Last month, we traveled for the first time to South Korea’s east coast, home to some lovely beaches and the iconic Seoraksan National Park. We traveled easily by intercity bus from Seoul to this area. Though Sokcho is only a 30-minute drive from the national park, it is very much a beach town rather than a mountain town, so we thought it deserved its own post. We were able to take a local bus from our hotel near Mt. Seorak to spend a day in Sokcho and the surrounding area. Most interesting were the seaward-facing Naksan Temple and the historic fishing town of Abai Village, originally a settlement for North…