Let's Visit Jeju - The Southernmost Korean Island - Part 1

While exploring Korea, the Korean Youth Hostel Federation will definitely be the organization that will provide you with quality, clean, safe and affordable accommodation both in the capital and in other parts of mainland South Korea.

I described what to visit on the mainland of South Korea in a six-part travelogue five years ago, and in the following article I want to take you to the southernmost Korean island of Jeju.

The volcanic island of Jeju is the Hawaii of South Korea

Jeju is the most popular travel and holiday destination among South Koreans, which is also confirmed by the fact that there are over two hundred daily flights between the capital Seoul and the island of Jeju, and this line was also the busiest airline in the world in 2019, with over 85,000 flights, and around 48,000 passengers flying it daily. But regardless of the fact that it is an extremely popular destination, they do not exaggerate the prices at all, as the prices of return flights with luggage included vary between 50 and 100 euros.

But rather than dealing with statistics, let's go for a wander around the island, which stretches over an area of 1,849m2 and where the 1,945m high Hallasan is located, which is also the highest peak of South Korea, but not of the Korean peninsula. The highest peak of the Korean peninsula is the peak of Mount Paektu, located on the border between North Korea and China, almost 800m higher and measuring 2,744m. Although Mt. Peaktu is in the north, and Hallasan is in the south of the Korean peninsula, they are both of volcanic origin.

Despite the organized public transport, I recommend renting an environmentally friendly electric car, as buses do not go to the most beautiful hidden corners very often. Renting a car is the first thing you need to pay attention to, because in South Korea you absolutely need an international driver's licence. Among all the providers, Lotte car rental turned out to be the most reliable in the end, offering an electric car with a realistic range of over 400km for only 35 euros per day and unlimited free charging at their office.

Despite the small size of the island, moving around the island is very slow, as the speed limit in a large part of the island is 50 km/h or less, and there are many radars and average speed metres on the way. Although the slow driving is annoying at times, on the other hand, it allows us to really see the island in detail and to turn in time at some sign indicating some attraction that the travel literature did not recommend to us.

Travelling from the extreme north to the extreme south of Jeju Island

The first such unplanned stop was already a few kilometres south of the capital of Jeju with the same name, namely the Cheon-Wang Sa Buddhist temple, where you can relax in the embrace of pristine nature and forget about everyday worries for a few moments while listening to the gentle sounds of prayers.

But the continuation of the journey from the far north to the far south of the island was not particularly stressful and, given the size of the island, not too long, even though the roads are winding and the driving speed is limited.

The next two stops were at the foot of Hallsan, and if we had at least an extra day to visit the island, we would have gladly dedicated it to climbing the highest South Korean peak, but the plan was a little different, because the southernmost point of Korea is not on Jeju Island, but on the islet of Marado.

Jeju - almost the southernmost Korean island

Like most travellers, I also believed that Jeju is actually the southernmost Korean island, but this is only true if we call the islands of Gapado and Marado islets, which is justified to some extent, since the former measures only a little more than a square kilometre, and Marado only 0.3 m2.

We didn’t visit the islet of Gapado, but the fact that it is the first carbon-free island certainly deserves at least a mention in the Globetrotter magazine, which promotes sustainable travelling. You can read more about the first carbon-free island at this link.

The port in the town of Unjinhang was the next stop on the Jeju Island tour. Unjinhang is not the southernmost point of Jeju Island, but it is only about a kilometre away from it, and therefore I can proudly say that I have driven on Jeju Island from north to south, because 50 kilometres driven, although on quite winding roads, does not sound like something extraordinary. This port is the starting point for visiting the aforementioned islands of Gapado and Marado.

Marado has everything the big ones have

With a ferry that brought almost as many visitors to Marado as the island has inhabitants, a whole new world opened up, different from both mainland Korea and Jeju Island. Namely, Marado Island was formed during the eruption of an underwater volcano, but unlike its big brother, the Jeju Island, it does not have a crater and is rocky and mostly flat. In addition to tourism, the main activity with which they make a living for the approximately one hundred inhabitants of the island is fishing and collecting shellfish and sea urchins in the traditional way with snorkelling, which is also typical of Jeju. Diving is traditionally practiced only by women, who are called Haenyeo in Korean, and their way of diving is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as the "Haenyeo Diving Culture of Jeju Island".

But despite its small size, we can find a lot more on the island of Marado than we would expect for such a small island. In addition to the memorial to the southernmost point of Korea, where almost all visitors take photos, the island has two churches, a Buddhist shrine, two shops, a medical station, lodgings and a few restaurants, which are intended almost exclusively for visitors.

The most imposing point of the island is the lighthouse, next to which models of some of the most famous lighthouses from around the world are exhibited.

But considering that it is the southernmost island with a lighthouse, they want to have a record of visitors, and therefore you also need a passport when buying a return ticket, and it is recommended that you arrive to the port at least half an hour before the departure of the ferry, while on the return you do not need to be there more than a few minutes before the departure.

You will read about the return from the south to the north of Jeju Island and much more in the second and last part of this travelogue.