The Island of Love - Jeju Island

luvinspud

July 20th-25th, 2023

We flew from Gimpo Airport (dubbed Gimpy by Scot) to Jeju Island. This is an island off the southern tip of South Korea. It is known as the "Hawaii of South Korea," and a place where honeymooners go. There is a stone mascot called the "harubang" and it's a little man with a hat that is a protector and a God of fertility (evidenced by his shape). Also, there are several sites that have been named as an UNESCO World Heritage site, so have significant environmental and cultural significance. 

We stayed on the north east coast by Gimnyeon Beach. We were about a 10 minute walk to the beach but only visited that beach once. Summer is the rainy season, so between the rain and visiting other parts of the island, we didn't get much time to hang on Gimnyeon Beach. We DID however, head down to a beach on the south side called Jungmun Beach. This beach is a popular spot and known to be a good surfing spot. No surfing for us, but some people were out on boards, giving it a try. If you ever go, they are definitely set up with some surf schools on the beach, so may be a good learning spot. 

While we were on the west side of the island, we also went to The Arte Museum (en.artemuseum.com), which has 3D digital experiential exhibits - the title is "Nature Beyond Time and Space." You walk into these rooms where you are surrounded by lights, projections and imagery of different themes. For instance, there was a wave room, where a huge monitor, the whole length and width of a wall, showed a video of an oncoming wave. The room made it feel like you were going to be submerged by water. Other themes were "Garden," "Jungle," "Waterfall," and my favorite, "Stars." 

Jeju has multiple World Heritage sites- Hallasan Natural Reserve, Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone and 3 parts to the Geomunereum Lava Tube System - we visited Manjaggul Lava caves, which is the only one open right now.  After a 1km walk into the cave the walking path ends at a photo op with a giant lava column, which is formed when lava spills from above. There were other cool lava rock formations in the lava tube, like the turtle, rafts and "elephant toes."

On the East side of the island is Seongsan Ilchullbong Tuff Cone. If you didn't know (and I didn't!) what a tuff cone is - it's a volcanic formation made from ash. The Seongsan Ilchullbong Tuff Cone is known for its beautiful sunrise views, but we never got up early enough to enjoy that! When we were visiting the beach area next to Seongsan Ilchullbong, another family found an octopus in the ocean and Max was brave enough to hold the octopus. Dexter and Zoe got a turn too. It was super cool, but I felt a little badly for the octopus, who probably just wanted to live its life. It seemed to be just hanging out in everyone's hand and reminded me of the documentary "My Octopus Teacher" on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, I would highly recommend it.

We also went to Cheonjiyeon Falls. It is most popular to view in the evening because the falls are illuminated, but the lights were broken when we went. The area has a peaceful walk through various plants and gardens and a couple of bridges that cross a small river. The pond in which Cheonjiyeon Falls flows into is known for its eel population, Mutae Eel, which can be better seen at night. 

We did a couple of other fun things, like Mazeland and shopping at Daiso (a local dollar store), but we also had some chill days with not much to do. I love exploring, but those down days are vital to recharge and do some laundry!

Gimnyeon Beach on Jeju Island
This was our Happy Habit every day from a place called Paris Baguette. This chain is EVERYWHERE in Korea (think Starbucks on every corner)! They have great Americanos and delicious baguettes - of course!
Scot and Zoe at the Arte Museum
The first exhibit at the Arte Museum. A video would be better to capture the "essence" but can't post here. . .
In the "Stars" room with the family.
This room is all mirrors, even the floor! The lanterns glow in different colors and shine and dim at various times. The effect is like being in space in the stars. Beautiful! Side note: at the entrance to this exhibit they had long skirts that you can wear if you happen to be wearing a mini skirt, becaue the floor mirrors enable viewing from your undercarriage! Yikes!
Max in the stars.
Dexter, beside himself. . . haha.
Wave room.
The family in the waterfall room.
This one is called "Moon." Not sure why the rabbit - is there a rabbit on the moon?
The tea time was one of the coolest things in the museum. Somehow when the tea cups were placed on the table, a flower (projection) would form in the middle of the cup and slowly grow and then "float" away. It was very cool! And the tea was delicious too!
Scot at Jungmun Beach, checking out the surf.
I had to use Google Translate to understand that they have a Loggerhead Turtle Conservation effort here. Made me feel like home being on another island that is trying to save their Honu!
Hanging with the Harubang - Gods offering both protection and fertility.
Cheonjiyeon Falls
Max catching the falls.
Zoe was thirsty!
Information about the amazing Heanyeo women divers.
Max was the first brave Listavich to hold the octopus.
Our octopus friend.
At the end of Majannggul Cave is a big lava column.
A lava raft in the shape of a turtle, which has become a local mascot.
Mazeland! Scot is trying to get out of the Harubang maze. Can you see him?
We loved this BBQ chicken place. We ate there at least 3 times in the 5 days we were there. They cooked it fresh every time!
Kids were disappointed that they had to sleep on mats again, but I found these quote comfortable! It's a Korean tradition!
Map of Jeju Island

 

This article was updated on May 4, 2024

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