Quick answer (checked 9 October 2026): Sokcho has three Olive Young stores, two Daiso branches within reach of the cruise terminal and one E-mart. With two hours ashore, walk 12 minutes from the cruise terminal to Olive Young Sokcho on Jungang-ro, next to the Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market. With more time, take a short taxi to 4038 Donghae-daero, where Daiso Sokcho Main and Olive Young Sokcho Joyang share one building. E-mart closes on the second and fourth Sundays.
Sokcho shopping on a short visit comes down to three chains. Olive Young (올리브영) is a major Korean health-and-beauty chain, Daiso (다이소) is a fixed-low-price variety store, and E-mart (이마트, also written Emart) is a hypermarket. This guide covers every branch of the three that a visitor can reach on foot or by a short taxi ride.
When we helped passengers at the Sokcho cruise terminal on a 2026 call day, three questions came up more than any others: where is an ATM, where is Olive Young, and how do I say this in Korean. This page answers the second, and adds Daiso and E-mart, the next two names people asked about.
Every store below is on the walking map under the shop layer, next to the restrooms, ATMs and shuttle stops.
Which store for how much time ashore
| Time ashore | Plan | Where |
|---|---|---|
| About 2 hours | Walk 12 minutes from the terminal | Olive Young Sokcho |
| 4 hours or more | Market first, then a short taxi to Joyang-dong | Daiso Sokcho Main + Olive Young Sokcho Joyang |
| Food gifts in bulk | A separate taxi stop (not on a closing Sunday) | E-mart Sokcho |
| Daiso, but no taxi | 18 minutes on foot inland from the market | Daiso Sokcho Gyodong |
Every store here is open until at least 21:50. On a cruise day, the limit is your all-aboard time, not the shops.
Olive Young in Sokcho: all three stores
| Store | Address | Hours | From the market | From the cruise terminal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Olive Young Sokcho (올리브영 속초점) | 132 Jungang-ro (중앙로 132) | Daily 10:00–22:00 | 4 min walk | 12 min walk |
| Olive Young Sokcho Joyang (올리브영 속초조양점) | 4038 Donghae-daero (동해대로 4038) | Daily 10:00–22:00 | Taxi, or 27 min walk | Taxi, or 30 min walk |
| Olive Young Sokcho Daero (올리브영 속초대로점) | 4141 Donghae-daero (동해대로 4141) | Daily 10:00–22:00 | Taxi, or 30 min walk | Taxi, or 38 min walk |
Store names link to each Naver Place listing, the source for the hours, checked on 9 October 2026. Walking times are estimated from the map, not timed on foot.
Olive Young Sokcho, the one near the market
This is the branch cruise passengers want. It is on Jungang-ro, the main road beside the Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market (속초관광수산시장), so it fits between lunch at the market and the walk back to the ship. On 9 October 2026 it had more than a thousand visitor reviews on Naver.
Olive Young Sokcho Joyang
Olive Young Sokcho Joyang shares a building with Daiso Sokcho Main, so one taxi stop covers both. If you are going to Daiso anyway, shop for skincare here too.
Olive Young Sokcho Daero
Olive Young Sokcho Daero shares the ground floor of a Samsung Store at the entrance to a Booyoung apartment complex, further west along Donghae-daero. Go if the other two are out of what you want.
Show your taxi driver the Korean store name, not the English one: 올리브영 속초점, 다이소 속초본점 or 이마트 속초점. "Olive Young" on its own could mean any of the three.
Daiso in Sokcho
| Store | Address | Hours | From the market | From the cruise terminal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daiso Sokcho Main (다이소 속초본점) | 4038 Donghae-daero (동해대로 4038) | Daily 10:00–22:00 | Taxi, or 27 min walk | Taxi, or 30 min walk |
| Daiso Sokcho Gyodong (다이소 속초교동점) | 3395 Misiryeong-ro, unit 205 (미시령로 3395 205호) | Daily 09:30–21:50 | 18 min walk | 29 min walk |
Daiso (다이소) sells small gifts, travel odds and ends and basic skincare at fixed low prices.
Daiso Sokcho Main and Olive Young Sokcho Joyang
Daiso Sokcho Main, the town's main branch with more than 16,000 visitor reviews on Naver (9 October 2026), shares 4038 Donghae-daero with an Olive Young. That makes it the best single taxi stop on a cruise day: budget gifts and K-beauty under one roof.
Daiso Sokcho Gyodong
Daiso Sokcho Gyodong is the closest Daiso to the market and the one to pick if you would rather walk. It is on the second floor (unit 205), and its hours run earlier than the others: 09:30 to 21:50.
E-mart Sokcho
| Address | 12 Seoraggeumgangdaegyo-ro (설악금강대교로 12), Cheongho-dong |
| Hours | 10:00–23:00 |
| Closed | Second and fourth Sundays: 11 and 25 October, 8 and 22 November 2026 |
| Phone | 033-630-1234 |
| Listing | E-mart Sokcho on Naver Place |
| From the market | Taxi, or 26 min walk |
| From the cruise terminal | Taxi, or 27 min walk |
E-mart is the big supermarket, so come here for food gifts: snacks, instant ramyeon, gim (seasoned seaweed) and Korean liquor. It is a separate stop from the Daiso and Olive Young building, so plan it as its own taxi ride. Shinhan and Woori ATMs are on the ground floor (Naver Place, 9 October 2026).
Check the Sunday. Large Korean supermarkets close two Sundays a month. If your ship is in on Sunday 25 October, E-mart is closed; Daiso and Olive Young stay open.
A Sokcho shopping route for a long call day
With four hours or more ashore:
- Start at the market. On call days the city has run a free market shuttle from the terminal (10:00–18:30 on recent calls); otherwise it is a 12-minute walk. See the cruise day guide.
- Walk 4 minutes to Olive Young Sokcho if all you need is skincare.
- For Daiso, take a taxi about 1.6 km to 동해대로 4038 and shop Daiso Sokcho Main and Olive Young Sokcho Joyang under one roof.
- Add 이마트 속초점 as a separate taxi stop for food gifts (not on a closing Sunday).
- Take a taxi straight back to the cruise terminal. The free shuttle leaves from the market, not from Joyang-dong.
Taxi fares start at ₩4,000, and short rides around downtown Sokcho usually come to ₩4,000–6,000. See Sokcho taxi fares and tips.
Olive Young tax refund for cruise passengers
On 6 April 2026, the Korea Customs Service (관세청) opened Korea's in-store tax refund to cruise passengers. It used to rely on immigration records that passengers on a shore pass did not generate; Customs now checks the ship's arrival report and passenger list instead.
| Refund type | How it works | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate refund | The tax comes off at the till | Under ₩1,000,000 per purchase, ₩5,000,000 per trip |
| City refund | Paid at a downtown refund counter after you buy, against security equal to the tax refunded (Korea Customs Service) | Up to ₩6,000,000 per purchase |
What to do at Olive Young, Daiso or E-mart:
- Bring your passport. The till needs the physical passport.
- Look for a TAX FREE or TAX REFUND sign and ask before you pay: "Tax free?" or "택스 리펀드 돼요?" (taek-seu ri-peon-deu dwae-yo?). Only stores registered for tax-free sales can do it, so ask at each one.
- Mind the minimum spend. A minimum spend applies per receipt; ask at the till.
Paying with a foreign card at Olive Young, Daiso and E-mart
Visa and Mastercard should work at the tills of all three chains, so you should not need cash for them (general guidance; we have not tested these tills). Carry a second card in case one terminal declines yours. If you want won for the market stalls, see ATMs in Sokcho for foreign cards: the bank ATMs on Jungang-ro are 2–3 minutes from the market.
Before you go
- All pins are on the walking map: turn on the shop layer.
- Want to ask for a tax refund or a bag in Korean? See our Korean pronunciation guide.
- For food near the market, start with what to eat in Sokcho.
How we checked this
Store names, road addresses, phone numbers, coordinates and opening hours were read from each store's Naver Place listing on 9 October 2026; E-mart's closing Sundays of 11 and 25 October and 8 November were confirmed against the same listing, and 22 November follows the same second-and-fourth-Sunday rule. Walking times are straight-line distance × 1.3 at 80 metres per minute. Tax-refund rules come from the Korea Customs Service press release of 3 April 2026. Hours can change around public holidays: check the store's Naver listing on the day.
Sokcho shopping FAQ
Is there an Olive Young in Sokcho?
Yes, three. Olive Young Sokcho (올리브영 속초점, 132 Jungang-ro) is a 4-minute walk from the Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market and 12 minutes from the cruise terminal. Olive Young Sokcho Joyang (4038 Donghae-daero, in the Daiso building) and Olive Young Sokcho Daero (4141 Donghae-daero) are in Joyang-dong, a short taxi ride south. All three list daily hours of 10:00–22:00 on Naver.
Which Olive Young is closest to the Sokcho cruise terminal?
Olive Young Sokcho at 132 Jungang-ro (올리브영 속초점). It is about 12 minutes on foot from the cruise terminal and 4 minutes from the Sokcho Tourist & Fishery Market, so it fits even a two-hour visit. The other two branches are in Joyang-dong, about 30 minutes on foot or a short taxi ride away.
Where is Daiso in Sokcho?
The main branch is Daiso Sokcho Main (다이소 속초본점) at 4038 Donghae-daero in Joyang-dong, open 10:00–22:00 and in the same building as Olive Young Sokcho Joyang. The closest to the market is Daiso Sokcho Gyodong (다이소 속초교동점) at 3395 Misiryeong-ro, unit 205, open 09:30–21:50 and about 18 minutes on foot from the market.
Is E-mart Sokcho open on Sunday?
Not every Sunday. E-mart Sokcho (이마트 속초점, 12 Seoraggeumgangdaegyo-ro) closes on the second and fourth Sundays of the month: 11 and 25 October and 8 and 22 November 2026. On other days it is open 10:00–23:00. Daiso and Olive Young stay open on those Sundays.
Can cruise passengers get a tax refund at Olive Young in Sokcho?
Cruise passengers became eligible for Korea's immediate tax refund on 6 April 2026, according to the Korea Customs Service (관세청). At stores registered for tax-free sales, the tax comes off at the till for purchases under ₩1,000,000 each, up to ₩5,000,000 per trip. Bring your physical passport and ask at the Olive Young till before you pay.
Can I pay with a foreign card at Olive Young, Daiso and E-mart?
Visa and Mastercard should work at the tills of all three chains, so you should not need cash for them (general guidance; we have not tested these tills). Keep a second card as backup in case one terminal declines yours. If you want won in cash for some market stalls, the bank ATMs on Jungang-ro are 2–3 minutes from the market.