Days gone by · 100 photographs · 1940–2011
Sokcho, days gone by
Preparing fish by the water, crossing on a ferry, posing outside a neighborhood shop. Follow everyday Sokcho from harbors to lanes, schools and beaches in 100 photographs.
Explore the 100 photographsSokcho Harbor · Cheongho-dong · Dongmyeong · Daepo
A day begins at the water
Boats arrive, catches come ashore, and trading and preparation begin. Follow baskets, squid drying racks and ferries into the working day.
Boats returning to Sokcho
Fishing boats enter Sokcho Harbor in the 1950s. People gather aboard the boats and along the quay, with a bicycle in the foreground. The landing place sits directly beside the route used by people on shore.
Dried squid at the fish market
Dried squid is being traded at Sokcho's fish market in the 1950s. People stand between stacks of bundled squid, with boats lined up just behind them. The waterfront brings fishing and the sale of its catch into one setting.
Preparing pollock in winter
Workers prepare pollock during a winter in the 1950s. They sit beside fish spread across the floor, working with their hands. Heavy clothing and the fish filling the space show the setting of winter seafood processing.
Trading fish beside the boats
This is the area around the Sokcho fisheries cooperative's market in the 1950s. Fish cover the ground, and people crowd among baskets and boxes. Boats behind the market reveal how unloading and selling shared the waterfront.
Squid work beside the baskets
People handle squid on a quay in the 1950s. Round baskets sit beside crouching workers, while cargo is moved on a boat behind them. Work aboard the vessel and preparation ashore take place only a few steps apart.
A ferry crowded with passengers
A gaetbae ferry crosses the water in the 1960s. Passengers stand closely together on its low, flat deck, with small houses on the opposite shore. The open vessel shows a form of everyday neighborhood transport.
Squid drying racks on wheels
Mobile squid drying racks line the waterfront in Cheongho-dong in the 1980s. Squid hangs from several tiers, and wheels are visible underneath. The waterfront road also served as a place to dry seafood.
A gaetbae pulling competition
A national gaetbae pulling competition took place on Cheongcho Lake on October 26, 2006. Participants occupy two boats while spectators gather along the shore. With Expo Tower in the background, the ferry becomes a setting for a contest.
Daepo village, past and present
Daepo Harbor in the 1950s and 1960s–1970s. Different viewpoints show the houses and waterfront around the harbor.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not the scene today.
Daepo Harbor from the rocks
Two people stand on rocks with Daepo Harbor behind them in the 1950s. Low buildings cluster along the waterfront, and boats sit inside the harbor. This ground-level view shows how closely the village and port were connected.
Daepo's snow-covered village
This is a winter view of Daepo Harbor from the 1960s–1970s. Houses crowd the slopes surrounding the harbor, with snow on their roofs and the hillside. The waterfront road and breakwater are visible together.
Nets and fishing boats at Daepo
This view shows the inside of Daepo Harbor on October 28, 2008. Nets and fishing gear lie in front of moored boats, with shops behind them. Places serving customers stand close to the working spaces of the fishing port.
Stalls along Daepo's landing quay
This is the landing-quay area at Daepo Harbor on September 25, 2008. Stalls identified in the original record line the water, backed by buildings with large signs. The harbor's unloading area and commercial spaces appear together.
Daepo redevelopment, past and present
Compare Daepo Harbor in 2008 and 2011. Use the foreground buildings and inner harbor to locate the expanded construction area beyond.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not the scene today.
Daepo Harbor before redevelopment
This photograph looks down into Daepo Harbor on July 11, 2008. Boats and buildings follow the curved shoreline, and a breakwater extends toward the sea. The following 2011 view reveals changes to the space outside the old harbor.
Daepo Harbor takes a new shape
Redevelopment at Daepo Harbor is seen from a hill in Daepo-dong on April 28, 2011. Broad construction areas and new structures extend beyond the old harbor. Beside the 2008 photograph, this view reveals changes to the boundary between land and water.
Dongmyeong entrance, past and present
The entrance to Dongmyeong Harbor in the 1980s and 2000s. Different directions reveal the waterfront work area and shops at the entrance.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not the scene today.
Road and boats at Dongmyeong's entrance
This is the entrance to Dongmyeong Harbor in the 1980s. A pedestrian crossing in the foreground and boats along the waterfront appear in the same view. The fishing port's working area begins just beyond the road used by people and vehicles.
Signs at the entrance to Dongmyeong
This street leads into Dongmyeong Harbor in the 2000s. An arch spans the entrance, and restaurant signs cover the corner building. Taken from a different direction than the earlier photograph, it shows businesses gathered at the harbor entrance.
The coastal road to Jangsa Harbor
This view shows Jangsa Harbor and its seafood restaurant district in the late 1990s. Roads and buildings follow the waterfront, with breakwaters and concrete wave breakers beside the shore. Parked cars and the buildings around the harbor show how travel and commerce share the coastal space.
Sokcho Harbor beyond the breakwater
This aerial view looks inland across Sokcho Harbor in the 2000s. Piers and boats sit inside the long breakwater, with the city stretching beyond the waterfront. Harbor, city and distant mountains share the frame, showing how the built-up areas gather around the water.
Jungang-dong · Geumho-dong · Joyang-dong
Beneath the signs, along the streets
Ship chandlers, watch shops, market passages and bus terminals. Shop names and passing vehicles trace changes in the town center.
Passing ship chandlers and tailors
Signs for Dongyang ship supplies, Dancheon tailoring and Muncheon watches appear on this 1950s street. People wearing garments that cover them like rain capes walk past. Shops for maritime supplies, clothes and watches share the same row.
A narrow passage in Yeongnang Market
This is Yeongnang Jeil Market in 1953. Household goods and baskets line a narrow passage used by shoppers and passersby. Merchandise inside the shops and beside the path reveals the market's compact arrangement.
Two children outside Sipja Pharmacy
Two children raise their arms outside Sipja Pharmacy in 1960. Signs for the pharmacy and a newspaper outlet stand behind them, with a low boundary beside the road. A childhood photograph also preserves the shops and streetscape of the town center.
Jungang-dong by the watch shop
This is a busy commercial area in Jungang-dong in the 1960s–1970s. Shops continue past Muncheon Watch Shop on the corner, while pedestrians cross the broad street. A substantial corner building stands alongside smaller roadside businesses.
The street with Mungye Bookshop
This shopping street was photographed in 1963–1965. People pass beneath vertical signs including Mungye Bookshop, beside an uneven road edge. The original record states that playwright Lee Ban and poet Lee Seong-seon worked at the shop.
Vehicles outside the Korean Air office
This building housed Hanheung Sawmill and Korean Air's Sokcho office on May 1, 1968. Large business signs cover the walls, with vehicles parked in front. Several kinds of business occupied the same urban building.
Making Jungang Street, past and present
The source identifies the views as before the road opened and during its widening. Their date ranges overlap, so no precise year-by-year interval is claimed.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not the scene today.
Shops before Jungang Street opened
The original record identifies this as the area before Jungang Street opened, in the 1960s–1970s. Dense low roofs extend behind signs including Myeongjeonsa. The following construction photograph shows another stage in the making of the road.
Widening Jungang Street
Jungang Street is being widened in the 1970s. Broken walls and piles of rubble lie between buildings as people pass through the work area. The photograph shows road space being expanded among existing shops and homes.
Jungang Street, past and present
Jungang Street in the 1990s and 2000s. Compare vehicles and shops while allowing for the different elevated and road-level viewpoints.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not the scene today.
Traffic and shops on Jungang Street
This view looks down Jungang Street in the 1990s. Cars and a bus fill the road between shops, signs and street trees. The long view shows the density of businesses along the thoroughfare.
Jungang Street at road level
Jungang Street is seen near road level in the 2000s. Large shop signs line the route beside moving and parked cars. Although the viewpoint differs from the 1990s photograph, both show traffic and businesses filling the street.
A broad street in Geumho-dong
This is Geumho-dong in the 1970s. Low shops and taller buildings line both sides, with pedestrians and vehicles in the same scene. The road's width and the buildings' heights convey the scale of the town center.
Intercity terminal, past and present
The boarding area in the 1970s and terminal surroundings in the 1990s. A ground-level photograph and wider view show the terminal within its neighborhood.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not the scene today.
Buses lined up at the terminal
This is Sokcho's intercity bus terminal in the 1970s. Several buses stand side by side in a broad yard while people move outside the building. The boarding area lies close to the surrounding street.
The terminal within its neighborhood
The area around Sokcho's intercity bus terminal is seen from above in the 1990s. Low houses and shops surround the space occupied by buses. This broader viewpoint than the 1970s image shows the terminal's relationship with its neighborhood.
The street around the post office
This is the area around Sokcho Post Office in the 1970s. Pedestrians and a bicycle carrying cargo appear along the road, with buses farther back. Walking, cycling and bus travel share the same everyday streetscape.
A cart on Route 7 in Joyang-dong
This is Route 7 in Joyang-dong in the 1960s–1970s. A cart travels along the road between low houses and open land. Utility poles follow the route toward the distant mountains.
A bus outside the neighborhood office
This is Route 7 outside Joyang-dong's neighborhood office in the 1970s. A bus approaches along the paved road beside a tiled-roof building. Only a narrow strip separates the building from passing traffic.
An intersection near the express terminal
This is the area around Joyang-dong's express bus terminal in the 1990s. Cars use a broad road marked with lanes and crossings, flanked by buildings with shop signs. The scene shows commercial spaces extending along the road.
Cars along Beonyeong-ro
This is Beonyeong-ro between Seorak Tower and Dongjin Resort in the 1990s. Cars stand beside the clearly marked road, with taller buildings in the distance. Trees, wires and shops follow the street into the background.
Subok-ro behind the education office
This is Subok-ro behind the Sokcho education office in the 1990s. Cars follow the gently sloping road, with taller buildings along one side. The view records the separation of pavement and roadway alongside the scale of roadside buildings.
A crossing at the stadium junction
This is the five-way junction by the public stadium in the 2000s. Cars line up beside a broad crossing, surrounded by buildings with many signs. Shops and traffic gather where roads meet from several directions.
The shopping street toward Dongmyeong
This road leads toward Dongmyeong Harbor in the 2000s. Low shops line both sides, with several vehicles parked at the edge. Tall restaurant signs characterize the commercial streets around the port.
Food stalls near Subok Tower
These food stalls stood near Subok Tower in the 1990s. Small separate units form a row, with a car and large planters in front. The photograph records both the clustered stalls and the open space before them.
Cheongho · Dongmyeong · Yeongnang · Cheonghak · Oeongchi
Life between low roofs
Switchboards, fire engines, homes beneath the lighthouse, small shops and snowy roads reveal the workings of everyday neighborhoods.
Sokcho spread below Kkwaeksan
Sokcho is seen from Kkwaeksan in the 1950s. Dense low roofs overlap in the foreground beneath a long mountain horizon. This wide view reveals the scale of the neighborhood and routes between its roofs.
Connecting calls at the switchboard
Telephone operators work at Sokcho Post Office in the 1950s. Each sits on a chair facing the switchboard, with connecting cords visible on the equipment. The room records a time when calls were connected by hand.
A fire engine at the volunteer station
This is the Sokcho volunteer fire brigade's building in the 1950s. A fire engine stands at the garage entrance beneath large lettering. Its equipment and tall wheels show the form of a fire vehicle of the period.
The beach outside Dongmyeong-dong homes
This is the coastal village of Dongmyeong-dong in 1963–1965. Low houses stand behind a stone wall, with people on the sand in front. Domestic surroundings lie close to the beach reached by the waves.
Below the lighthouse, past and present
The village below Sokcho Lighthouse in the 1960s–1970s and 1980s. The rocky hill anchors a comparison of roofs and open coastal space.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not the scene today.
Roofs of Saepjjok village below the lighthouse
This is Saepjjok village in Yeongnang-dong, near Sokcho Lighthouse, in the 1960s–1970s. Small houses cluster beneath a rocky slope beside the sea. The 1980s photograph offers another view of the village and coastal space below the lighthouse.
The village below the lighthouse in the 1980s
This broad view shows the area beneath Sokcho Lighthouse in the 1980s. Houses and a road sit below the rocky hill, with open ground and drying structures in front. Although the angle differs, both photographs record living spaces below the same lighthouse.
Cheonghak-dong around Nakcheon Bathhouse
This is the area around Nakcheon Bathhouse in Cheonghak-dong in the 1960s–1970s. Low shops follow the road, with bicycles outside the buildings. A bathhouse and stores form part of the neighborhood's everyday street.
Road markings in Cheonghak-dong
This is the national road through Cheonghak-dong in the 1980s. Lanes and a pedestrian crossing mark the road between shops and utility poles. The view shows the long thoroughfare in relation to its low roadside buildings.
Around Gyodong's office and health center
This is the area around Gyodong's neighborhood office and health center in the 1980s. Walls and low buildings line a broad paved road. Repeated roadside posts and trees separate walking space from the carriageway.
Route 7 near Sokcho Middle School
This is Route 7 near Sokcho Middle School in the 1980s. A long wall on one side faces low buildings on the other. Road markings, pavements and trees define the street around the school.
Gyodong Jugong 1, past and present
The first Jugong complex appears across a stream in the 1980s and in a closer view in the early 2000s. Viewpoints and distances differ. Compare the path and stream outside the complex with the trees and balconies beside its buildings.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not the scene today.
A stream-side path and apartments
This is the stream beside the student gymnasium and the first Jugong apartment complex in the 1980s. A path used by people follows the narrow channel, with apartments behind it. Open ground and apartment buildings share the scene.
A closer view of Gyodong Jugong 1
This close view shows an apartment building in Gyodong Jugong 1 in the early 2000s. Windows and balconies repeat across the pale walls, with trees and small planted beds in front. Alongside the earlier 1980s view of the complex in the distance, it offers a closer look at the buildings within that neighborhood.
Apartments beyond the bend in Gyodong
This is the area around the Hyundai apartment complex in Gyodong in 1991. A broad road with yellow center lines curves past several apartment buildings. Roadside trees and plots without buildings show the residential blocks alongside their surrounding streets.
Behind the school before Beonyeong-ro
This is the area by Sokcho Elementary School's rear gate in the 1980s. The original record identifies it as predating Beonyeong-ro, with a broad dirt road and low houses. People and a vehicle help convey the scale of the unpaved neighborhood road.
The relocated Oeongchi village
This is the relocated Oeongchi village in the 1980s. Houses with separate boundary walls stand in rows, backed by open land and low hills. Roofs of similar height and paths between homes reveal the village's arrangement.
A crossing in Yeongnang-dong
This color photograph shows the national road in Yeongnang-dong in the 1980s. The road extends beyond a foreground crossing, with people beside low shops. Road markings and building facades retain their colors in this neighborhood view.
Between low houses in Cheongho-dong
This is Cheongho-dong's main road in the 1980s. Single-story homes face a narrow street, where children gather beneath overhead wires. Doorways open directly onto the neighborhood's shared space.
The approach to the gaetbae landing
This is the approach to the gaetbae landing in Jungang-dong in the 1990s. Cars gather on a narrow road descending between signed shop buildings. Commerce and movement share a small route leading toward the water.
Outside Honam Store in Abai Village
This is Abai Village in Cheongho-dong in the 1990s, before the new waterway opened. A display window sits below the Honam Store sign, with a child seated on a low ledge outside. The shop doorway and everyday life beside the street share the frame.
The lane with Hongwon Supermarket
This is Hongwon Supermarket in Cheongho-dong in the 1990s. Product signs and glass doors face the lane beneath a tiled roof. The original record says the shop disappeared with construction of the new waterway, leaving this image of its setting.
At the Cheongho-dong ferry landing
This is the Cheongho-dong gaetbae landing in the 1990s, before the new waterway. A passage between small buildings leads down to the water, with the town close across the channel. A narrow street connects directly to waterborne transport.
Low restaurant buildings in Abai Village
This is Abai Village in the 1990s, before the new waterway. Restaurant signs and several doorways extend beneath low roofs, with a motorcycle beside the lane. The neighborhood is seen through small paths outside homes and shops.
Everyday shops in Abai Village
This is a shopping street in Abai Village in 1997. Awnings and signs line the low shops on both sides, with clothing and household goods displayed outside. Pedestrians pass close to the displays, sharing the same narrow street with the shops.
Red rooftops by the sea in Abai Village
This view looks over the houses of Abai Village in 1997. Low homes with red tiled roofs cluster together, and a white car appears on the road in front. Beyond the utility poles and wires between the rooftops lies the sea, showing how closely the neighborhood adjoins the coast.
Homes beside reclamation at Cheongcho Lake
This photograph shows reclamation on the Abai Village side of Cheongcho Lake in the 1990s. Broad earthworks and construction machinery lie directly beside houses. Existing residential space meets newly formed land.
People and a bus in deep snow
This scene follows heavy snow in the 1950s. People walk in single file through deep snow toward a stationary bus. A trampled path and the snow surrounding the vehicle make the obstacles to travel visible.
Wheel tracks through a snowy street
Heavy snow covers Sokcho in this 1960s–1970s view. Deep wheel tracks cut through the road as a cyclist and vehicles pass. Snow outside the shops and on the carriageway reveals different surfaces within the same street.
Winter on Route 7 in Daepo-dong
Heavy snow lies along Route 7 in Daepo-dong on December 22, 2008. Cleared snow forms high banks while people walk along the remaining space outside shops. The scene shows paths opened for traffic and pedestrians.
Doorsteps · Schoolyards · Playgrounds
Small records of growing up
Carrying cloth-wrapped books, skipping ropes and posing beside cars. Family and school photographs also preserve clothing and everyday objects.
A family photograph in spring
This family photograph was taken in spring 1940. Adults and children pose in rows outside a house, with a bicycle leaning to one side. Hanbok and other clothing appear alongside the window lattice and threshold.
Daepo Elementary School's broad playground
This is Daepo Elementary School in the 1950s. Students form rows across a wide playground in front of low school buildings. The surrounding hills help show the scale of the school grounds.
Children outside Sokcho Elementary School
This group photograph was taken at Sokcho Elementary School in the 1950s. Children sit and stand in rows before a low school building. The long line of windows provides a backdrop to their varied clothing.
Carrying books wrapped in cloth
First-year students at Sokcho Middle School pose in summer in the 1950s. Three students hold cloth-wrapped books outside a house. The original record describes a coeducational school without uniforms, where book cloths took the place of bags.
Childhood outside a neighborhood shop
This photograph of children in the 1960s was submitted to a family-photo competition. Four children stand outside a shop with wooden doors on a dirt lane. Striped clothes, shorts and different poses preserve a moment in the neighborhood.
Group exercises across the schoolyard
This is the schoolyard of Sokcho Middle School in the 1960s–1970s. Students stand at regular intervals with their arms extended. Repeated rows and figures at the front reveal the scale of the group exercise.
After practical class at Sokcho Girls' High
Second-year students at Sokcho Girls' High School pose with their teacher after practical work in 1971. Three people stand side by side before low buildings and a wall. Clothing that appears suited to practical work sits alongside everyday dress in this school record.
Skipping ropes in the playground
This is a second-grade physical education class at Sokcho Elementary School in 1973. Children skip ropes across the playground beside a basketball hoop. The photograph brings an outdoor school lesson into close view.
A child beside a green Pony taxi
A Daemyeong company Pony taxi stands outside a hot-spring establishment in 1982. A child poses beside its green body, rear windows and distinctive hatchback shape. The personal photograph also preserves the appearance of a taxi of the period.
Two children on the sand by Subok Tower
Two children pose on the beach in front of Subok Tower in April 1982. The sea and a lighthouse appear behind them. Hats, layered clothing and an object held in one hand add details to this seaside keepsake.
Yeongnang Elementary beside the lake and town
This is Yeongnang Elementary School in 2000. Rows of windows run along the long school building, with a green roof and pale exterior walls. The lake and residential streets behind it show where the school stood within the neighborhood.
Cinemas · Yeongnang Lake · Seoraksan · Sokcho Beach
To the cinema, lake and sea
Reading film boards, finding balance on ice and stepping off buses for mountains and beaches. Revisit places where people spent time together.
Inns in Seoraksan's old tourist district
This is Seoraksan's old tourist district in the 1950s. Vertical signs, including Biseon Inn, hang from low buildings beside a pedestrian in the road. Accommodation and dining facilities gathered here to serve mountain visitors.
Dongbo Theater's large film boards
Dongbo Theater appears in the source's 1950s section. Large boards depicting film titles and actors cover its facade. Advertising continues above the entrances, making the cinema recognizable from the street.
A street procession advertising a circus
People advertise a circus on a street in the 1950s. They carry flags and a long banner, with children walking alongside. The scene records street publicity used to attract an audience.
A bus beneath Jeil Theater's sign
This is the entrance area of Jeil Theater in the 1960s. A bus stands beneath a large overhead film advertisement, with people alongside it. The sign and vehicle fill the compact street space.
People outside Jungang Theater
This is the front of Jungang Theater in the 1960s–1970s. A large film board spans the upper facade while people gather near the doors. Street-facing advertising and the entrance area share the frame.
Ssireum on a sand arena
This demonstration ssireum match marked Liberation Day in the 1950s. Two wrestlers compete on the sand while another person watches beside them. Spectators farther back show the setting for a shared outdoor sporting event.
Lunar New Year on frozen Yeongnang Lake
People gather on frozen Yeongnang Lake during Lunar New Year in the 1960s. Wearing long winter clothing, they stand on broad ice before low hills. The lakeside leisure space takes on a different surface in winter.
A bicycle by Beombawi Rock
This photograph was taken by Beombawi Rock at Yeongnang Lake in the 1960s. A person stands holding a bicycle, with rocks and the lakeshore behind. Transport and a lakeside outing share the same keepsake image.
Finding balance on the ice
Friends skate on frozen Yeongnang Lake in 1973. Two people bend low and extend their arms to keep their balance. Homes along the far shore frame this use of the winter lake as a place to play.
An animal-drawn cart by Subok Tower
This wide photograph shows Subok Tower and its surroundings in the 1960s. An animal-drawn cart passes along the road with the sea behind it. The monument stands between an everyday route and the beach.
Cheoksan Hot Spring beneath a tiled roof
This is Cheoksan Hot Spring in the 1960s–1970s. Its name is painted across a low tiled-roof building, with tables and people in the yard. The photograph gives a close view of the entrance used by visitors.
Visitors crossing a suspension bridge
People cross a suspension bridge in Seoraksan in the 1960s–1970s. A long line of visitors follows its narrow deck, holding ropes and railings. Their movement gives scale to the passage between the rocks.
A photograph in front of tour buses
Two people pose in a Seoraksan parking area in 1972. Several tour buses face the camera behind them. Their large windscreens and body details record the vehicles used for group travel.
Outside the shops at Seoraksan's parking area
This is Seoraksan's main parking area in the 1990s. People gather beneath shop and restaurant signs, with bags and goods along the roadside. The scene shows facilities for eating, waiting and shopping around a mountain visit.
At the opening sign for Joyang Beach
This photograph records the opening of Joyang Beach in 1972. Two people pose before its named entrance, with a sandy path leading toward the sea. The original record identifies it as the predecessor of Sokcho Beach.
Sokcho Beach entrance, past and present
Sokcho Beach entrance in the 1990s and 2000s. Tall buildings on either side and the central road provide shared reference points for comparing signs and roadside details.
Present means the later of these two photographs, not the scene today.
Sokcho Beach entrance in the 1990s
This road leads into Sokcho Beach in the 1990s. Tall buildings stand on both sides of the entrance, framing the route toward the shore. The same buildings and street form can be traced in the following 2000s photograph.
Sokcho Beach entrance in the 2000s
This is the entrance to Sokcho Beach in the 2000s. Cars move between buildings visible in the earlier photograph, now shown with accommodation and restaurant signs. The pair allows comparison of the road layout and commercial surroundings.
A summer of cars and parasols
Sokcho Beach is seen from above in the 1990s. Cars fill rows in the foreground parking area, while parasols and people crowd the sand. Parking and bathing spaces adjoin each other along the summer beach.
A van on the sand at Jangsa-dong
This is the beach at Jangsa-dong in the 1990s. A van carrying items on its roof stands on the sand beside bicycles, containers, equipment and parasols. The scene stretches to the rocky waterline, bringing vehicles and everyday objects together on the beach.
A curving road in Seoraksan's new district
This road runs through Seoraksan's new tourist district in the 1990s. It curves between low buildings and stone walls, with mountain peaks behind. Roads and buildings show the facilities supporting visits to the area.
Dongmyeong's bridge over the sea
This is Dongmyeong Marine Bridge in the 1990s. Red supports and blue railings lead toward a pavilion above the sea. The pedestrian structure extends a place for looking out over the waterfront.