Top ten things to do on Jeju, South Korea

Jeju is a small island off the southern coast of South Korea. It is a popular tourist destination for Koreans and is becoming more popular with foreign tourists as well. You get there easily from Seoul and most other big cities in Korea by plane. It is famous for many things including volcanic geology, hiking and foods like black pork, galchi, hallabong and green tea. Let’s have a look in more detail of all the best things to do on Jeju Island.

10. Eat Jeju black pork

Black pork BBQ is probably one of the most famous meals to eat when you visit Jeju. There is even a black pork street designated in Jeju City. Famous for its tasty meat, you can even see the black hairs on the skin of the meat before it gets cooked on the barbecue. The most popular way to eat it is the pork belly cooked on a grill and consumed with salt, sauces and side dishes..

9. Walk in the Manjanggul lava tubes

Found on the eastern side of the island is a place where you can walk through lava tubes created years ago by volcanic lava flows. The lava flows caused these large tubes or tunnels to form as they flowed out to the ocean. These days you are able to walk through these tubes for about two kilometers. Remember to bring a rain jacket or coat as it gets cold and wet down in the caves.

8. Visit the Jeju Haenyeo museum

The Haenyeo are the female free divers of Jeju, famous for free diving for hours to collect seafood. There is a nice museum found on the north eastern side of the island that goes into the history of these women divers.

7. Eat galchi (hairtail/cutlass fish)

Another famous delicacies found on Jeju Island is galchi, known as hairtail or cutlass fish in English due to its long slender appearance. It is very popular on the island, and is consumed in a few ways from grilling to in a stew. A lot of restaurants specialize in galchi so it isn’t difficult to find this for one of your meals.

6. Visit Osulloc Tea Museum

Jeju is also very famous for its tea plantations. In particular Osulloc, found near the center of the island is very famous. You can visit here to walk through the tea plantation, go to the tea museum and even a cafe to try their wonderful tea products. Its not located far from Seogwipo so it is easy to access.

5. Walk the Olle trails

Jeju has a walking trail (called the Olle trail) that goes around the coastline of the whole island. It can take many weeks to walk the whole trail but it is easy enough to just walk a small segment to get a bit of the experience. Most of the trails are along the coastline, giving some fantastic views of the ocean as you stroll along. Also wherever you go on Jeju, you are likely to be close to one of the Olle trails, so they are easy to visit..

4. See some waterfalls

Due to its mountainous and volcanic geology there is plenty of waterfalls around the island. Some like the Eongotta, only flow when there has been recent rain but others like the Cheonjiyeon flow all the time. Either way all the waterfalls are wonderful to visit, it just depends on the recent weather as to which is the best to visit.

3. Try the local Jeju Hallabong

The island is also famous for its farming of the fruit Hallabong. It is a variety of the mandarin orange.You can find it being sold in supermarkets and along the side of the road. But it is also made into many different types of snacks and drinks. Go to any traditional market and you get plenty of opportunity to try this awesome fruit.

2. See sunrise from Seongsan Ilchulbong

Koreans love to watch the sunrise, especially from a mountain or hill and especially on New Years Eve. It is a great way to see the new year in. The volcanic tuff cone, Seongsan Ilchulbong is found on the far eastern side of Jeju and gets the first glimpses of sunrise. That is why it is a very popular location for sunrise viewing. So join the locals in watching a sunrise from this special place.

1. Hike Hallasan

The tallest mountain in South Korea is found on Jeju, Hallasan. Standing at nearly 2,000 metres, it is quite a hike to the top and most trips are day trips. You will need to plan 8-9 hours to complete the hike up and down. Additionally there are a couple of routes to the top. Which one you choose depends on the views and the difficulty of the hike. If you are lucky you will get a clear day to see far out over the ocean as well as the lake in the crater at the peak.

Have you visited Jeju before and done any of these things? Let us know what you did and what you though in the comments below. We like to hear about any trips to Jeju Island.