Summer Trip to the Amazing Jeju Island, South Korea

I visited South Korea in June, with my family for about ten days. Our vacation started in Jeju Island, then we continued to Busan, and the last yet the best one was Seoul. In this part, I will only tell you about how we spent our holiday in Jeju. Rather than joining a tour, we explored Jeju by renting a car and prepared our own itinerary instead. So the information below might be useful for you who would like to have a vacation in Jeju by yourselves. Here are the tourist attractions we visited in three days.

Day 1 (Maeil Olle Market, Jeju Fine Hotel)

We started our trip from Jeju Island, but we spent a day in Seoul before that. We flew to Jeju by Jeju Air and it took us about an hour from Seoul, so we arrived in Jeju International Airport at about 16.00. Our first plan was to rent a car, because we thought it would be the fastest and most convenient way to explore the island. Public buses are available, but some tourist’s attraction can’t be reached by bus. However, I heard that starting from August 2017, Jeju Island started implementing a new city and intercity bus system, where they increase the number of vehicles, simplifying the fees, routes, as well as the numbering system. There were three car rental counters at the airport arrival hall which we had browsed on the internet before, they were Lotte Rent a Car, AJ Rent a Car, and Sixt Car Rent. They all have their own websites in English version, so if you’d like to rent a car, it is better for you to check the website in advance. You can book the car online, and there are lots of information you can find about the available vehicles.

We went to all of the three rental counters. Since we are Indonesians, my brother and my father applied for the International Driving License in order to be able to drive in South Korea. Unfortunately, they rejected us. They showed us the list of eligible country which the citizens are allowed to drive in South Korea and it was written that G20 member countries are eligible. Unfortunately, Indonesia was not on the list. If you are planning to rent a car and drive by yourself in South Korea, make sure you check the regulation before and see if the issuer country of your driving license is eligible.

At that time we were hopeless about renting a car, but suddenly a man came towards us and offered us a car to rent. We were quite hesitate because he was pretty sure that we can drive while the others were not. He didn’t have a counter in the airport and didn’t speak English that it was quite hard to communicate with him, but he tried to persuade us for times. As we weren’t sure at that moment if it is a good idea to rent from him, we asked him for his contact number and left.

We went to our hotel which was Hotel Fine Jeju in Seogwipo area. Seogwipo is the southernmost part of Jeju Island while the airport is on the northernmost part which is known as Jeju City. Both of these areas are the most populated in Jeju, but Seogwipo is not as crowded as Jeju City. It took us about an hour and half to reach the hotel by bus. I couldn’t remember what number the bus to Seogwipo was, but you can ask the concierge at the airport for this kind of problems. The lady was really helpful and spoke English really well. Please use the chance to get as much information as you could. The hotel we stayed in was pretty nice, even though the area was quiet, there were minimarket and bus stop right in front of the hotel which was a great thing.

We then went to a night market called Maeil Olle Market, it was about 10-15 minute walk from the hotel. The weather was really cold that day although it was summer already. Maeil Olle Market was pretty much just like a traditional market. However, it is the biggest and the most well-known night market in Seogwipo. People sell fruits and vegetables, Korean foods and snacks, and you will find many food stalls as well as local restaurants. This market opens daily from 07.00 – 21.00. You have to eat seafood in Jeju, restaurants serve seafood all along Jeju Island and locals have raw fish with some soju pretty often. The other thing to try is Hallabong which is a really famous local orange grown in Hallasan.

Day 2 (Jeongbang Waterfall, Sanbangsan Mountain & Yongmeori Coast, Jusangjeolli Cliff, Breeze Bay Hotel)

We decided to rent a car from the man that approached us at the airport, so my brother and my father picked up the car at the office which was near the airport, and it was such a waste of time actually. While waiting for them, I got out from the hotel and had a morning walk for some sunshine. Surprisingly, there was a beautiful pathway near the hotel along the sea shore, it was really quiet and there were only a few people. In the afternoon we had lunch at another local restaurant. There are many local restaurants around this area with reasonable prices. Most of the waiters do not speak English, but they are really kind and helpful.

The trip on that day started with Jeongbang Waterfall, still in Seogwipo area. It is actually an ordinary waterfall and there was nothing really special about it other than some ladies selling fresh raw seafood like sea urchins and sashimi as well as some soju next to the waterfall. However, this waterfall is said to be one of the three popular waterfall in Jeju and the only waterfall in Asia which falls directly into the ocean. The waterfall is located in Seogwipo, about 5 minute drive from Hotel Fine Jeju. The admission fee to enter the waterfall area is KRW 2,000 for adult and the last admission is at 18.00.

The other tourist attractions in Seogwipo are Sanbangsan Mountain and Yongmeori Coast. Sanbangsan is a lava mountain resulting from volcanic activity. During spring, you will be able to see beautiful yellowish color comes from the canola flowers fields on the foot of the mountain. There is a temple on the mountain called Sanbangsan Temple or Bomusan Temple. Yongmeori Coast is where Sanbangsan Mountain stretches into the sea which looks like a dragon’s head is going into the water. Having beautiful landscape of rock formations, the locals claim it as the Grand Canyon of Jeju Island. The way down to the coast is said to be quite steep and there might be sharp rocks that it is recommended to wear shoes rather than sandals. However, this amazing tourist destination could be completely closed for public whenever during the high tide due to safety reason, but walking around the area is still allowed.

Our next destination for that day was Jusangjeolli Cliff, hexagonal stone pillars made of lave tube from Halla Mountain erupted to the sea of Jungmun on various sizes. During high tide, the waves leap up and crash into the side of the cliff, increasing the breathtaking view. Some tourists throw coins to make some wishes. Spending time here, relax, walk around, and enjoy the beautiful sunset is a perfect way to end the day. The cliff area opens daily at 09.00 and the last admission at 18.00 with entrance fee of KRW 2,000.

From Jusangjeolli Cliff we headed to Seongsan Ilchulbong area to stay for the night. It was dark already, the road were so quiet and not many cars passed by. Some roads are not equipped with street lights, so be careful if you drive at night. We tried to find someplace to have dinner on the way, but it was quite hard. Once we entered Seongsan area, it was much easier to find local restaurants.  Even when it was really late already, the restaurant was still full of locals, enjoying dinner while having some chit chat. After dinner we went directly to the hotel which was Breeze Bay Hotel, located pretty close to the entrance of the sunrise peak, about 10 minute walk. The hotel looked quite traditional. There rooms are equipped with thick bed on the floor instead of spring beds. Dozens of hotels are available on the area, so if you’re planning to see sunrise the next day, stay as close as possible to the sunrise peak to save you time.

Day 3 (Seongsan Ilchulbong, Seopjikoji Hill, Seongeup Folk Village, Jeju Stone Park, Black Pork Street, White House Hotel)

Seongsan Ilchulbong, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, is known as the Sunrise Peak by the Koreans. As the name suggests, this place is always packed with tourists who come to see the sunrise. Sunrise time at Seongsan Ilchulbong may vary each day, but feel free to ask the hotel staff for this matter. A huge crater on the top can be reached by taking 500 stairs up to the peak and it takes about 30 minutes, which sounds a bit hard to do early in the morning. However, the walk up is not that bad and I saw many elders also went up. So you should be able to do that if you’re still young. If you come to see the sunrise, it is better to stay at a hotel around Seongsan the night before. Most tourists joining arranged tour usually come here in the afternoon.

From Seongsan Ilchulbong, we drove for 15 minutes to the end of the eastern shore of Jeju Island which is Seopjikoji Hill. The best time to visit and enjoy the beautiful scenery is on April, when the canola flowers are blooming. Even though I came here on June, it is still one of the most beautiful places in Jeju for me. There is a lighthouse at the end of Seopjikoji and you will find a chapel-like building called All In House (opened for public at 09.00). This place is also famous as it has been the filming location for several Korean dramas. It might be better to come here in the morning since many tourists come here in the afternoon and it might get extremely hot, especially during summer.

We visited Seongeup Folk Village straight after. There are two folk villages in Jeju Island which are Jeju Folk Village (entrance fee KRW 11,000) and Seongeup Folk Village (no entrance fee). The reason why we chose Seongeup Folk Village was because it is the only original folk village in Jeju that is still inhabited by the actual residents. In fact, Jeju Folk Village is artificial and categorized as a museum. There are hundreds of traditional houses around the village and once we arrived, a middle-aged couple came and greeted us warmly, asked if we came to visit the traditional houses, and pleased us to come into the house. It turned out that it was their house. They told us lots of things about the tradition of the locals, what they do for living, and the meanings of symbols we often found in Jeju. At the end, they tried to sell us some local products like tea, cactus paste, and herbal medicine which were quite expensive. However, it is not obligatory to buy from them.

Jeju Stone Park is a museum as well as an ecological park which shows the unique culture of Jeju, consists of Stone Museum and Sky Pond, Exhibition Hall, Folk Village, and others. Inside the museum is the exhibition of geological or rock formation and volcanic activities which built Jeju Island. The park has a really wide area that it may take two and half an hour to stroll around. Following the trails, you will find lots of man-shaped stone sculptures which has its own meaning for the locals. A ticket of KRW 5,000 is needed to enter the stone park. This tourist attraction opens for public daily, 09.00 – 18.00 (closed on first Monday of each month and last admission is one hour before closing).

Trying black pork barbeque is one of the must-to-do thing when visiting Jeju Island, since it is where the black pigs are domestically breed. We decided to have some as our last dinner on the island at the famous Black Pork Street. It is called so because the street is full of restaurants serving barbequed black pork as the main menu. Vehicles are parked on the roadside but it can be tough because the road is quite narrow. Different types of meats are on the menu and each of the guests will be served with abundant amount of side dishes. There are also lots of boutique for shopping around the area as well, but they open until 21.00 or 22.00 only. Since we were going to continue our trip to Busan by flight the next morning, we stayed at White House Hotel that night, which is only ten minutes to the airport.