We made our way from Seoul to the Gimpo International Airport and were able to take a $37 domestic flight to the island of Jeju (formally translated as Cheju and one of the nine provinces of South Korea). It is a popular honeymoon and vacation destination for locals. Jeju is one of the new seven wonders of the world, and it is a triple crown UNESCO world heritage site.

We arrived in Jeju-si (Jeju City) and took the airport limousine bus for $5,000 won per person (~$5 USD). We hadn’t heard much about Jeju prior to our South Korean journey, but once we’d started to research we thought it had to be pretty sweet. During our hour bus ride, our hopes started to drop as it started to look like an overdeveloped tourist trap. It didn’t look like the peaceful island life we’d envisioned. However, throughout the next couple of days, Jeju continually impressed. It’s a great and beautiful place with a lot to offer.

Please note Jeju is a great place to rent a car because the island is bigger than expected. In order to rent one, you have to come prepared with a AAA international driver’s permit. It’s a $15 certificate that doesn’t even require a test, and you have to do it back home. We tried to convince the rental place is wasn’t necessary, but they wouldn’t budge. Later Damin decided she’d come join us and rent the car. She actually rented a van because it’s illegal in Korea to drive with more than five people in a car.

 

We arrived in Seogwipo, Jeju’s second largest city on the south side of the island. The group made our way to our motel Little France. Each floor had a different theme: antique, modern, oriental, and royal. Hungry, we headed out to have Korean BBQ at a highly recommended place to try the popular local heukdwaeji black pork belly. That evening we went to see one of the main waterfalls of the island, Cheonjiyeon Pokpo 천지연 폭포 (a 22m-high waterfall). All of Jeju island was very well-lit, modern, and clean. It was a wonderful walk with smaller waterfalls along the way and Jeju mandarin orange trees. What a great way to end the day!

The next day we were looking for a place for breakfast, and Damin suggested a place for hamburgers (for breakfast!?). She insisted they were healthy hamburgers and said we’d like them. These hamburgers were the size of a 14-inch medium pizza and were made with very thin slices of beef with homemade bread and pickled vegetables. The mayo was a sweet sauce. It was custom to sign our names on the wall, so we all made sure to find our place.

After breakfast Mom, Adam, Damin, and I went exploring. Damin visits Jeju every summer with her family for vacation, so she took us to some of her favorite spots. Jeju is a volcanic island, dominated by Halla-san (Halla Mountain).  The island was created by volcanic eruptions long ago, so the makeup consists mainly of hardened lava and basalt. We first went to visit a place called Gaetkkak Jusangieolli Cliffs  near Jungmun beach. It was a coastline with pillar rocks that were created and stacked when fluid molten lava hit the ocean cooling, cracking, and fracturing the lava. This caused the lava to shoot up in the air at different heights, almost perfectly hexagonal-shaped columns. The speed of cooling determined the height of the column. From there, we went farther west along the southern part of the island to the Yongmeori Coast. It is called this because it is shaped like the head of a dragon entering the water. The coastline is composed of layered sandstone. We spent around an hour walking around the point of the coast climbing rock structures and looking in tide pools. It was a very pretty place!

As we drove around, I started to notice some of the oddities of the island. It was famous for a number of museums: Dak Paper Doll Museum, Jeju Museum of Sex and Health, International Eros Museum, Jeju Love Land, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, Jeju Glass Castle, Teddy Bear Museum, Believe it or not Museum, The Museum of Phoenix Stone Turtle Museum, Miracle Art Museum, Chocolate Museum, and Jeju Circle World. I thought this was an interesting mix.

That evening the group decided to check out Jeongbang Waterfall 정방 폭포 which is the only waterfall in Asia that goes directly into the sea. Adam and Jacob decided to take a swim, and it caught many of the locals attention and will make their scrapbooks. Later we headed to the west coast for an hour car drive to Hyeopjae/Geumneung Beach. It was beautiful beach, and we were able to watch the sunset on the Yellow Sea. That evening we had dinner on a famous street called Lee Jung-Seop where we had spicy ramen noodles and Korean Fried Chicken again. The street was an art gallery and park.