Jeju Island: Wrap-Up

Jeju Island is something you absolutely have to do if you come to Korea. The attractions are beautiful as well as affordable. Hotels may be a little pricey, but the attractions make up for that.

If you can, you must rent a car. It's the easiest and most affordable way to get around the island. On top of that, driving through Jeju is like eye candy. The scenic landscapes look like they came straight out of a coffee table book. If you have time, Just drive through the Jeju countryside, it's more than worth it.

I want to say a special thanks to my friend Hayden for providing most of these pictures. Though I heckled you in the beginning for your expensive camera, you took the best photos.

In conclusion, get you butt in a plane/ferry and hurry to Jeju. Your eyes will thank you later.

Seriously, visit U-Do.

Jeju Island: Day 4

Day 4

Day 4 was our last day in Jeju and by far one of the most beautiful. We first took a canoe ride and then visited 3 waterfalls and some lava rocks. These four items (except the canoe) are located within a 30 minute radius of each other.

Stop 1: See-through Canoe:

While listed typically as a tourist gimmick, I still say the see-through canoe was a fun thing to do. For 5,000 won a person, you can rent a see-through canoe and paddle up to where a spring trickles out into an ocean. 

The see-through canoe is actually pretty dirty, so you can't actually see through it very well, but honestly, that's the last thing you're looking at. The canoe trip is filled lots of mini waterfalls and pretty rock formations. At the end, you're treated to a small water fall where the spring comes out of the rocks. 

The one downside is that you only have 25 minutes in the canoe, and the operators want you paddling pretty much every second of it. This is a real let down when you reach the climax of you ride and get to the spring falls. While we had plenty of time left on our rental time, we were quickly shooed away after a short stop to snap pictures. 

I recommend getting there early because even though we arrived at about 9:00 AM, we still had to wait 25 minutes for a canoe to open up.Yes, it's a tourist trap, but it's a damn fun one at that. 

Stop 2: Jeongbang Falls (정방폭포)

The first waterfall we went to is the tallest in Jeju. It’s a little bit of a hike and for those challenged in the field of balance, watch your step because the rocks to get to the falls are not stable. You can pretty much get right up to the falls. This is a great place to go if you want to get some pretty great photos.

Stop 3: Lava Rocks:

The least impressive of the scenic sites we went to. However, this is perhaps because I’ve simply seen better. If you’ve never seen lava rocks before, the hexagonal rocks may stun you. Plus, it’s pretty cool to see the Hanyeo (한여, female sea divers) actually dive where water is literally crashing against the rocks.

Stop 4: Cheonjaeyeon Falls (천제연폭포)

Cheonjaeyeon Falls is actually a 3 for the price of 1 kind of deal. 3 “falls," 1 ticket. This was also the most crowded place we went to. You start out the beginning of the hike and see some small falls and gradually make your way back. The falls are pretty but may not be worth the crowd (especially if that crowd is middle school students blasting pop music on their phones).

Stop 5: Cheonjiyeon Falls (천지연폭포)

Again, 3 for the price of one. These falls, however, were the most spectacular. My personal recommendation is that you start with the 3^rd fall, the one at the bottom, and work you up to the top. This saves the best for last and doesn’t detract from the beauty of the first two falls (you’ll understand when you reach the top fall).

The last fall (fall #1) is, quite simply, something that took my breath away. As a matter of fact, it was so beautiful that I almost started crying. We came at a time where the top fall was not flowing, which honestly, I’m thankful for (I saw the pictures of when it’s flowing, and it’s not nearly as gorgeous). The water was crystal clear, and the center was the bluest blue you can imagine. You were allowed to stand in the shallow end of the fall; the water is cool and refreshing. Be careful though, the rocks are slippery from moss. My friend learned this the hard way when he slipped and took an unexpected swim in the pond.  

  This is what happens when you step on moss.

It took us a while to tear ourselves away from this fall, but it was a great way to cap the end of our Jeju adventure. 

Jeju Island: Day 3

Day 3: The Hike…

If I could describe myself in one word, athletic would not be that word. Not to say I’m out of shape (though I could use a few sit-ups…and maybe a diet…), but I’m not the world’s most athletic creature. While I’m not athletic, I still love hiking, as does my friend who accompanied me to Jeju. This lead to the spectacular decision to hike up Hallsan Mountain. Did I mention that Hallsan is the tallest mountain in Korea? Or that my friend and I have just about zero mountain climbing experience? Yeah…

Now this is not to say it’s like scaling Everest, but for those who are not physically fit or experienced hikers, getting to the peak of Hallsan will be impossible. How do I know this? Gather around dear children, it’s story time.

Hallsan Mountain (할산)

My friend and I woke up early, 6:00 AM, to get to Hallsan at 8. My friend and I prepared the best we could, lots of water, chocolate (for energy), trail mix, and beef jerky. The purpose of starting our hike at 8:00 AM was to get to the half-way point of Hallsan by 1:00 PM. If you don’t make it by 1 PM, you’re asked to turn around because you won’t be able to make to the peak and back before dark (this time varies depending on the time of year).

While we got to the park at 8, our actual hike didn’t actually begin until about 8:30-9:00. The first hour of our hike was easy albeit a little rocky. The path was literally rocky. As someone who suffers an acute case of clumsiness, this was a death sentence. While we were fast-paced to get to the half-way point by one, we were trying to go slow so that I wouldn’t break an ankle…or kill myself.

I should mention that this part of the hike was quite beautiful.

Hour two is where things started to get bad. You see, it was supposed to be the “easy” section of the hike. Yet climbing rocks at about a 20% incline is pretty difficult, especially for the athletically uninclined. By hour two, I was officially out of breath. My companion said he wasn’t (liar).

More pictures!

 Caterpillars are fun!

Hour 3 hits, and we have now officially reached the 1/3^rd point the trail…as well as the end of the “easy portion”. My friend and I took a breather, ate a little, drank a little, and proceeded to the “medium” part of the journey. Medium, yeah right. If stairs at a 60% incline that go up for stories at a time is considered medium, than yeah, I’m really out of shape…

 It is after about 30 minutes of this stair walking where I finally quite. We sit on the stairs, and I quietly contemplate my defeat (aka cry wo-manly tears of exhaustion). We managed to even snap pictures of our (my) exhaustion faces.

I'm sexy and I know it

The worst part of this moment of weakness was to see all the ajumas and ajushis pass us, allof whom seemed barely phased by the intense climb. That really takes a chip out of your pride.

I admitted to my friend that I could take no more, and we began to make our way down the mountain. Once we made our way down the mountain (an additional hour and a half hike), my friend finally admits that he too is exhausted.

We then eat our lunch while looking at the mountain that defeated us. We then made a promise that we would come back to Hallsan one day and defeat it (not to mention show up those ajuma and ajushis that we are not two out of shape 20-somethings)!

TL;DR Only hike Hallsan with the intent to get to the top only if you are an experienced hiker. If you are not, you will be met with crushing defeat. 

Jeju Island: Day 2

Day 2

The morning begins very early at about 7:00 am. My friend and I rush to get ready and gobble down some breakfast. We then make the hour drive to the other side of the island so we can hop the ferry to fabulous U-Do. We managed to catch the 9:00 A.M. ferry with literal seconds to spare.

The U-Do ferry:

The ferry dock to get to U-Do is right next to Seongsanilchulbong, Jeju’s famous volcanic crater. The ferry is very cheap, about 7,000 won for a round-trip, and that includes the 1,000 won U-Do entrance fee. The ferry takes about 20-25 minutes to get to U-Do and visa versa. Make sure to get there on time! The ferry departs every hour on the dot.

U-Do

One word to describe U-Do: Absolutely, stunningly, gorgeous. Maybe that was 3 words… In any case, U-Do is a beautiful, volcanic island, which is famous for agriculture, Hanyeo (한여) or female sea-divers, and black pig samgyeopsal.

The best way to get around U-Do is to rent an ATV or scooter. You can also rent a bike or take a guided tour. Scooters cost around 7,000 won an hour depending on the dealer. ATVs cost a little bit more. Bikes cost 1,000-2,000 won an hour, but I wouldn’t recommend renting one unless you plan on biking U-Do for the whole day (which you may want to do if you want to see all the sights and are athletically inclined…which I was not). Guided tours are 15,000 won and take you around the whole island in 2 hours.

My friend and I decided to rent a scooter, which ended up being a much better choice than almost going on a guided tour. We rented the scooter for two hours for 14,000 won total and were able to stop and go at our leisure (though the stopping and starting the scooter brought us some trouble at first before some locals helped get us going).

We were able to get some pretty fantastic pictures though!

 P.S. Dorky red hats are included with the scooters with the dded bonus of the person seated in the back carrying everything! Also, don't wear a dress...

The only regret we have is that because we rented the scooter for only two hours, so we weren’t able to make it to the peak of U-Do, which is hiking only.

The Peak

However, we had enough time to stop for lunch and get some yummy peanut pizza.

 My god, you won’t believe how delicious this was.

U-Do has other things to offer other than views. You can get on a speed boat and scream while you feel you’re about to get thrown out, or eat some seafood just caught by U-Do’s famous Hanyeo. Not to forget, U-Do is filled with white sand beaches as well as rocky beaches. We ended up visiting the most famous white sand beach, which is about a 10 minute walk from where the ferry lets you off. The water is cool and refreshing albeit a little rocky.

Two hours was plenty of time for us to get around and see all that U-Do has to offer without tuckering us out too much. All-in-all, U-Do is a must-see! It’s completely affordable and has some truly breathtaking sights and fun, not to mention delicious, things to do!

Stop 2: Seongsanilchulbong (성산일출봉)

Seongsanilchulbong (Lord, that’s a mouthful), is one of the world’s 7 wonders of nature, and there’s no mystery why; Seongsanilchulbong is simply beyond breathtaking.

To get up Seongsanilchulbong, it’s about an hour hike up some pretty steep stairs. Have no fear though; there are several rest stops along the way that offer some pretty spectacular views! Once you get to the top, the killer hike is totally worth it.

Seongsanilchulbong is a must see on Jeju. It’s also the most famous sunrise spot on Jeju (and perhaps Korea). The sunrise is said to be absolutely amazing and a sight not to be forgotten. However, my friend and I were unable to get ourselves out of bed at 4 AM to go and see the damn thing…

Long story short, you must go to Seongsanilchulbong (even though it’s hard as Hell to pronounce)!

Stop 3: Adorable Flower Stop!!

I wish I could tell you where this was, but to be honest, we stumbled upon this just driving around. Behold the cuteness!

There were lots of couple shots to do here, so make sure to bring a significant other!

Jeju Island: Day 1 (Part 2)

Stop 5: Dolhareubang Park (돌하르방 공원)

Featuring a local artist’s collection of Dolhareubang statues (considered the guardians of Jeju), this park was the least impressive of the day. The park consisted of essentially Dolhareubang statues, and that’s about it. While some of the Dolhareubang statues had the artist’s own take on the traditional Jeju art, the 6,000 won entrance fee is just not worth it.

It did have a fun and free arts and crafts room, though!

While I would say the museum is definitely worth skipping, the drive there was stunning, and you get to see outside of the general tourist Jeju.

Stop 6: Manjanggul Cave (만장굴)

This was really quite fun, especially if you love volcanoes or geology. The ‘cave’ is actually a lava tube,

the longest in the world, but only 1 kilometer is open to the public to walk in. Inside the tube, the park points out and explains the different features that the cave has to offer.

The walk ends with a lava column.

Be warned that the tube is not very well lit, and watch your step! There are a few areas with a paved path but the rest is just natural lave tube, so it’s easy to trip and stumble. Also, be sure to bring a jacket. It’s a cool 15-18C (55-60F) in the tunnel.

Costing 3,000 won for 25+ or 1,500 won for 24 and younger, this a must see!

All in all, day 1 was exhausting! I recommend splitting these up into two days and trying not to do so many at once. You’ll get to your hotel/hostel at around 8 pm and just want to pass out. But you’ll pass out with a smile. 

Jeju Island: Day 1 (Part 1)

Day 1

My friend and I get off the ferry at 6:40 AM, feeling pretty gross from a lack of a shower (remember in my last post, bring wet wipes!). The first thing on the list is going to pick up our rental car. We need to get a taxi to get to the rental place, but none of the taxi drivers are willing to drive us there because it’s so “close.” After it becomes clear that there weren't many people on the ferry, a driver reluctantly takes us to the “close, in walking distance” airport, a whopping 6 kilometers away. We easily pick up our car (even though pick-up time was supposed to be 8 AM, but the people were super nice) and headed to our first destination.

 Stop 1: Dragon Head Rock(용두암 ‘Yongduam’):

When we arrived, it was completely packed with Chinese tourists, which actually made this section of the trip really annoying. After being pushed and having our pictures butted into, they were finally called back to their tour buses so that we could actually enjoy the site.

There’s really not much here other than volcanic rocks that if you squint your eyes and tilt your head just right, it looks like a dragon head, but it’s supposed to be good luck to go and visit.

We got there early enough, so we didn’t have to pay the 1,500 parking fee. If you’re just dying to see this formation, go for it, otherwise, I would say save your breath and time for some of Jeju’s far more breathtaking features.

Stop 2: Love Land

Love Land is Jeju’s famous sex museum. My friend and I were a little nervous because we got there when it first opened, and we didn’t want to seem to “eager” to go into the museum, but the park quickly filled up.

For a country as conservative as Korea, it was really actually quite shocking to walk around this museum where penis, vaginas, and breasts litter the landscape. It’s interesting to watch the young couples giggle and the old couples act excited and giggle, too.

There were definitely some interesting sculptures as well as very tame ones (I'm not posting any obscene ones; this is still an 'educational, travel blog'.

There were little things too, like penis-shaped red bean bread that had all the girls giggling. There was also a large museum dedicated to showing and selling sex toys. There were enthusiastic giggles from most everyone in that section of the museum.

I know these are tame, but my pastor reads this!

The museum was cute and worth the 7,000 won entrance fee. I recommend it if you want to have a good time and go back to the days where we were all in middle school.  In all seriousness though, the museum was a blast and you’ll get some pretty priceless pictures and laughs for the nominal entrance fee.

Stop 3: Mysterious Road

Right next to Love Land is the Mysterious Road where it looks like you’re going uphill, but your car actually accelerates!

Whee!!

Nothing to see here. Really. We tried to get it to work, but it really didn’t. Basically what you do is go down a hill with the car in neutral and then you go up a hill. Surprise! You’re still moving!

Stop 4: Eco Land (에코 렌드)

About an hour’s drive from Love Land is Eco Land. It’s a nice little park divided into 3 sections for you to go and walk around in (you're delivered by train). Entrance is cheap for what you get, about 8,000 won.

The train first drops you off at a giant pond.

After going through the pond, you walk into an area designed to mock the look of the Netherlands. It’s really quite stunning with the mountains in the background.

The next section is actually two sections: child’s land and a hike. Child’s Land has a bunch of different houses for children to play role-play in and is super adorable.

There are two different hikes that you can take: the longer 3 kilometer hike, or a short 1 kilometer hike. My friend and I went on the 3 kilometer hike, and were not disappointed.

You go through a picturesque trail that tells you about the ecosystem on Jeju. They list the different trees and plants that grow and also tell a few facts along the way (like how Jeju is the only place in the world where subtopic, temperate, and frigid plants all grow).

You walk around this until you reach a café where you can sit and relax for a bit (leave a romantic note ;) ) and also do some foot therapy” by walking barefoot on some volcanic rocks.

After this stop, the train comes to pick you up again and you’re taken through a truly scenic train ride of Jeju. I highly recommend Eco Land and recommend that you have a camera prepared at all times during the train rides. You never know when something beautiful will pop up.