As you probably already know, my husband and I have only lived in Korea about one month. After four weeks of work we have already had one of our two vacations for the year! This wasn't exactly ideal, but our school chooses our vacation days for us, so we had to do some quick planning to make our vacation time worthwhile.
First of all, we decided that we wanted to do something that we wouldn't be able to do in just a weekend. Also, it had to be accessible enough for an English speaker as neither of us are very proficient in the Korean language yet. We decided to go to Jeju Island. It was far enough away that we couldn't just go on a weekend, it was touristy enough that we could get by on our minimal Korean knowledge, and it was the off season so we didn't have to make any reservations.
The Plan
Our first order of business was figuring out how exactly to get to Jeju from Suncheon. There are six ferries to get to Jeju: Mokpo, Haenam, Wando, Jangheung, Goheung, and Yeosu (Check out this site for departure times and fees: http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/TR/TR_EN_5_1_5_1.jsp). We decided to take the Yeosu ferry, because although it was a longer boat ride, we didn't have to take any long bus rides. To get to Yeosu that early in the morning we had a Korean friend call a taxi and tell them where to pick us up ahead of time. She scheduled our taxi for 6 am, which was more than enough time to get to Yeosu and stand in line for a ticket. The taxi was pricey at 40,000 won, but worth it to us! (A quick side note: There are two ports in Yeosu, make sure the taxi driver takes you to the ferry passenger terminal!!)
Next, we had to figure out what exactly we wanted to do in Jeju the entire week. We talked with two friends who had been there before who told us about the New Years Eve night hike up Hallasan, as well as the Jeju Olle trails (http://www.jejuolle.org/?mid=109&EN) that circle the island. We were intrigued by the idea of hiking up an old volcano at midnight, so we put that at the top of our list, and after checking out some of the Jeju Olle trails, we decided we wanted to hike a few of those as well. We left a few 'relax' days in our plan, so we could do whatever we felt like doing on some of the days. As far as the rest of it, I spent a little time looking at guide books and google to figure out what popular sights would be fun to see and made a small list of potential things to see. Beyond that, there was really no other planning involved. We packed a few clothes, some food to start out with, and our passports and we were on our way.
Hey look, Jack's flying!
The Trip
The ferry ride from Yeosu to Jeju is five hours long. Therefore, I strongly advise that you bring some food with you. There is a cafeteria serving some Korean food, and also a small snacks area and overpriced coffee shop on the ferry, but you are really better off bringing your own supply. Also, if you have the space, a small blanket is nice for when you are relaxing in the sleeping area. There are some small square cushions which are used for pillows, but I found myself wanting a blanket to nap under. I used my jacket.
Upon landing in Jeju, it is important to note that virtually no restaurants were open at 2:00 in the afternoon. Apparently most places open at 3:00, so we found ourselves wandering up and down streets searching for some small morsel of food for our empty stomachs. Not a nice way to start out vacation.
If you are planning to head out of Jeju city on the first day, catch a taxi to the Jeju Intercity Bus Terminal as it is a far walk from the port to the terminal. At the bus terminal it is quite easy to figure out what bus you need to take as the stops are also in English. Here is what the map looks like:
I would also advise finding a tourist information office where you can pick up brochures about Jeju, maps of the cities, as well as a very useful bus routes brochure in English. We found ours at the Seogwipo bus terminal information desk the second day of our trip.
New Years
If you happen to find yourself on Jeju during New Years, you may hear about the night hike up Hallasan or one of the other mountains on Jeju. Be forewarned: these are VERY popular and you will find it crowded, no matter which mountain you choose to hike up.
We chose to hike up Hallasan with little to no knowledge of what it would actually be like. How it works is you catch the last (or close to the last) bus to Seongpanak trailhead (성판악) and follow anyone who gets off at that stop to the park office building where you will wait in a lobby/ waiting room area until the trail opens at midnight. We took the 9:00 bus, arrived around 10:00, and then napped on the conveniently heated benches until midnight. At first, we thought there were maybe less than 50 people going on the hike, but when we went outside we found people numbering in the hundreds all preparing for the ascent.
There were some announcements made on a loudspeaker, which appeared to be a motivational speech, stretches, and maybe warnings about the trail conditions. Then, we were off! Seongpanak trail is broken up into three sections: first, a very rocky, mostly flat section; second a steeper section with some stairs and boardwalks; and lastly, a steep final ascent with many stairs to the very top. These sections are broken up by two buildings: one with western style bathrooms and potable water; the second with more primitive conditions, but steaming bowls of ramyeon for 1,000 won.
This hike is not for the faint of heart, as trail conditions were about -7 celsius at the trailhead, and very snowy. Crampons are a must, as well as several layers, and of course, head lamps. I would also recommend trekking poles, water bottle insulators (our water froze halfway up!), and plenty of snacks!
Enjoying sunrise for a moment before descending Hallasan
Seogwipo-si
After our hike up Hallasan, we caught the bus to Seogwipo instead of back to Jeju city. Seogwipo is a very picturesque city with many things to see and do. We stayed at the Nammi Motel, recommended by the tourist information desk at the Seogwipo bus terminal. As far as motels in Korea go, this was actually a really nice choice for us. It was cheap at a whopping 40,000 won and the staff there were nice. Our room was clean and we had a nice view of the docks.
Our room at the Nammi Motel
Also it was very close to many of the tourist attractions such as Cheonjiyeon Falls, Chilsimni Poetry Park, and Lee Joong Seop Street.
Another tourist attraction is the Seogwipo submarine tour! We happened to see an ad for it in a brochure and checked it out. Since it was the off-season, we were able to show up early in the morning and get tickets for the first dive.
View from the front of the submarine
I highly recommend this fun activity if you have the time. When else do you get to go in a submarine?
We stayed in Seogwipo a total of two and a half days and managed to see Cheonjiyeon Falls, Jeongbang Falls, Chilsimni Poetry Park, Lee Joong Seop Street, Oedolgae Rock, Jaguri Culture and Arts Park, Saeseom Island, and we did a submarine tour! I would recommend all of these places, if you have the time to see them! We probably could have stayed another day just for the shopping, but we wanted to see some other things on Jeju.
After Seogwipo we decided to stay in Seongsan so we could catch an early bus to Manjanggul Cave. I would not recommend this city, as it was difficult to find any restaurants serving food other than the very traditional stuff, our Minbok was not very good, and there really isn't much to see, unless you want to climb the very crowded Ichulbong Peak. We ate at a mediocre Chinese restaurant and headed out early the next day.
Manjanggul was very cool on the other hand! Tickets were maybe 2,000 won and it was a self-guided tour in a minimally lit lava tube. You can walk in about one km before you have to turn around. It was so much better than some of the super-lame cave tours back in the US.
In the largest and most brightly lit part of Manjanggul
Manjanggul is a little hard to get to, as you will need to take a bus to the entrance and then a taxi into the park. There are no accommodations, but there is a small Korean restaurant and a little store where you can buy snacks there. If you can swing it, check out Manjanggul Cave one of your mornings.
Overall, we had a wonderful trip in Jeju! Our trip didn't go exactly as planned, but since we had left so much room on our itinerary we were able to be flexible and change plans at a moment's notice. If you are new to Korea, this is a wonderful place to practice your language skills and still enjoy a vacation!
If you have any particular questions about activities, or places on Jeju send me a message!
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