Island of the Gods

Jeju City and Seogwipo are the best bases for exploring the island, with Jeju’s student population and hotel districts making it the livelier of the two. The best of the bars are in Tap-dong, located between the ferry terminal and Gwandeongno. The city is also home to the island’s best museums and places of historical interest such as Gwandeokjeong Pavilion and Samseonghyeol Shrine, where legend has it the first three inhabitants of the island emerged from the ground.

While Jeju’s nightlife is nothing special, Seogwipo’s can be positively dull. Consider staying overnight if you want to beat the crowds to the Jeongbang and Cheonjiyeon waterfalls, or if you’re driving along the coastal route. Nearby Jungmun is the island’s five-star resort but, unless you want to play golf, lie on an overcrowded beach, or spend a fortune on your hotel room, the only thing really worth seeing here is Cheonjeyeon Waterfall.

Hallasan National Park occupies much of the island’s centre. There are several hiking trails to the top of Hallasan, a 1,950m high volcano with a crater lake at its summit. Most have recently reopened after the authorities closed them to allow the environment to recover, though you can no longer reach the top. The easiest trail is Yeongshil, which can be reached by taking a bus to Yeongshil Ipgu.

The main point of interest on the western coast is Hallim Park, which has lava tubes, tropical botanical gardens and a small folk village. The nearby coastline is comparatively underdeveloped with some lovely beaches and small temples.

Following the coast east of Jeju City, Manjanggul is just over two kilometres inland from Gimnyeong Beach. The lava caves here are the largest in the world at over 13km long and up to 20m high. The first kilometer is open to the public.

South of Manjanggul, Seongsan Ilchulbong, or Sunrise Peak, is one of the most scenic spots on the island, a steep volcanic cone with a bowl shaped crater on the very edge of the sea. Seongsan is also the port for boats to the tiny island community at Udo, home to some of Jeju’s famous haenyeo (diving women). Also recommended are the preserved traditional houses at Seong-eup and Jeju Folk Village, a few miles away on the outskirts of Pyoseon.

Quick Tips:

The Elijegung Motel was comfortably the best budget accommodation I found in three years in Korea. It’s located near the centre of Jeju City, opposite the Top Land fairground and a couple of hundred metres east of the Swiss Hotel and the E-Mart Department Store. If you can’t read Korean, look for the telephone number – 7023596 – on the sign outside.

Most of the big hotels in Jeju City can be found in Shin-Jeju, between the airport and the older part of town. One good choice is the Raja Tourist Hotel (Tel 7474030 or Fax on 0082 647469731), which has doubles for about 60,000 won.

No matter how hot the weather, take a jacket if you’re going to any of the lava caves.

Jeju is famous for its seafood and fruit, especially hallabon, delicious oranges indigenous to the island.

Best Way To Get Around:

Everywhere in Jeju City is a cheap taxi ride from the airport. If you’re going to Seogwipo, bus no. 600 runs there via Jungmun.

The best way to get around the island – and I do speak from experience here – is to hire a car. All the major companies are represented at Jeju Airport.

Buses and taxis are the only forms of public transport on Jeju Island. Buses to destinations around the island depart from Jeju City’s Inter City Bus Terminal, just under a kilometer south east of the city centre. Coastal roads run east and west out of the provincial capital, while there are also two main cross-country routes to Seogwipo, both of which skirt edges of Hallasan National Park. If you’re going to Yeongshil, take the western cross country road (look for a number 2 in the window of the bus). If you do take the bus, be prepared for a wait between services.

Situated 200 metres west of the picturesque Yongyeon lake in Jeju City, Yongduam (Dragon Head Rock) is much touted in the island province’s tourist literature. Sadly, though it is remains one of the city’s enduring symbols and features in thousands of honeymooners’ photo albums, the rock fails miserably to live up to its vaunted reputation.

The legend surrounding this admittedly unusual rock formation is infinitely more fascinating than the lump of volcanic stone itself. An envoy of the Dragon King who had been sent to Mount Halla to bring back the elixir of eternal youth, was turned into stone by the angry mountain spirit as he attempted to flee, leaving only a rocky head to be eroded by the waves. This may sound intriguing but in the flesh all you see is a rock vaguely reminiscent of an open mouthed dragon surrounded by lots of other rocks, lit by hundreds of camera flashes. It’s all a bit of an anti-climax, and is certainly far less impressive than the sight of the famous female divers (haenyeos) nearby. One to avoid unless you have a lot of time to kill on your way back to the airport, though it does get better if you make it for sunset.

Once part of a Joseon Dynasty provincial government complex, Gwandeokjeong was built in 1448 as a military training facility. The only structure to survive the Japanese colonial era intact, it’s now one of the oldest buildings on the island.

Located in the centre of Old Jeju, opposite the landmark Ribero Hotel and a few steps from the main post office, the pavilion has become one of the city’s requisite photo stops, a constant stream of tourists posing alongside two scenically positioned tolharubang statues. Carved out of black volcanic rock, the exact function of the figures remains unclear - some say they served as protective totems for the gates of the old walled settlements, while others contend they were fertility symbols. Whatever the history may be, only 45 of the original carvings are scattered around Jeju today – along with a couple of million replicas lining gift shop shelves and dangling from key rings. Each of the quirky figures stands just over one meter tall, with a bulbous nose separating round, bulging eyes under a brimmed cap. Both arms are bent at the elbow, hands resting above and below a rotund stomach.

The pavilion itself is essentially unremarkable with the exception of the paintings under the main beam and the calligraphy on the signboard, thought to have been done by a son of King Sejong the Great. The rest of the structure – restored in 1970 – is largely as it was following seventeenth century reconstruction work.

The remainder of the government buildings were finally reconstructed at the end of 2002 following a decade of excavation work which unearthed a number of the old foundation stones. Entrance to the complex is free.

Sliding down towards the shores of the East China Sea below the tangerine-coated lower slopes of Mount Halla, Seogwipo is about as close as you get to a Korean Riveria.

Whether you arrive by bus or car, you’re bound to pass the landmark Jungang roundabout. Three main streets radiate south from it, forming a triangle with the town’s two other roundabouts, themselves joined together by Chungjeongno Street. The bus station is a couple of hundred meters south of Jungang, along the street leading to Seomun roundabout and Cheonjiyeon Waterfall.

Most of the city’s few bars and nightclubs can be found in the streets immediately south of Chungjeongno, in particular around the Dongmyeong Department Store. This is also a good place to look for cheap accommodation, along with the area around Seogwipo Port Terminal and the stretch of road running southeast from Seomun roundabout to the Napoli Hotel.

Seogwipo’s waterfalls are by far the biggest attractions in town. The closest to the city centre is Cheonjiyeon, which is just a few hundred meters beyond Seomun roundabout. A white mass of water 22m high and 12m wide topples from the top of a rock face into an artificial pool at the end of a winding path, under camellia and chestnut trees scented with jasmine and Royal azaleas. It’s beautifully illuminated at night, couples strolling arm in arm along the banks of a small stream that splits the gorge in two.

Jeonbang Waterfall, falsely touted by the local tourist board as the only waterfall in Asia to drop directly into the sea, is to the east of the centre, close to the Seogwipo KAL Hotel. It’s much more dramatic than Cheonjiyeon, thundering over a cliff face before dropping 22m onto the huge rounded boulders in the cove below, the surge turning into a trickle as it seeps the final few meters into the sea. Wear a good pair of shoes if you’re planning a visit here – the only way up or down is a set of steel steps, and the rocks at the bottom are very slippery in places.

In 1971, a prescient local called Song Bong-gyu bought a barren plot of land between the coastal villages of Hallim and Hyeopjae. After transporting truckloads of soil from ten miles away, he planted some palm tree seeds and cultivated them for the following ten years. The result was Hallim Park, currently attracting more than a million visitors every year.

The grounds are divided into eight different sections, including lava caves, a subtropical botanic garden, a small folk village, and Palm Tree Road, where the original seeds were planted.

Arguably, Hallim’s most famous sights are the Hyeopjae and Ssangyong lava caves. Part of a larger complex of nineteen caves stretching for over a mile, the caves are remarkable for having both stalagmites and stalactites inside. The discovery of fossilized seashells in the ground above, Hyeopjae has led scientists to believe that the area was once below sea-level.

The peaceful Jeju Stone and Bonsai Garden start where the caves end. One of my favourite sections of the park are where you can find persimmon and zelkova trees alongside three-hundred-year-old pines, bonsai lined pathways, and strange rock formations.

The Jae-am Folk Village is not quite as interesting, though it does provide a good introduction for a later visit to the much larger Jeju Folk Village. Look out for the island’s tallest tolharubang figure. At the end of the village, you’ll find the Stone Exhibition Hall, showcasing a collection of more than 200 sculptures and rare stones gathered together by the owner and his wife.

Palm Tree road divides the Bird Garden - home to Mandarin ducks, pheasants, peacocks, and ostriches – from the Subtropical Botanical Garden. Among the 200 flower species here, are tangerine and banana trees, tulips, herbs, and many varieties unique to Jeju Island.

Beside the restaurant, gift shop, and car park at the entrance gate, the Water Garden is a nice spot to relax before you leave, with five ponds full of sculptures and lotus blossoms.

Only 33km from Jeju Airport on the western coastal road, Hallim Park is man’s finest adornment to Korea’s paradise isle. Open daily from 8.30am, like most places on Jeju Island, it pays to get there early.

The Jeju Folk Village is situated on the outskirts of Pyeoson, close to the island’s longest beach. There are around 100 buildings and in excess of 8,000 cultural artifacts here, many moved from their original locations throughout the island, showing Jeju as it looked in the late 19th century.

The reconstructed settlements cover all the main aspects of island life – an agricultural hill village, mountain community, traditional market place, fishing village, provincial government offices, and houses and shrines from a Shaman community. Among the more interesting buildings – some of which are over 200 years old - are a Confucian school, a prison for exiles from the mainland, a Chinese Medicine shop, a blacksmith’s and a house belonging to one of Jeju’s community of female divers. Each property is furnished with period artifacts, outside yards full of local livestock, and implements such as stone mills and charcoal furnaces circled by walls made of black volcanic rock. The wooden gates at the entrance to the buildings are also very interesting – the islanders developed a system for communicating their whereabouts to visitors, changing the position of the three poles across the frame of the gate to indicate if they were at home or not.

The Folk Village also aims to teach its visitors about the island’s traditional culture and crafts, to which end there are exhibits of farming and fishing tools, performances of plays and mask dances, and workshops for woodcrafts, bamboo weaving, stone products, and calligraphy. You can buy many of the items produced here in the souvenir shop. There are also several restaurants, a park with many rare species of native trees and flora, and an area where visitors can ride the unique breed of Jeju pony.

Typically, while the mainland was suffering from its worst drought in forty years, it rained buckets the morning I visited Pyeoson, leaving the beach deserted, turning the Folk Village’s paths into patches of slippery mud between huge puddles of water, and generally making my time here much less enjoyable than it might otherwise have been. Nevertheless, the Jeju Folk Village is an extremely pleasant way to pass a few hours on your way around the island. There are regular bus services to Pyeoson from both Jeju City and Seogwipo. The Folk Village is signposted from both the coastal road and the town centre.