
Abai Village
Abai Village (아바이마을; map) rests on a half-kilometer sandbar island near where downtown Sokcho’s Cheongcho Lake flows into the East Sea.
The name “Abai” means “grandfather” in North Korea’s Hamgyong Province (함경도; map). During the Korean War, refugees from Hamgyong fled to South Korea and established this refugee village.
Let’s learn more!
History
At the outset of the Korean War, the stronger North Korean army swept through Seoul. Within just a few months, they pushed the allied forces of South Korea and the U.S. down to Busan in the southeastern tip of the peninsula.
However, General MacArthur cooked up a scheme to swing around Korea and invade Incheon City. This caught North Koreans by surprise. Allied forces pushed the North Koreans all the way up to the Yalu River on the border between North Korea and China.
However, China soon joined the war, siding with the faltering North Koreans in January 1951. They drove the South Koreans and U.S. military back to the 38th parallel just above Seoul.
During the retreat, droves of North Koreans marched south with the beleaguered Allied military. Many of the refugees set up villages throughout South Korea, which they believed were temporary as they waited for the Koreas to unify.
In 1951, news reached refugees across South Korea that fellow citizens from Hamgyong Province were gathering on a sandbar in Sokcho, close to the North Korean border, to form a new settlement. This led to a rapid influx of North Koreans, who soon comprised over 70% of the newly formed Abai Village’s population.
The early days of Abai Village brought challenges. The small island sat on shifting coastal sands. Fresh water needed to be transported from inland. But the displaced people with a shared homeland formed a tight-knit community. Many became fishers or worked in nearby seafood factories.
Abai Village reached its height in 1966, with over 7,000 residents. But as industrialization and urbanism swept through South Korea, the community’s population declined. Now less than 6,000 second and third generation refugees remain.
Media Fame
In 2000, the TV drama “Autumn in My Heart” (가을동화) filmed in Abai Village. After its debut, the show gained widespread popularity in Korea, Japan, and China.
Domestic and international tourists descended on the village, visiting the small corner store where Eunseo, the female protagonist, lived. They crossed the tidal channel separating Abai from mainland Sokcho using the Abai Village Ferry. And they strolled on Abai Village Beach (간이해수욕장; map).
Other TV shows that filmed in Abai Village include the documentary series “2 Days & 1 Night” (1박 2일) and the 2020 drama “Boyfriend.”
The Village Today
Abai Village sits in Sokcho’s Cheongcho Neighborhood (청호동; map). More gentrified in recent years due to tourism, the village still claims some of the same aesthetics from when it was first established.
Getting off the Abai Village Ferry, you’ll discover alleys filled with restaurants and a few plank houses, which once stood back-to-back along streets of Abai Village. These houses featured communal toilets, palm-sized windows, and, instead of wallpaper, newspapers lining the interior walls.
Near the village’s coast, residents created a sculpture that commemorates the displaced people of Abai Village (map) and preserved five North Korean-style houses, including a twist house from Kaesong, a bent house from Pyongyang, and traditional houses from Pyongan Province, Hwanghae Province, and Hamgyong Province.
Bridges
In the past, the only way onto Abai Village was via the Abai Village Ferry. However, in 2012, Sokcho opened a pair of back-to-back bridges that skirt the western half of Abai Village.
The Seorak Grand Bridge starts in the south near Sokcho Beach. It crosses a tidal channel near Cheongcho Lake onto Abai Village island. The bridge’s roadway never touches down on the island, but continues over the village on an overpass to the north end of the island. From there, the Geumgang Grand Bridge picks up and extends along the coast up to the Sokcho Port area.
The bridges offer access to both cars and pedestrians. If crossing on foot or by bike, find elevators that lead from the bridge down to Abai Village island.
Seorak and Geumgang are also known for their high-angle vantage points. From their decks, you can see Sokcho’s northern and southern seafronts, Cheongcho Lake, Jodo Island, and Ulsan Rock on the Seorak Mountain.
Abai Village Ferry
Abai Village Ferry (갯배선착장; map) or Gaetbae Ferry, is a manually operated boat that crosses the tidal channel between mainland Sokcho and Abai Village island near the mouth of Cheongcho Lake.
Manually operated?
The boat doesn’t have a motor, nor oars. Ferry captains string a long, hardy rope from one channel bank to the other, then hand pull the rope, which passes through metal loops mounted to the ferry, powering the boat across the water.
Abai Village Ferry dates back to the 1950s. During these early days, it was the only way on and off Abai Village island. That meant this rectangular ferry also carried the essentials for life, including horse-drawn carts, canned goods, and drinking water.
Because Geumgang and Seorak Bridges took over the main duties of the old ferry, today’s ferry is much smaller, holding around 35 people.
Why is this ancient ferry still around, then?
Tourism. The TV drama “Autumn in My Heart” filmed a key scene where the love interests crossed Sokcho’s tidal channel using the Abai Village Ferry. The scene stuck in viewers’ minds so much so that today you’ll still find lines of sightseers waiting to board the rustic ferry.
The ferry consists of two separated boats, operating simultaneously on busy days. The journey lasts five minutes and crosses the 50-meter tidal channel that separates Sokcho City’s downtown with the village that Abai Village stands on.
As soon as visitors hop off the ferry into Abai Village, they’ll find murals and exhibits around a space called the “Art Platform Ferry” showcasing the history of Abai Village’s displaced people.
- Operating hours: 4:30 AM ~ 11 PM (year-round)
- Fee:
- Adult: ₩500 (₩1,000 round-trip)
- Student: ₩300 (₩600 round-trip)
- Abai Village Resident: Free
Cuisine
One of Abai Village’s most distinct features isn’t the ferry, murals, or quaint houses, but its cuisine.
The folks fleeing North Korea during the war may not have brought much. But they managed to import their culinary knowledge. Hop off the Abai Village Ferry and you’ll discover a collection of restaurants serving cuisine popularized in North Korea.
Some quintessential dishes include:
- Abai Sundae (blood sausage): North Korean style sausage made with intestines.
- Naengmyeon (cold noodles): noodles eaten by mixing raw flounder with seasoning and then pouring cold broth over the top.
- Squid Sundae (blood sausage): a local Sokcho specialty, where cooks add squid and other seafood to intestines.
- Sikhye (fermented fish): a dish made by adding rice with fermented fish like pollock, flounder, and frostfish. The pickled dish is a favorite among displaced North Koreans.
- Pollock sundae (blood sausage): a Hamgyong Province delicacy that can only be tasted in Abai Village.