We flew to Jeju from Seoul for a 2D2N trip. Our flight out with Eastar was about 730pm in the evening. If you're intending to visit Jeju, do keep a lookout for the domestic flights to get the promotional fare. We were quite fortunate to get our return ticket for about SGD100.
Our lodging place this round is with Backpackers Home. It is located at Seogwipo and the place is clean and new. Breakfast is provided every morning so if you're not in a hurry, you can have a serving or two before you head out to enjoy the scenery! The place is also very lively with many backpackers from around the world. They organise a daily BBQ dinner for a fee, so if you're up for some company, do join them.
Jeju-do is famous for its produce, be it seaweed, seafood or agricultural products. In fact, the produce is said to be so pure and natural that it became the source of where skin care giant, Innisfree, obtains its material.
There is a wet market not too far from where we stayed and so, while waiting for our designated driver recommended by the hostel, we checked out the local market.
Besides agricultural products, there is also a long line of stalls selling a various products from toys, to kim chi and even seafood.
Our first stop upon discussing our planned route with our driver is to go to Jeju Folk Village. For information on the opening hours and the admission fee, please refer to the updated information on the official website.
This folk village basically showcase the traditional work and houses stayed by the Koreans in the past. There are about 100 of such traditional houses and they're said to be transported from the original location to this folk village as an exhibit.
In addition, the whole village is also very serene, like a huge garden with lots of blossoming flowers in May.
Besides the traditional homes, you'll also be introduced to their traditional craft shops. Some, like the wooden craft shop, will even have a staff in it ready to engrave your selected purchase for free.
You'll also be entertained by performances, and a myriad of folk items ranging from agricultural tools to household items and even the traditional crops planted by the Koreans. There is also an exhibit for traditional games played by the ancient Koreans as well as a photo area for those who are interested to change into the traditional Korean garments, the hanbok, for a fee.
Next up, we visited the UNESCO World Heritage site - Seongshan Ilchubong Peak, also known as the Sunrise Peak. So this peak was said to have rose out of a volcanic eruption thousands of years ago. If you do hike up a nicely carved out trail, you'll actually come to see the crater at the top.
You could actually get a public transport to this spot but since we were short of time, we just hired a driver for about 50,000KRW for a day. If you need more information on the public transport available, you may refer to this link.
The other reason we were there is because of the women divers. There are two performances on a daily basis - at 1.30pm and 3.00pm. If you're there just for the performance but the time is not up yet, and you're not up for a slow hike, then you can actually try their fresh seafood manned by those ahjumma who will go into the water during the performance.
Before they actually depart, they'll perform a song and dance for the audience, like a ritual before they head out to the sea. They don't go too deep but with each catch, they'll surface and wave the catch at the audience for some claps.
You'll also see an ancient sunrise estimator at the foot of the crater. The view is actually breathtaking if you do hike all the way up. Unfortunately, due to time constraint, we didn't get to do it.
Spring time would have been beautiful as the wild flowers will blossom as you hike up. Nevertheless, the view on either side is still spectacular even at half way point. On one side, you'll have the view of the small settlement in this part of Jeju and on the other, is the vast and blue ocean.
And before signing off, here's a picture of the popular stone guards which you'll see at many locations in Jeju-do. They're called the dolhareubang, which means the guardian of the village. If you're interested to read more about it, do check out this website.
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