Episode 37: Jeju Highlights Reel

We said goodbye to Jeju in June 2018, after five years living on the island. So many breath-taking views, kind people, amazing adventures, unexpected experiences, and moments of growth in one place are hard to sum up, but by popular request, we compiled a list of some of our favorites from while we were there (though fair warning: one feature of our Jeju life was how much things were constantly changing and developing, so double check these places are still open before you go!).

For our friends still on Jeju, hopefully this can give you a few new ways to alleviate your island fever after the many travel restrictions of 2020; for our friends and family on the island and who came to visit it, hopefully this brings back as many happy memories for you as they do for us... and for everyone who's yet to visit, hope it inspires you to go!

Adventures

Best gardens:
Best year-round garden: Banglimwon, for its gorgeous gotjawal (forest) section & quirky rock sculptures

A rare view of Bangliwon in the snow! The greenhouse was toasty warm and full of adorable succulents...

while the Jeju gotjawal section is especially gorgeous in the spring.

 

From Bangliwon, you can also visit nearby Geumak-ri, where you can watch people paragliding off the oreum,

while you indulge in the saner activity of partaking of delicious hallabong scones and lattes at Cafe Audrey.

Best fall garden: Spirited Garden, for its giant Santa suits they put on the giant dolhareubang (grandfather

statues) at the entrance to the garden, the philosophical signs with smack-talking about quinces, and hundreds

of 분재 (bunjae, meaning “bonsai”), featuring big fruit on small trees.

This place literally calls quinces "an abomination of a fruit."
Poor quinces can't never catch a break.

Best winter garden: Camellia Hill, for tons of camellia blooms, outdoor firepits to huddle around, and a stunning

greenhouse cafe, complete with stream running down the middle. It can get crowded in peak camellia season, so

watch out for the weekend busses full of selfie stick-wielding hordes.

Best summer garden: Norimae Themapark in Daejeong-eup, right near the GEC, complete with traditional
houses, mood music, rope-operated raft, and wacky video displays in the cafe basement. Our favorite: the game
where you launch plastic balls at a screen on the wall to prevent aliens from abducting kids via giant bubbles.
(Yep, wacky.)

Norimae looking epic in the fog, with spring yuchae flowers blooming in the foreground.
If this scene looks familiar, it's because it's the main image for our blog!

Honorable garden mentions: Yeomiji Botanical Garden for its many indoor ecosystems and outdoor

destination-themed gardens including Japan and France, and Hallim Park for being a one-stop shop for lava
tubes, bunjae, cactus ice cream, & exotic birds (challenge: get in the cage with the small multi-colored birds
and feed them!)

Yeomiji's giant greenhouse

View from the top of Yeomiji's greenhouse. The bridge in the background stretches across to our favorite Jeju waterfall,

the three-tiered Cheonjeyeon!

Yakcheonsa Temple, while not a garden, is right near Yeomiji Botanical Garden and Cheonjeyeon, so you might as well go. The temple looks especially impressive when all decked out with lanterns for Buddha's Birthday in May.

Best scenic walks:
Most well-known walk: Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak). Everyone hikes this iconic crater, and for good reason.

True to its name, there's the sunrise!

Ilchulbong is also lovely during the afternoon 

when you can sit and watch the start of the of sunset

and see fantastic views of the rest of Jeju as you look back.

Best southwest Jeju walk: Songaksan. Know that you're on Jeju; feel like you're in Ireland.

Featuring our favorite fall plant on Jeju: flame grass!

Most-walked walk: the farm roads behind our apartment. Seeing the patterns of planting, growing, and harvesting in the fields nearby, with Sanbangsan looming majestically in the distance, never ceased to inspire.

Favorite no-sand seaside walk: Suwolbong (Sunset Peak).

For the geology buffs, there's the striated cliffs at Suwolbong.

For the "beachcombers" like Ben, there's the endless possibilities of finding trash-treasures, like a neon pink Jeju jacket that washed up on shore, complete with built-in flotation vest and zip-off sleeves.
(In case you're wondering, yes, of course he still has it. -_-''')

And for the rest of us, there's the intriguing possibility of spotting crabs both colorful and hairy.

Not to mention you get lovely views of Chagwido! We're looking down on top of Chagwido here, having hiked up during our awesome kayaking trip. Not sure if the guy who took us is still in business, but this was an incredible experience.

Of course, walking Suwolbong is even better when followed by delicious cookies and drinks (alcohol optional) on the balcony of Cafe Dagumbaristar, overlooking the harbor. Our favorite moment here: a bird got trapped inside the glassed-in area leading to the balcony, and when we told the owner, his response was to walk upstairs and gently pluck the bird from the air with both hands. Then he opened the door and released the bird off into the sunset. Magical.

Most remote walk: for those determined to fill your Olle passport (a stamp book where you can collect stamps
for each of the olle, or walking trails, around the island), taking the 1½ hour ferry to Olle trail 18 on

neighboring island Chuja-do is worth it for the incredible sea and moor views. We stayed overnight and hiked
the 18km of trails over two days.

Best beaches:
Most unique: Udo Island’s coral sand beach is like nothing I've ever seen.

It feels like you're walking on really light marbles,

and the views looking back at Ilchulbong and the rest of Jeju are gorgeous.

Most scenic beach: Geumneung for the colorful gradations of the sea and view of Biyangdo (also, lots of
great 7th grade Adventure Day field trip memories)!

Most underappreciated beach: Sagye for its stunning views of Sanbangsan oreum and Hyeongjeseom Islands.
Plus, at what other beach can you see a giant Buddha and a replica of a Dutch ship (the Hamel ship) in the
background?

Sanbangsan is, hands down, our favorite oreum on the island for its unique shape and craggy awesomeness,

and Hyeongjeseom (Brother Island) clinches the title for cutest-shaped island off Jeju.

Honorable mention beach: With all the lava rock on Jeju, there aren't too many beaches that can claim long,
uninterrupted stretches of sand where you can walk without worrying about stubbing your toes... except for
Pyoseon. When the tide is low, beach sand stretches as far as the eye can see, complete with tiny crabs. When
the tide is high, all of this is submerged, with the water reaching up to the road and campsite area complete with
giant zodiac animal sculptures (because, Jeju?).

Nope, it's not a mirage... we're standing in the water, and that's where the sand starts, waaaaay off in the distance.

  

These are all balls of sand made by those tiny crabs. Sooooo much crab spit is involved...

Best souvenirs: Jeju Damda (in Aewol) for cute hallabong orange and deer-themed items, Wimi Candles for
adorable camellia and cactus candles, or O’Sulloc Tea Museum for delicious Jeju teas and face & body care
products made with Jeju ingredients. O'Sulloc is basically a store masquerading as a museum anyway, so...

O'Sulloc's tea fields on a foggy day. The oreum in the background is also a nice climb to get a view of the tea fields.

As Madi and I can attest, O'Sulloc also has a ton of cute desserts. Skip the cafe that's in the same building as the tea museum and head up here to Innisfree for a more relaxed hang out spot with a few dozen fewer tourists. 

Gotta love the cute horse and haenyeo tiramisu, and the Halla-san-themed cakes! (Halla-san is the dormant volcano in the center of the island, and South Korea's tallest mountain.) 

Okay, now that we've mentioned Halla-san... a quick digression. You've probably noticed that Halla-san is conspicuously absent from our best walks list, partly because it is much more of an "intense hike" than it is a "walk" to get to the summit. We went up Yongsil and came down Gwaneumsa, and found that to be a pretty doable route. 

As a reward for getting to the summit, we got to see a Jeju deer (they bark, by the way!) run across the snowy crater.

Though it is worth it to spend the 8-9 hours to climb Halla-san once (on a clear day) for incredible panoramic views of Jeju, your legs will feel it for days. If you're like us, you may even get a hundred or two Korean troops to hang out with as you make your way down. ^_~

Hmm, those views though...

Okay, back to O'Sulloc and the pretty interiors of Innisfree, showcasing all of the Jeju ingredients.

Best place to spend a Tuesday night: playing staff volleyball at the GEC, of course! A weekend playing
volleyball at the charity tournament Jeju Furey on beautiful Hamdeok Beach is a pretty awesome alternative.

Our 2014 Jeju Furey team: The Consonants. T-shirt-as-shorts style courtesy of Ben and Madi. Despite how epic we look, we definitely were D bracket material.

2018 Jeju Furey: Ben may have moved up all the brackets by this point... and won the tournament with the awesome team Soft Serve! Shows you how much there is to do on Jeju that we improved that much over five years. ^_~

(Progressively less and less) hidden spots: the firefly reserve, the black sand beach, and tidepools on the

southwest side of Jeju (past America Roll & Sushi on the Shore Road off 1132, before you get to the black

sand beach). Pull over when you see a gazebo in a grassy area with a lava rock statute.

Tidepools, where you'll sometimes haenyeo (diving women) collecting seaweed and other marine life

The tidepools are also a fantastic place to rescue fish that get washed up into mini-pools in lava rock crevices when the waves are crashing particularly high. One of Ben and Mindy's finest accomplishments, and on Chuseok, no less.

Food

Best cafes: Mendurong in Moseulpo harbor for its chill atmosphere, incredible apple pie, and honey milk latte,
Maple Magic for its avocado and beet smoothies (closed! ;_;), and Cafe Ri in Gujwa for its
crazy-fancy, overflowing drinks in a whimsical, greenhouse-like atmosphere (heads up: no kids allowed)

Best brunch: Jacklyn’s in Moseulpo for its comfortable, inviting atmosphere and great hosts

Best pizza: Ben recommends Donato’s for the wood oven pizza and great cheeses (favorite order: four cheese)

Hannah's choice is, of course, Pizza Ten (forever!) for its Korean-style sweet potato pizza.

Favorite order: the Songaksan (pictured here), a triple threat of bulgogi, gorgonzola, and

sweet potato and pumpkin.

Best tea: honey grapefruit tea (자몽차) from your nearest grocery, or O’Sulloc Wedding Green Tea

Best oranges: Cheonhyehang (especially fresh picked from our friend Jeram’s farm!)

We miss you, Jeram and Naomi, and your incredible cheonhyehang!

Second favorite orange: hallabong (한라봉).

Favorite spots

Moseulpo or Jeju-si Five Day Market (오일장): the five-day markets are always a fascinating sensory overload
of fresh fish, endless varieties of kimchi, colorful produce, & Engrish slogans. Try the 호떡 (hotteok: fried dough
with sugary filling), 붕어빵 (bungeobbang: fish-shaped red bean bread), or냉면 (naengmyeon: refreshing cold
noodle soup)! Jeju-si's five-day market is on the largest and happens on every calendar day that ends in 2 or 7 (the
2nd, the 7th, the 12th, the 17th... you get the idea), while Moseulpo's happens on days ending in 1 or 6.

If you can't make it to one of the five days, the Seogwipo Traditional Market is also fun, and open every day of the week. 

Jeju Anglican Church (대한성공회 제주교회): I still feel humbled and grateful for Sunday services & lunches
with this incredibly kind group of people. I couldn't communicate with many people very well, but everyone always
made me feel welcome and like a part of the church. Being with them made me feel like Jeju was my home.

Right across from the Jeju-si 5-day market, with services at 11 in Korean with bilingual liturgy

books available.

My confirmation, with the bishop, our friend Jeram and his mom Naomi, Sister Hannah, and our shinbunim.

Chuseok lunch at Jeju Church: rice, kimchi, japchae (glass noodles & veggies), hobak jeon (battered zucchini), strawberry ddeok (rice cake), and soup ^^

With Sister Hannah, my friend Sojin, and her family. My last day, so we all look a bit sad.

Woljeong-ri: this beach town is our favorite weekend getaway on Jeju, though we usually went in winter
and spring to avoid the summer crowds. It has tons of beautiful cafes including Gu Chorok (amazing
avocado coffee!). It's also a great launching point for more adventures: if you drive towards Sunrise Peak
from Woljeong Beach, you'll see gorgeous coastal views, a ton more cafes including the aforementioned
Cafe Ri, and adorable crafts at Bellongjang/Sehwa flea market on Saturdays... and then you can drive a bit
inland and drop by Waheul for some mini-golf.

Lovely windmill and water views at Woljeong-ri

One of the highlights of Gu Chorok cafe, just down the road to the east of Woljeong Beach, is seeing the guy who walks to the cafe every morning, leading his donkey... with pets riding on top.

 Sometimes the dogs are wearing parkas, because, you know, Jeju wind.

And besides the cute animals, there are insanely delicious avocado club sandwiches.

And avocado coffee (sounds gross, tastes amaaaaazing).

Did we mention Gu Chorok is also incredibly rustic and lovely inside?

You may even see haenyeo, with their bright orange floats, on your way from Woljeong-ri to the Haenyeo Museum near Sehwa. It's worth going to the Haenyeo Museum to learn more about the amazing women who dive to catch seafood for a living with no diving tanks, carrying on a Jeju tradition that's hundreds of years old.

Further inland, we came upon Waheul Kurida. Still cannot believe our luck in finding Jeju's first mini-golf course, off road 1118, on our last week living on the island.

The owners were incredibly kind and let us play the full course even though it wasn't officially open yet!

We even made their newspaper ad. ^_~

Udo: this island off Ilchulbong/Seongsan is getting increasingly touristy, but biking to see the many different
beaches and huge cave on the black sand beach is a gorgeous, adventure-filled day.

Black sand beach (site of the cave) and Udo's lighthouse in view on top of the hill.

The view from this enormous cave makes me feel like I'm peering out of a whale's mouth.

Aewol: enjoy wrapping rice & tons of side dishes in various leaf-like veggies at delicious Yetnal Babsang
restaurant, then take a beautiful shore walk & ogle some corgis at Bomnal Cafe (filming location for a 2015
K-drama about Jeju called 맨도롱 또똣, or Warm and Cozy, now on Netflix!). Aewol can get very crowded

on weekends with all of the people flocking to the cafes on the shore like Bomnal. Your best bet if you're

driving is to park up on the road (Iljuseo-ro) and walk down to the water rather than trying to drive down

the steep and narrow road.

Seogwipo: Sapporo Udon House has Jeju’s best udon & tempura (warning: it’s a bit spicy and addictive).
Cafe Maybe makes for a chill evening hangout post-udon (bonus: it's attached to a florist and has a resident

cat who wanders in and out throughout the day), and there are cute gift shops galore along the walking

street Cafe Maybe is on, including one that features haenyeo merchandise called Sumbi Sori.

Daepyeong: it’s hard to beat watching the sun dip behind the cliffs in the Andeok Valley. Cafe Mulgogi is

especially atmospheric with its traditional architecture & style (low ceilings and Korean menu only), though

it's fun to wander around Daepyeong's narrow alleyways and find new, hidden places, too.

Making this list reminds us of how we've had so many amazing times and adventures on Jeju. Over
the last five years, the island has changed at lightning speed. Some of the more quirky, off-the-
beaten-path places we once went are closed, but for us, the randomness was/is part of what makes
Jeju, Jeju. ("Only Jeju," as the island's slogan says.)

Despite all the changes, we hope you stay you, Jeju. Stay weird,

UFO cafe & pension on the northeast coast (2014 - now a crab shack?)

stay beautiful,

and hopefully, we'll see you again soon.

Sunrise view of Hallasan from our apartment window