Jeju Island Day 1

Second time to Jeju, and looking forward to it. The first time when I visited Jeju, it was with my mother and it was in 2012. We did not rent a car, so it was quite inconvenient to explore areas outside of Jeju City. This time round, I rented a car from Lotte car rentals, making it easy to explore the island. Since we landed around 8am and my car rental only starts at 11am (to cut down on paying for an extra day), we wandered around the airport. The person at the car rental was kind enough to let us start our rental an hour earlier.

Our first stop is Osulloc, a famous green tea museum and shop. However, during our visit, the museum was closed for renovation. It was a touristy but fun place for photos and shopping. There are various Osulloc mascot placards in the fields that allow visitors to take photos.

The weather was beautiful on the day that we visited. We saw rows of tea plantations with Mount Hallasan in the background.

The aim of Osulloc tea museum was to introduce and spread Korean teas and the traditional tea culture of Korea. The museum is a cultural space where the West and the East, and modernity and tradition coexist in harmony. The museum has a tea gallery, eco-friendly rest area, and a cafe where visitors can enjoy a variety of tasty tea-based desserts. We ordered Set A, which comes with a slice of green tea cake, green tea ice cream and a green tea drink with crispy waffle. It was heavenly!

After shopping for many green tea souvenirs at Osulloc, we headed to our next stop which is Seongsan Ilchulbong, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a Global Geopark. Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak, which is 180m above sea level, erupted underwater in the ocean about 5,000 years ago. This makes it a very rare case among the many craters in Jeju Island.

It was designated a Natural Monument on July 19, 2000 and subsequently recognized for its outstanding geological value by UNESCO on July 2, 2007, when it was added to the World Natural Heritage List. The peak was also named a Global Geopark Network site in October, 2010.

Seongsan Ilchulbong has long been considered one of the top scenic destinations in Korea. It attracts millions of visitors a year, many of whom climb to the top for the breathtaking panoramic view of the ocean, Udo Island, Hallasan Mountain, and the volcanic landscape of the east. During the climb, there are several rest points along the way. While most people go there in the early morning as it is known as the sunrise peak, where Jeju starts to see the first light, we went in the afternoon and the views also did not disappoint.

At certain times of the day, there is also a performance by the Women divers (haenyeo) who would put up a simple song and dance performance, with their bouys and nets, to showcase their lifestyle as they hold their breath and do free diving in the frigid waters to catch seafood. There is no extra charge to watch the performance, it is included in your ticket price to climb up Seongsan Ilchulbong.

Next, we proceeded to Seongsan Canola Flower Field (entrance fee 10,000 won). Even though it was winter, but we saw the beautiful canolas. We were the only tourists, so we could take our time to wander among the fields and take our own photos. There are various photo booths scattered around the flower fields, so you can go visit all of them one by one, with some exhibits even providing a stool for people to sit down and pose.

Last but not least, we had a dinner stop around Seogwipo. We wanted to eat the famous seafood stew with fresh abalone, but the shop recommended to us was closed for the day. So we settled for a simple meal of pork noodle soup. It was hot and heartwarming on a cold day. And even though I spoke a little Korean only, somehow I managed to order for the both of us. We even made friends with some of the customers who were curious about our whereabouts. I suppose most tourists would stay within Jeju City and venture out for side trips, but for us we chose to stay near Seogwipo.