Squid, Yoga & Fried Chicken in Gangwon

South Korea — June 2025

1 week before my flight to Seoul, my friend Sinae, whom I’ll be staying with again during this short visit, messages me with the planned itinerary. Among several dinners with different people, we also have an invitation to a Yoga festival to celebrate “World Yoga Day” on Saturday. While Sinae is practicing Yoga multiple times a week (if possible) and even has an ambassador contract with a Korean brand for Yoga clothes, I am very much a beginner. Of course, this is no acceptable excuse not to participate in a day trip to Gangwon. And neither is the fact that we only got home at 4am from a night out at a club in Gwanak District. Sinae & I wake up at around 11am. Me hungover for the second morning in a row, for Sinae it’s just another weekend. She lends me some Yoga pants that she can’t wear anymore, because they are not part of the brand that she has a deal with.

At 12 noon, Sinae and I head up the hill to Sinjeong Station, where we buy coffee and tea for the whole crew. Hyunseo and her boyfriend Jeong-u are waiting in front of their house on the other side of the hill with the car ready to go. Just like Sinae, Hyunseo is working in Social Media and was also invited to the festival by the Gangwon Tourism Association. Jeong-u (like me) is mostly there for the day trip and occasional support. As the designated driver for the 3-4 hour drive, he’s playing a much more important role than me though. His only condition: he wants to stop in Sokcho to eat raw squid. Everybody is on board with this and so we are off into the afternoon traffic. It takes us almost 1 hour to cross Seoul and 1.5 hours more, before we reach the rest stop at Hongcheon where we take a quick toilet break.

From here, Hyunseo takes over the driving, while Sinae and I continue our routine of napping, talking and drinking coffee in the back seat. We finally arrive in Sokcho at 4pm, and Jeong-u guides us to a parking lot at the port. About 20 stalls are set up in the middle of the square, with cars lined up on all four sides around them. Finding empty spaces for the car, as well as for us at a table inside one of the tents seems difficult. So, we split up. Sinae and I queue at the tent stall with the shortest waiting time (all of them have the same menu anyway), while Hyunseo waits for one of the parked cars to leave. We get a table just in time for her to join us and the 3 Koreans immediately order food worth 91’000 Won. One after the other, the 2 portions of Squid sashimi (so fresh it’s still moving!), 1 squid “salad” and 3 servings of Ramyeon arrive. Along with it, my friends also order a large bottle of beer.

This seems quite unusual for the place, given that all the other tables have already emptied multiple bottles of Soju. One of the tipsy groups of guests next to us, 3 older men, strike up a conversation. Turns out, they are friends of the owners, but they only eat here 1 time per year even though they live close by. When we ask why they don’t come more often, one of them replies that the prices are too high. A second guy however, coldly says “maybe you’re just too poor”. And this is peak Korean banter. We let them continue their meal and finish ours quickly since we have another appointment to make. But not without stopping on the way back to the car to buy 2 pieces of corn on the cob from a guy who sells them out of his truck. Keep in mind, the drive to our final destination is only 30 minutes. From Sokcho we’re heading north to Goseong on a straight highway. The sun lights up the mountains on the North Korean border, creating a magical atmosphere.

Then we turn right into the parking area for the beach side, where the festival organizers have already set up the 60ish yoga mats in a circle around a stage on the sand. Sinae and Hyunseo immediately get to work, trying to capture the pretty location and decoration from the best angles. Jeong-u and I support whenever necessary, be it by carrying bags, securing tripods, cleaning sand from yoga mats or modeling during the beach clean-up. At 6pm the main event begins: a guided yoga session of 1.5 hours. For me as a total newbie, a lot of the poses are difficult to hold, and following the instructions in Korean doesn’t make it easier. So, I take advantage of the intense sunset painting the sky in shades of pink and orange, and excuse myself to take occasional photo breaks. At the end of the session, the beach is only lit up by roses and umbrellas covered in string lights.

In this romantic setting, the final price draw takes place, and several winners receive brand new yoga mats, or clothes. And even the not so lucky ones (like our group) return home with a gift bag filled with yoga socks, special water, dried seaweed and gift cards for a popular coffee chain and local restaurants. The latter one we immediately invest in beer and chicken at one of the few open places in the village. During the meal, Hyunseo suddenly realizes that she forgot her rings on the yoga mat. Jeong-u doesn’t hesitate and immediately returns to the event location, where he manages to retrieve 2 of the 3 pieces of jewelry. Missing their couple ring, we start the return journey to Seoul at around 10pm. I sleep right through the 2.5 hours drive (much less traffic at night) and only wake up when we arrive in Sinjeong.

Thinking that the day trip ends here, I’m surprised when we park the car in front of Hyunseo & Jeong-u’s house. This is until Sinae announces that everyone is going for drinks at a bar up on the hill at Sinjeong Station. Even Sinae’s 3^rd floor neighbour is joining for a nightcap, so how could I say no. We end up drinking more beer and someone even orders a midnight snack. During the 2 hours before the bar closes, we discuss all topics from murders in the area 30 years ago to ghosts. Then, the bar finally closes at 3am and all of us head back home on our respective sides of the Sinjeong hill. Truly a day trip to remember.