Jeju-Do: Part 1 Seogwipo

Anyone who is a teacher can attest to the fact that we REALLY look forward to and even live for our vacations, and in Korea the options for long weekend getaways are endless! Last week Matt and I jetted off to Korea’s “Honeymoon Island” paradise: Jeju-Do. Jeju is a 45 minute flight from Busan’s Gimhae airport making it the perfect 2 or 6 in our case, day getaway. So with our students in the throws of finals week we took advantage of our days off and reveled in Jeju’s juicy orange breeze, black sand beaches and golden rays.

We opted to hop on the island commuter bus and head as far south as we could after landing in Jeju’s airport on the North of the island. Seogwipo is a lovely beach town in the South with mangroves, a plethora of interesting and corky museums and posh hotels. We stayed in what I will safely claim as my favorite hostel…in the ENTIRE world: Tae Gong Gak. Now I have to briefly sidetrack for a moment to bring attention to the momentous nature of this claim. I began hosteling at age 19 and have stayed in the likes of the Peace and Love hostel/absinthe bar in Paris, a beach bum hammock hangout in Mal Pais Costa Rica, an all night party crash pad just off time’s square and above a rowdy Irish pub, a tiki hut with 5am rooster alarm and 24hr cold San Miguel in the Philippines and I can’t forget the log cabin in the middle of the Olympic national park complete with morning wood chopping and banana pancakes. While each and every hostel has its charms; like Hostel Sol in Naples with their staff led pizza tour and free lasagna night, or Chicago’s HI free architecture tour and impeccably clean and organized facility; Jeju-do’s Tae Gong Gak hotel has it all. Sylvia and Peter who run the hotel make a point of not only remembering your name, your itinerary while on the island and where you have traveled from, but they make themselves available 24/7 with suggestions, tips and general care and concern for the enjoyment and well being of their guests. While the hotel is a bit more expensive than most backpakers at 50,000won a night for an ondol room, the clean facilities, location and standout breakfast (bagels, cream cheese and french press coffee are not easy to come by in Korea) make your stay well worth the price.

On our first day in Seogwipo we bee-lined it to a scooter shop to pick up some wheels for the day. Jeju has ample bus transportation but with so many sights to see and a lot of ground to cover a car, scooter or at least a bicycle are good options unless your itinerary is relaxing on the beach with a good book…not a bad idea either! Neither Matt or I have an international driver’s license, but this didn’t prove to be a problem when renting a scooter on Jeju, although chances are you will need one for a car rental. We payed 30,000won for a full 24hrs with our cute retro bike and off we went to the green tea museum. The museum itself is small, boasting a hallway of tea sets from around the globe and an upscale gift shop but what really drew me was the architecture of the building and its lush, green surroundings. The building is a mix of floor to ceiling glass panels, un-finished wood and cement, translucent enough to blend into the landscape making it look like a modern hobbit hut. The grounds are absolutely breathtaking with green tea plants as far as the eye can see. The museum cafe also has over-priced, but un-avoidably green snacks that were too tempting to pass up.

Our next stop was the chocolate museum, mostly in hopes of free samples. I’m not sure if it was the sign that reads “Christmas every day” or the lack of samples that turned me off, but the museum was a bit of a disappointment, miles from anything and in serious need of some updates, and an overhaul of all Christmas related decor. Admission at only 2,000won including a free cup of coffee made it at least a comical stop on our way to the Sex and Health museum. In our defense, Matt is a certified P.E and health teacher and I, aside from having a perverted sense of humor, was greatly interested in the rumored “Sex sculpture garden.” The museum’s parking lot is larger than the building itself and was packed with cars.*Remember Jeju IS the number one honeymoon destination for Korean newlyweds. Inside is everything you would expect from the museum’s title: a rotating stage of manicans in various sexual positions, statistics of everything from average number of partners, to average time spent on foreplay, and a complete sensory playground with various scents, textures and sounds to delight visitors. I was making a bee-line for the exit after discovering that there were no English options on any wall captions and that someone had accidentally left the Pamela Anderson look alike doll “on” who’s moans could be heard throughout the building. I gave the museum another chance when I came across the Chinese scroll and tapestry room depicting courting traditions of early Chinese emperors. These works of art held my attention long enough for Matt to find me and us to call our museum tour a success.

That evening, after sampling some of Jeju-do’s famous Black pig Sam-gyup sal we visited the Cheonjiyeon waterfall. The waterfall is a sight at night when it is lit up and Korean couple’s in matching clothes stroll romantically through the park’s windy pathways. We hit the hay early in preparation for our early morning ascent to the top of South Korea’s tallest mountain Hallasan.

Hallasan is easy enough to get to from Seogwipo by 30min bus ride. There are two routes commonly taken to get to the crater at the top of the volcano peak and we opted to take the longer but less steep 10K route (Seongpanak) up and the 8.7K steep trail (Gwaneumsa) down. The view from the top is not much on a cloudy day but we were able to see the crater and after nearly seven hours of hiking we felt blissfully exhausted and proud of our accomplishment.

Our last day in Seogwipo we spent on bikes cruising to Jungmun beach. The island is actually great for biking because of its smooth paved roads and limited traffic but I’m not sure I’d recommend the hilly course from Seogwipo to Jungmun the day after hiking Hallasan. Stopping at the Hyat hotel for a glass of wine was an absolute must once we made it to the beach. We spent a glorious afternoon playing in the waves, observing Koreans fully clothed brave the water and truly loving all that Jeju has to offer!

Stay tuned for part two of our trip to Jeju, hope you are all enjoying some vacation time this summer season!