Way back at the beginning of 2015, we challenged ourselves to travel more within the country we live, by creating a “Take 6 Trips in Korea” Challenge for the year. Our chosen destinations included Jeonju – bibimbap capital of the country, the Muju Firefly Festival (coming up at the end of summer), a trip to remote Ulleungdo, a hotel break in Gangneung, a meditative Temple Stay and finally, a visit to new World Wonder of Nature, Jeju Island.
We’re now halfway through the year, and I’m ashamed to admit that we haven’t been very successful at meeting our challenge. We did manage to take trips to Hong Kong and Bali though. :p
There ARE extenuating circumstances, which I’ll tell you all about soon, but the point is, we’ve left ourselves just 6 months to get to 5 of the places on our list. Will we succeed? Your guess is as good as mine…
I’m happy to say though, that last weekend, we corrected a terrible travel wrong, by FINALLY getting ourselves to Jeju Island. It’s really a travesty that after living in Korea for 6 years, we haven’t made it there yet. After all, the air route from Seoul to Jeju is the world’s busiest, and it’s a quick 1 hour flight, with prices as low as $90 round trip at off-peak times. For shame.
Closest I’ve come to feeling like the plane was a bus – boarding 10 minutes before take-off.
The plans for our short 2.5 day trip were simple. Some beach time, exploring the volcanic coastline, and dining on Jeju specialties like black pork, grilled hairtail fish (κ°μΉ), and fresh abalone. Unfortunately, after a glorious first day, Mother Nature decided to bring cloud and rain down on us. π
Stormy skies have their own kind of beauty, I suppose, but I’m not gonna lie. Jeju’s volcanic landscape under bright skies and sunshine is pretty magnificent. Under clouds? Not so much. The biggest bummer? Not being able to spend any time lounging around on the island’s plethora of sandy beaches, while zoning out at brilliant blue seas.
Instead, we took a drive around Jeju’s coast, stopped in at Oedeolgae Rock and the Jusangjeolli Cliffs, trekked up Seongsan Ilchubong Peak (Sunrise Peak) and checked out Jungmun Tourist Complex.
I’ll have a full breakdown of our time in Jeju, including costs, and travel and accommodation tips coming up, but in the meantime, here’s the first of our #Take6Trips destinations of 2015 in pictures.
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- Gorgeous view from our pension’s balcony
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- Oedolgae at sunset
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- The freshest octopus and seafood pancake
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- The view from the top of Seongsan Ilchubong
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- Drying squid are a common sight on Jeju’s coastline
Have you been to Jejudo or another volcanic island? Rain ever put a damper on your travel plans? Tell us about your experiences below. We’d love to hear from you.
spark623
I’m headed there tomorrow and after seeing this post, I can’t wait!
Shelley @Travel-Stained
How was your trip to Jeju? I hope the weather held up for you!! π
spark623
The weather was beautiful for the first two days we were there, but poured for the final two. The mist was definitely something to experience though!
Miyang
wow!I’ve been here last year If you haven’t visited Halla mountain, then I think you should pay a visit! I love your photography as well. π
Shelley @Travel-Stained
Thanks Miyang! π We took a drive on the Halla Mountain road, and it was very beautiful. Unfortunately, it was cloudy and raining, so we couldn’t do much exploring or walking around. Next time! π
TriciaVM
Gorgeous photos! I’ve never been to Jeju Island and your post is making me want to remedy the situation stat π
Shelley @Travel-Stained
Jeju has such a different feeling and landscape than the rest of Korea, I think it’s well worth a visit! I don’t know why it took us so long to get our butts there…I think we’ll try to get there again, sooner, rather than later…definitely before another 6 years passes! π
unfinishedtravel
The ocean looks gorgeous! Too bad the weather didn’t cooperate.
Shelley @Travel-Stained
It was a really lovely colour. A bit rough, but still nice. It was all I could do to stop hubby from jumping in, despite the cloud and rain. π
mjcolbert
Haven’t been to any volcanic or tropical islands in a while, but rain always knows how to put a damper on travel plans, especially here in New England: I had a friend visiting from Seattle and it rained the entire time, completely changing the itinerary I’d made.
Shelley @Travel-Stained
Ugh…I don’t mind rain, but when traveling, it always seems so much more terrible than it actually is. π Especially when visiting “beachy” locations…it’s the absolute worst.
Claire Gillis
Love the pics and oh, Jeonju bimibap actually is the best π
Shelley @Travel-Stained
Thanks Claire. π I have been wanting to try Jeonju bibimbap forever! Hope we can make it happen this year. Any recommendations for where to eat it?
CrazyChineseFamily
I’m really hoping that we managed this year to go to Jeju as well. At least my in-laws promised that we would go there..
Shelley @Travel-Stained
Jeju is certainly popular with Chinese tourists! π When we were there, every sight was full of Chinese tour buses…but I’d definitely recommend renting a car, and driving around independently instead. Hope you make it there this year!
CrazyChineseFamily
I do hope so as well. I wonder what kind of “ticket” my in-laws have in mind. I really hope it is not in a group as then I wont be able to enjoy it at all as I prefer discovering places on my own pace
Shelley @Travel-Stained
Oh, I hope you can convince them to travel independently. Those Chinese tour buses were crazyyyyyy!!! and in quite a rush to get everywhere…
CrazyChineseFamily
I know, rushing everywhere and stoping at some tourists traps too often..
Lets see how it will be as I really hope to plan this trip together with my wife rather than rushing from one spot to the other
Sha
I’ve always wanted to go Jeju but I was usually travelling alone when visiting Korea so decided to miss out on it for now …but it still looks good even if the weather was not…:)
Shelley @Travel-Stained
It had a totally different vibe than Seoul, much more relaxed, and the landscape was really breathtaking in parts. I’d definitely recommend visiting on some kind of tour if you go though, because the island is HUGE. It take forever to get from point to point, and doing it by public bus would be frustrating. They definitely do not come every 3-5 minutes, like in Seoul!!
Sha
Yeah, that was one of the reasons why I didn’t go when I was alone cos of its size but I’ll take note of the tour option next time…:)
Suze
Aw looks so beautiful, especially Oedolgae. I want to go there right now π
Shelley @Travel-Stained
The area around Oedolgae WAS particularly lovely, and we had such gorgeous light when we visited. As a hiker, you’d love the Olle Trails on the Island. π I think there are about 15 of them, that take you through traditional towns and different views. We didn’t manage any on this trip, but every year, they have an Olle Walking Festival that is quite popular.