Trip to Jeju

Because of the Chinese New Year, I have three days (the past Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday) off from work. When I found out about the break I decided strait away that I would take a trip outside of Seoul. I won’t have many breaks this long during the year, so I have to take advantage of them when the opportunity arises.

The group that I went hiking with the other weekend, Seoul Hiking Group, was organizing a tip to Jeju Island over the long weekend. Jeju Island is a region of Korea located south of the mainland and west of Japan. It is known for its natural beauty and mild climate and has a wide range of topographical features, from seaside cliffs to a large volcanic mountain at its center. Both Matt and I decided to sign up for the trip, which would last from Friday night until Tuesday evening.

Jeju is south of the Korean peninsula, not far from Japan.

Jeju during a more seasonal time of year.

The first leg of the journey was an overnight bus ride from Seoul to a small port town in the Southwest where we could take a ferry to Jeju. We left Seoul at around midnight (the bus made a pickup stop in Jamsil!), and the trip was scheduled to take about 5 hours. During the holidays, however, traffic in and out of Seoul can be terrible. Over New Year’s many of the cities’ residents travel to relatives’ houses in the countryside.

So instead of 5 hours, the drive took between 7 and 8. The ferry wasn’t scheduled to leave until 9:30 though, so we still made it in time. The ferry ride lasted about an hour and a half. Despite a restless night sleep on the bus, I wasn’t able to get much more shut eye on the ferry. Once we arrived on the island we had a full day of activities planned out for us, so no time for sleep!

Typically I am not a fan of large tour groups, because I feel that much of the joy of traveling comes from figuring it out on one’s own. As they say, getting there is half the fun. But when your time is limited, organized excursions can be valuable. Out trip guide, Warren, has organized over ten trips to Jeju, so he knows the best spots on the island. The bus was also great, because travel to some of the less visited stops would have required an expensive taxi ride for individual travelers or small groups.

Warren is really an amazing guy. After years of working exhausting hours at a Korean financial company, one day he decided to quit and change up his life. He now works as an independent futures trader by day (and he can make the work days much shorter), and spends much of his free time running the Seoul Hiking Group. He makes no money off of the trips, but simply loves to experience nature and meet new people. Warren is even taking about doing a bike trip across the US!

Warren (back) on a Seoul Hiking Group trip

Warren is an energetic, eccentric guy!

On our trip to Jeju Warren tried not to spend much time waiting around for people holding up the group, since we were on such a tight schedule. With a group of 40, delays can be a real problem. He let people go at their own pace, as long as they made it back to the bus in time. If someone didn’t want to do the activity, they were free to choose another on their own. I really liked that style, and it made the trip seem a bit less like one huge tourist excursion.

After lunch on the first day, we rode horses. It was a lot less adventurous than it sounds though. We each got to ride for about 3 minutes around a short dirt track. Still, now I can say that I’ve ridden a horse! Afterwards we drove to an old crater on the Island’s interior for a hike. It had great views of the surrounding countryside, and we could see the ocean as well.

Riding horses

One note on the climate: the Korean tourism site compared Jeju to Hawaii, but it was definitely not beach weather while I was there! I get the comparison – a volcanic island with unique natural beauty – but they aren’t exactly mirror images. The weather is considerably warmer than Seoul, but while we were there the temperature never got above the 50s. One day it even snowed!

On the first day we also visited a seaside crater. On one side was an excellent view of the nearby town, and across the crater was a steep drop off to the ocean. In terms of the scenery it rivaled Halla-san as my favorite part of the trip.

The crater wasn't as green when we visited, but still beautiful.

A buffet dinner followed, and after we checked into the hotel we had the night off. Despite the tiring overnight trip and full day of activities, a group of us decided to try and find a bar near the hotel. Jeju City, where we were staying, is the largest (and only) city on the island, with probably three-fourths of Jeju’s half a million inhabitants. The area wasn’t very crowded, but there were several bars to choose from. We stayed for a few hours at one of the bars, and then called it a relatively early night. Breakfast was at 8 am, and we had another full day ahead of us.

After breakfast we first went to a tea museum. There wasn’t much to see there, but we did get a free sample. Afterwards we drove to a coastal area that had sandy beaches plus an excellent view of Halla-san, the tallest mountain on the island. We walked along the water to a seaside restaurant for lunch. Naturally it was seafood meal. Jeju is known for its seafood, and it certainly didn’t disappoint. We had a large communal soup with a mezcla of crab, shrimp, squid, and several kinds of sea snails, including abalone, a local favorite. We also had fish and several traditional side dishes.

Seafood: a Jeju specialty

In the afternoon we stopped along the south side of the island to see a waterfall and an impressive pedestrian bridge with great views of both the cliffs along the coast and the harbor. It was amazing how much different the climate was. While Jeju City (on the north side of the island) was overcast and in the 40s (F), it was sunny and at least 10 degrees warmer where we were. Warren said that part of the island is almost always warmer and calmer than the other areas. We then took a walk along the sea cliffs. I finished it with extra time, so I found a path down to the water and explored a bit before catching up with the bus.

I did manage to get a few pictures!

Looking out over the cliffs on the south coast of Jeju.

The suspension bridge near Seogwipo Harbor

By the time we arrived back at the hotel, it was close to dinner time already. We had the night free, so a few of us grabbed food at Lotteria (not exactly traditional Jeju cuisine I know) and went out for drinks. We found a bar that was around 8 bucks for 2 hours of all you can drink! After the 2 hours we headed to the hotel because there was a football match on we wanted to watch. I passed out soon after it ended, but Matt and one other guy stayed up to watch another one that started at 1 am! I was glad that I fell asleep because we had an early start the following morning.

On the final full day in Jeju Warren had planned for us to hike Mount Halla-san, the tallest point on the Island. The summit reaches 6,400 feet – not a particularly tall mountain, but still the tallest in Korea. From the bottom to the summit and back again was supposed to take us around 8 hours. We left the hotel by 7:30, arriving at the base of Halla-san by 8. Only 15 people out of a total of 40 decided to make the trip.

 The first two hours of the hike were pretty easy, with mostly slight uphill inclines. During the third hour the trail steepened, and we needed crampons to help keep our grip. I went in my street shoes, which had little to no grip of their own, so the crampons were a must for me. We reached the final resting point in good time. There was a small lodge where we stopped for snacks and a bathroom break.

When we went to continue our hike, however, we found that the trail had recently been closed off due to inclement weather. Apparently the blizzard-like conditions were making the summit too dangerous. It was a big letdown, and I could tell that Warren was really disappointed. After a futile attempt to convince the ranger to let us pass, we headed back down the mountain. I think we still could have climbed the last bit without much of a problem, but better safe than sorry I guess. There was a lot of snow cover, and the wind was very strong, so in a way I was glad to head back towards the warm bus!

Not exactly Hawaii-like weather (I'm wearing the OSU
hat and Matt has the blue scarf).

Most of the way down we were surrounded by ice-covered trees and several feet of snow. It looked like a scene out of a Christmas card. Not exactly what I was expecting for “the Hawaii of Korea,” but beautiful none the less. Here is a link to the video that Warren posted on youtube from Halla-san:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfSHU_fLK8Y

We arrived back at the hotel earlier than expected, but a few of us decided still to head strait to our next stop, a jinjilbang. Jinjilbangs are basically 24 hour saunas. For only around 5 bucks you can stay as long as you like! There is a section of baths and showers, segregated by gender. Everyone goes in naked, which can take awhile to get accustomed to. I knew what to expect before going, but it was still a bit odd to walk around in the nude with old Korean men. The second area, shared between men and women, has individual rooms that range between 45 and 150 degrees Fahrenheit. There is also a large communal room for relaxing, stretching, watching TV, or sitting in massage chairs. It was a great way to warm up and relax after the freezing hike up Mount Halla-san.

An area for sleeping or just laying around

By the time Matt and I left the jimjilbang it was nearly 7 pm, and I hadn’t had much to eat until breakfast (Matt had skipped breakfast all together). A large group met in the hotel lobby to go out to a part of town called Old Jeju. A foreigner we met at the sauna had recommended it as a good place to go out in the evening for food and drinks. Warren went with us as well, and he told the taxi drivers where to drop us off. For some reason it was a good 25 minute walk from the central area – maybe he just wanted to get in some more hiking!

After a longer than expected trek we finally found a good place to eat, and afterwards about 10 of us stayed to go drinking. We found a local club, but it was pretty dead when we arrived. It was still early, so we got drinks and danced as a group. Eventually the place started to fill up, and then dance floor was packed. Back home I’m not always the biggest fan of dancing, but given the right atmosphere it can be a blast. It was so much fun that three of us stayed until after 4 am!

By the time I got back to the hotel it was going on five, and we were scheduled to leave by 8:30. After a solid 3 hour doze I was ready to go! I was tired of course, but surprisingly not in too bad of shape. We had a few last minute stops, which included a snowball fight and a walk along the coast, and then it was off to the ferry. I slept most of the ride to the mainland, and a majority of the time on the bus to Seoul as well. It was much needed sleep, and it made the long journey quite easy. Due to traffic we didn’t arrive in the city until after 10 pm, so I decided to call it a night and catch up on some more sleep. All in all a great holiday trip...too bad I had to go back to work on Thursday!