Jeju Highlights

Written byAdminon September 6, 2012 inTravel

* This post is written by  Gisela Verdin, one of the Korea Blog's Worldwide Korea Bloggers. (With the contributions ofTom Stockwell.)

Jeju Highlights

Jeju island is known as the "Hawaii of Korea". Tucked down in the south of the country, the island has a climate very different from mainland Korea and the volcanic landscape renders it unrecognisable as part of the peninsula.
Jeju's flora has evolved differently from the rest of the country thanks to the climate, and ditto the accent. Many people who live on mainland Korea often say that when people from Jeju island talk, they simply can't understand what is being said due to the difficulty of the dialect and the different words used.
It's not easy to sum up the island in just a few sentences, so here are a few photos with some short descriptions that display the incredible diversity that Korea's most beloved island has to offer.

1. Walking Trails

Jeju has walking trails all around the island and these colourful trinkets can be seen dotted along them helping you to find your way.

2. Flora

The variety of plants andflowerson Jeju is truly magnificent and you'll encounter their beauty wherever you stroll, whether it be through the hiking trails or the island's gardens.

3. Swirls

The seas around the island can become rough and produce somedramatic effectsagainst the black volcanic rock which make for mesmerising views and stunning photos.

4. Black Pork

Jeju is well renowned for itsblack pork, rightly considered a specialty and served as Korean barbecue. It's eaten wrapped in a cabbage leaf with soybean sauce and garlic.

5. Galchijorim

A spicy fish stew choc full of vegetables,galchijorimis full of flavour and another dish that the island is famous for. Avoid the tourist restaurants and go for somewhere that may look less glamorous but will offer more hearty, homemade fare.

6. Strange Seafood

As well as the more traditional fare, strange creatures from the sea are sold around Jeju as food. I have no idea what any of these are.

7. Theme Park

This theme park consisted of just a Viking boat and precisely zero people when I passed it on a rainy July day.

8. Dutch Hero

Korea has a rather close affinity withthe Netherlands, most specifically football coach Guus Hiddink who led the national team to the finals of the 2002 World Cup. This patch of Holland in Jeju is located around an area dedicated to Dutch explorer, Hendrick Hammel.

9. Halla Mountain

On the top of Halla Mountain, the highest in South Korea, lies a crater filled with a lake. The top can get extremely windy, so proceed with caution if you decide to venture up there.

10. The Descent

The steps leading down fromHalla Mountainwill make you pause to admire the view ahead of you. The weather at the top is often drastically different from that at the bottom. I didn't expect the rain and sleet.

11. Cacti

There are cacti all over the island, which surprised me but made for some great photos. Chocolate made from the plants is produced and sold on Jeju.

12. Stone Men

These little stone men are dotted all over Jeju island. I'm not quite sure what they represent, but the quirky characters and individual expressions make for interesting viewing and story making.

13. Sunrise Peak

The view from my pension room over the sea with Sunrise Peak in the background. We didn't go as it was clogged with tourists when we drove past it, unfortunately.

14. Puppy Love

OK so this one might be cheating. This puppy was chilling out in the port town of Jangheung, where I caught the ferry over to Jeju.

15. Volcanic Beach

The beaches on Jeju consist of a special kind of volcanic sand and are by no means your white sand paradise like the islands ofThailandand Indonesia. Crowded in summer, your best bet of having a bit of beach to yourself is if you go in June or September, before and after the main tourist season but while the weather's still nice.

16. Robotosaurus

If you visit just one museum in Jeju, make sure you go to the Believe It Or Not! Museum. Thoroughly cheesy but thoroughly entertaining, there are plenty of wacky and interactive exhibits inside to keep everyone amused.

17. You're Not in Korea

It's moments like driving down a motorway and seeing a horse just ambling down the lane that make you realise you're not in Seoul anymore. Jeju can, at times, seem like a completely different country.

BIO:
Tom always had his nose stuck in an atlas as a child, and pretended that the stairs in his home were a magic carpet whisking him away to some faraway country that he'd seen on the map. Now, he's travelling the world and has taught in Korea, explored snow covered beaches in Poland, partied at Sydney Mardi Gras and almost thrown up from trying durian in Kuala Lumpur. You can keep up with Tom's adventures through his blog,Waegook Tom, viaFacebook, and by following@waegook_tomon Twitter, too.

About the Author 

The Korea Blog was launched on January 31, 2011 by the Korean Culture and Information Service (KOCIS), a part of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism. This blog aims to show the hip and contemporary side of Korean life and culture.