Samcheok

Samcheok (삼척) is a city in the southernmost region of Gangwon-do. It reaches out to the east coast, and Uljin in Gyeongsangbuk-do to the south. You can enjoy a romantic time by the blue ocean and mysterious caves.

Understand
Samcheok is located in the southeastern part of Gangwon State. The length of the coastline facing the East Sea reaches 104.5 km. The area is 1186.53㎢, which is 7.03 % of Gangwon State's total area. The population is 69,339 (2017), which is 4.43 % of Gangwon State's total population.

Tourist office
Next to the express bus terminal is an information booth, right on the sidewalk. They are extremely helpful and will give you maps and schedules in English.

By bus
Nonstop buses to Samcheok Express Bus Terminal leave every 40 to 50 minutes from Seoul Express Bus Terminal. On weekdays, the first bus departs at 06:30 and the last at 23:30. There are also 15 services daily from Dong (East) Seoul Bus Terminal to Samcheok between 07:10 and 20:05. Check to make sure the buses are the kind with three seats across instead of four, they are the same price but much more comfortable.

By car
If you’re planning to drive from Seoul, take the Yeongdong Expressway to Gangneung junction, then get onto the Donghae (East Sea) Expressway to Donghae. National Road No. 7 will then take you to Samcheok.

Get around
There are city and regional buses that go to all of the tourist sites and usually leave every hour from a bus stop alongside the back of the city bus terminal. To get to the caves, a ticket must be purchased inside the terminal. For the penis park and Youngwha beach you pay on the bus. Taxis are also plentiful and relatively cheap. The main downtown area is a 10-minute walk from the terminal.

See
Although a number of caves have been discovered throughout Samcheok, their interiors are deceptively fragile, and so only these two, both part of Daei ri County Park, are open to the public. They are ‘Hwanseongul’ and ‘Daegeumgul’.



Eat
There are several raw fish restaurants at the harbor along Sae-chun-nyeo Street. A local speciality is black goat soup, it can be found several places in the city, but outside at Mu-sa-ri village one can find country style goat stew with mountain vegetables.

Sleep
Quite a large number of motels can be found near the bus station. It is worth looking around a bit to find a decent priced room as the prices seem to vary quite a bit (₩50,000-150,000).