VISIT JEJU

Every spring, the walls of Jeong-ee Hyunseong in Seongeup Folk Village turn yellow with rapeseed blossoms. 

The scenery in the folk village is just warm and peaceful, with a lovely scent of spring. In the village surrounded by walls, there are traditional thatched houses packed together.

One of the national folklore cultural assets, Seongeup Folk Village offers you the special experience of staying in Jeju’s traditional thatched house. 

These houses that have all the traits of Jeju’s traditional house consist of  "Olle",the pathway to the house, a vegetable garden (Oo-young), the main house (Angeori), and an annex (Bakori). 

Its exterior looks just like a traditional thatched house, but the interior is all modern, with a fine heating system, bathroom, and shower room.

The experiential house has rooms—a living room, a kitchen, a shower room, and a bathroom—and its check-in and check-out times are 2 pm and 11 am, respectively, like any other accommodation facility. 

The fee for experience is between 60,000 and 80,000 won, which is reasonable and there are many places to eat and have fun where you can have an exciting day.

▶ Reservations and inquiries: Jeju Seongeup Folk Village Website

Trail running, where you can run on natural roads, forests, and mountain paths in nature, has been very popular among runners since 2000 under the name of "mountain marathon." Trail running competitions are already popular in Europe, and recently their popularity has grown in Asia as well.

In the Jeju International Trail Running Competition held every year, you can experience the most beautiful trail course in Korea by running in the area around Ttarabi Oreum, the queen of all Oreums, a wide field and forest, and Gapmajang-gil.

There are 100km, 36km, and 10km races. You can sign up for the competition at the Jeju International Trail Running Competition’s website. If you are a first-timer in trail running, start with the beginner’s course with 10km of trail running. 

Get away from busy daily life and face the real you. Let’s have a chance to win over yourself in the beautiful spring of Jeju.

▶ For questions including sign-up, visit: Jeju International Trail Running Website

The lava path created by water, Hyodon Stream, is about 13km long from Hallasan Mountain to Seogwipo Sea. 

Hyodon Stream, made up of smooth rocks, is a Natural Reserve with breathtaking scenery serving as a habitat for different species of vegetation. 

"Hyodon Stream and Harye-ri" are the key locations of the biosphere reserve and have won first place in the National Eco-Tourism Re-assigning Evaluation by the Ministry of Environment.

Harye-ri has an experience program where tourists can feel the well-reserved nature that the villagers used to play around in when they were young. You can have an exciting experience moving around the big and small rocks of the rugged precipice. Feel the majesty of great rocks and the wonder of nature in an almost untouched, clean area.

▶ Please contact: Harye-ri Eco-tourism Village Committee (Tel. 064-733-8009)

▶ For reservations, visit: Harye-ri Eco-tourism Village Website

In Jeju’s warm spring, lovely flowers on every street welcome the visitors. There is no other place like Jeju to enjoy the abundant cherry blossoms in the spring. Starting from the Jeonnong-ro near the airport where the cherry blossom festival is held, the whole of Jeju turns pink as cherry blossoms in every street bloom beautifully in mid-March. The dark pink double cherry blossoms that gorgeously and slowly bloom in April, along with the shower of flower petals, will give you the highlight of the spring until the end of April.

Every spring in Jeju, rapeseed blossoms that color the land yellow draw the attention of tourists. So the tourists get busy taking pictures of the beautiful landscape of the rapeseed blossom fields in Seongsan Ilchulbong, Seopjikoji, Gasiri Noksan-ro, Sanbangsan Mountain, and Hamdeok Seo-woo Bong, the must-go spots for photo shoots in Jeju’s spring.

The places where you can feel the spring that is here to stay to the fullest. Let us introduce 4 experiential accommodations in Jeju’s recreation forests, where you can feel the vitality of spring in the early morning air and smell the forests’ new sprouts for your relaxation. Depending on the forest facilities, there are independent accommodations for families (4 to 12 people) and groups (20 to 25 people). The interior of the accommodation is very clean and has a separate bathroom and a shower room.

Jeolmul Natural Recreation Forest is very popular, being the most visited of the 46 national natural recreation forests in Korea. Named after the fact that there was a water spring (Mul) next to an old temple (Jeol), this place still has water clean enough to drink.

Buleun Oreum Natural Recreation Forest is even more popular for its location near Saryeoni Forest Path. You can use the independent accommodations in the form of Jeju’s traditional house in the forest, where you can meet various wild plants, including roe deer.

Gyorae Natural Recreation Forest is the place where you can join the Gotjawal Eco-experience program. In the forest, there are an ecological observation trail and an Oreum trekking course. You can also find the hill upland remaining from the 1940s and the kiln site that was used until the 1970s for making charcoal, which creates great ecological humanistic value.

Located in the southernmost of Korea, the Seogwipo Natural Recreation Forest is affected less by the seasonal changes from spring to autumn because of its location at 700m of altitude above sea level. You can enjoy the forest bathing, strolling, and camping with abundant phytoncide from evergreen trees.

You can make reservations at the Forest Trip website, and the reservations for next month are operated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Last year, the TV series "Our Blues," which tells the story of friendly people living around Jeju’s rough sea, was loved by lots of people. 

The show had Lee Byunghun running a small shop on a truck, popular among elderly ladies, Lee Jeongeun running a fish shop, Kim Hyeja and Ko Doosim working at Halmang-jang, and the small town's 5-day market, which was the background of the story, became the center of attention.

In Jeju, there are 9 places that hold 5-day markets, including the big Jeju-si (2nd and 7th) and Seogwipo-si (4th and 9th) markets, along with small markets in lots of towns, every five days.

Hallim Traditional 5-Day Market (4th and 9th) is located near Hallim Harbor, so you can buy fresh seafood at reasonable prices. 

Hamdeok 5-Day Market (1st and 6th) has humble 40 shops with all the items you need for daily life. 

Near Sehwa Beach, Sehwa Traditional 5-day Market (5th and 10th) has about 150 shops. 

Starting at Hado-ri Byulbangjin in 1912, the Sehwa Folk 5-Day Market is also the place where Haenyeos conducted the large-scale anti-Japanese movement.

Pyoseon 5-Day Market (2nd and 7th) has three large buildings: for agricultural products, fisheries, and restaurants. The restaurant area has a lot of great restaurants to which locals like to go. 

Seongsan-Goseong 5-Day Market (6th and 11th) can be easily approached from many touristic spots around it, and you can feel the sentiment of Jeju’s rural area. 

The largest 5-day market in Western Jeju, Daejeong 5-day Market (1st and 6th), was first opened during the Korean War. 

Located in the Seogwipo Jungmun Tourist Complex, Jungmun 5-Day Market (3rd and 8th) was established by the refugees in the 1950s. If you would like to see the real Jeju, check Jeju’s 5-day markets.

Trip to another island in Jeju. Gapado Island is an island between Jeju and Marado Island, very close to Jeju’s main island. 

It only takes 10 minutes by boat from Daejeong-eup, Unjin Harbor. 

Every spring, the island turns green with forage barley, attracting many tourists. In April, green forage barley and rapeseed blossoms fill 60% of the island, creating breathtaking scenery.

The lowest island in Korea with the highest altitude above sea level of 20m, Gapado Island’s even paths are great for strolling and bicycle riding in the spring breeze. There are several photo zones hidden around the forage barley and rapeseed blossom fields, which are installed by villagers.

Lovely murals on every corner of the town add more pleasure to the trip. You cannot miss delicious spicy seafood noodle soup and set menus during your trip. If you find a one-day trip is too short, you can stay for a night under the quiet sentiment of the island after all tourists are gone. 

▶ Gapado Island Regular Ferry Reservation Page: Wonderful Island

*Wellness touristic spot certified by Jeju Tourism Organization in 2021 

<Meochewat Forest Trail> is the shooting location of the Netflix show "Kingdom", where its primeval forest has been well-preserved and intact. 

After passing the wide ranch field, the majestic primeval forest and its energy of nature give healing sensations and awe to every person who visits here.

▶ Programs: Forest commentary program with forest commentators, Meochewat picnic, and fire tree foot bath sessions.

▶ For reservations, visit: Meochewat Forest Trail Website

<Seogwipo Forest of Healing> is a healing forest with fire trees and cedars, reinforcing the recovery and immune power of body and mind. 

Having 12 different themes, the number of visitors in a day is limited to 600, so it is necessary to make the online reservation (Seogwipo-si e-ticket) beforehand. 

It is an open tourist spot where the handicapped, the elderly, and families with babies can have safe and comfortable travel without any restrictions on moving.

▶ Programs: Neuyong Nayong Healing Forest (for adults only) and Together and Separate (for families with children over 5).

▶ For reservations, visit:  Seogwipo-si e-ticket 

<Sinheung 2-ri Jeju Camellia Village> At the village mill in Sinheung 2-ri, Jeju Camellia Village, you can have a food tasting experience made with edible camellia oil produced by villagers. 

The "Camellia Oil Pasta with Young Bracken" cooking experience provides you with a special experience using local ingredients, such as precious camellia oil that can only be extracted from Jeju’s native camellia fruits and chewy Jeju young bracken grown in town. 

How about a trip to "Jeju Camellia Village Mill" where you can have a nice meal and a special drink made of camellia marmalade?

▶ Address: 275-1, Sinheung-ro, Namwon-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do, Camellia Village Mill

<Toto Atelier> is selected as experience-travel theme content for foreigners by the Jeju Tourism Organization in 2022, with their cooking experience using Jeju's local foods. They have separate cooking labs for adults and kids, so anybody can have a fun cooking experience. You can also have a special experience of tending the vegetable garden and harvesting fresh vegetables and fruits grown on Jeju’s land, depending on the dish you are making.

▶ Address: 112, Goseongbuk-gil, Aewol-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do

Every February, they say Yeongdeung Halmang, who brings the Yeongdeung Wind, spreads the seeds on land and in the ocean. Fishermen and Haenyeos arrange Yeongdeunggut to wish peace and prosperity for a year. In every Jeju village, there are Bonhyang-dangs that enshrine the village’s guardian god.

Occurring at Geonip-dong Bonhyang-dang Chilmori-dang, the Yeongdeunggut is the 71st national intangible cultural asset and a UNESCO intangible cultural heritage of humanity as Jeju Danggut’s original form and meaning are well preserved in it.

In the lunar calendar’s February, when the ice on land started to melt, Jeju people used to set fire (Bang-ae) to the grass fields in the hilly and mountainous areas to remove the old grass and exterminate the vermin. One of the major festivals in Jeju, "Jeju Fire Festival" is from this tradition, turned into a festival. Make wishes for peace and happiness for the year and enjoy Jeju’s traditional culture at the Jeju Fire Festival, where our ancestors’ wisdom of living together with nature is preserved.