1 - 8 Dec '23

Hi, everyone. Here's another blog entry and this time it is on me and my wife's trip to Jeju Island. It is an island located about 80 km off the southern coast of the mainland. We holidayed at the 'Hawaii' of South Korea for around a week and forged memorable memories. Read on to find out more... 😊.

Day 1

We arrived in Jeju in the afternoon. After having lunch at a restaurant near our hotel, we strolled around in town to feel the vibes of the city. We visited a cafe and Lotte Mart, treating ourselves to cafe food and shopping on the first day.

Day 2

After having a good night's rest, we started our second day by visiting Iho Tewoo beach. The beach is near the airport, which happened to be near our hotel too. Iho Tewoo is famous for its red and white ponies.

Walking along the beach, we also managed to capture images of snow-capped mountains, which I believe are at the direction of the famed Hallasan National Park. What a lovely morning... with more to come in the afternoon :)

After visiting Iho Tewoo beach, we travelled to Hallim-eup (town). Our first destination at Hallim was Hyeopjae Beach. It is famous for its tranquil stretch of white sand, clear, turquoise water and views of Biyango Island. Well, the beach was indeed tranquil during winter, with its cool weather and lack of people 😂 Most eateries were closed too and we settled for lunch at a simple Korean eatery.

After lunch, it was a short 10-minute walk to Hallim Park. It is a vast park (more of a botanical garden) of nearly 80 acres, ideal for nature lovers. Hallim Park is divided into 9 separate gardens, each with its own theme. Upon paying the entry fee, we proceeded to our first themed garden, the Subtropical Botanic Garden. The garden, as its name suggests, houses tropical plants like cactus, coffee and fruits like jackfruit.They were housed in a few greenhouses, to regulate the temperature as Jeju has a temperate climate.

After spending a good 30 minutes looking at cactuses, we walked to our next themed garden, the Wild grass and Flower garden. Along the way, we stopped to take beautiful photos of the palm trees, seen in Mediterranean regions.

The wild grass at the Wild grass and Flower garden were indeed wild. Yet, they were pleasant to look at in its form, letting nature play out its part.

The next themed area was the Hyeopjae and Ssangyong Caves. As Jeju is a volcanic island, many interesting geographical structures were formed from lava during the island's formation, such as these caves.

After the caves, we visited the rest of the themed sections such as the folk village, bonsai garden, bird garden and water garden. The bird garden had birds which I have not seen before. Some of them were caged while some walked openly on the pavements. We had to watch what we stepped on as there were bird droppings around.

Overall, the visit to Hallim park was relaxing and worth it. The cool climate made the stroll in the park enjoyable, offering us a respite from the usual urban areas we have been accustomed to.

Day 3

We hiked the symbol of Jeju Island, Mount Halla (Hallasan) on Sunday. It is a shield volcano with its highest peak at 1947 metres, making it the highest point in South Korea.

There are two trails which lead to the summit, Gwaneumsa and Seongpanak. Gwaneumsa is the more challenging of the two but it supposedly offers betters views while Seongpanak offers a gentler hike (meaning longer way up). So we took a cab to the Gwaneumsa trail entrance at the wee hours of the morning and began our ascent just slightly past 6am.

The beginning of the hike was gradual and easy. We hiked on dry and ice-free terrain for about an hour. As we ascended, we began to hike on snow, which slowed us down quite a bit. After about an hour, we reached a restpoint station, where we rested our feet and filled our stomachs with bread.

After resting for about half an hour, we continued our ascent. Along the way, we stopped to take pictures of the scenic views. Surprisingly, as we hiked higher up, we encountered clear blue skies. I guess that at some point, we had ascended above the cloud level. The hike at this level was very enjoyable due to clear skies and the anticipation of reaching the summit. In addition, a nice lady offered us Kopiko sweets to encourage us in her unique hospitable way.

So, after hiking for 2 more hours, we finally reached the summit just before noon. The view from above was breathtaking. I guess the most interesting view from the summit was the crater, which was completely submerged in snow.

After we fueled up again, breathed the fresh air and captured enough memories, we descended down using the longer Seongpanak trail. Well, as shared earlier, the descent was more gradual but we had to remain vigilant as the ground was snowy. So, use crampons if you are hiking during winter.

Fast forward 5 hours, it was already dark by the time we exited the trail. Our bodies were also sore from the almost 10 hour hike. Overall, climbing Mount Hallasan was definitely a treat. We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly, making it one of the most memorable hikes we have done together. This concludes Part 1 of our trip in Jeju. Stay tuned for Part 2 :)