything here.

The crossing takes just a few minutes and they’ll want to go again. That’s how special it feels.

Seoraksan cable car — leave the stroller

Mountain scenery with no hiking. The ride is about five minutes, so there’s no time to get bored.

A baby carrier beats a stroller by a wide margin. The path from the upper station to Gwongeumseong is rocky and impassable with wheels. With small children, the observation deck at the upper station is plenty.

Fares and queue tactics are in our Seoraksan cable car guide.

The meal problem, solved

Feeding children on holiday is the biggest stress point. Families make up a large share of our dining room, so we’ve put thought into it.

For children

• Kids’ abalone porridge (8,000 KRW) — lightly seasoned, made specifically for children. Nutritious, and most kids finish it.
• Plenty of non-spicy dishes — abalone porridge, sea urchin seaweed soup, snow crab rice bowl, stuffed squid. Look for the “kid-friendly” badge on the menu.
• Mulhoe itself is on the spicy side, so we don’t recommend it for young children. Adults have the mulhoe, children have porridge or a rice bowl — that combination works best.

See the full menu.

Facilities

• High chairs available.
• Group tables so extended families can sit together.
• Separate men’s and women’s restrooms.
• A very large private car park, so you can lift a child straight out of the car seat and walk in. No circling for a space.
• Dining is on floors 1–3; the ground floor is easiest with children. Just say so and we’ll seat you there.

After eating

The beach is directly behind us, so you can go straight from lunch to sand play. Bring a change of clothes.

A family photo at our top-floor Sky Stairs viewpoint is worth doing — the sea and ferris wheel land in the background.

Field-tested tips

Build the nap into the plan. This matters most. Rest at the hotel for two hours after lunch, come out again around 4 p.m., and in summer you get less heat plus much better light for photos. Everyone is far less frayed.

Two places a day is enough. Push for three or four and everyone is too tired to enjoy the last one.

Have a rainy-day plan ready.

• Sokcho Eye — enclosed cabins, runs in rain
• Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market — covered, and there’s dakgangjeong
• View cafés — Sokcho has many with full-length sea-facing windows. A rainy sea has its own appeal.

Stay near the beach. Shorter nap runs are decisive. Whether you can get back to the room within five minutes when a child starts fading often determines how the day goes. See where to stay in Sokcho for details.

You don’t need a car. We’re a 3-minute walk from Sokcho Express Bus Terminal, with the beach right behind us. Arriving by public transport with children is fine — this whole area is walkable.

One last thing

Nothing goes to plan when travelling with children. Sokcho is forgiving about that, though — show a child the sea and most of the day is salvaged.

If anything would make your meal easier, just ask. We understand how it goes with small children.

See the menu · Directions and parking · 1-night-2-days itinerary