see also
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Jeju-do
If lying on a pristine beach is your sole aim, Jeju is not your place, but South Korea’s honeymoon capital is unique and rewarding. Most of the coastline is black volcanic rock, but there are a couple of white-sand, turquoise-sea beaches, too. There are also many fishing villages to explore, plus museums and theme parks both oddball and educational, and fine hiking on South Korea’s tallest peak, Halla-san. A car is necessary to get out of the major hubs—Jeju-si in the north and Seogwipo in the south. Rent one with an international driver’s license or hire a regular taxi for $90 a day—enough time to circle the whole island.
Stay:
Hodo House
Jeju has yet to discover the boutique hotel, although pensions, which offer condo-style units with a B&B feel, have sprung up all along
the coast—take any tourist road to find them by the dozen. Hodo House is a pension in Seogwipo located right across from Beomseom, or “Tiger Islet.” It’s close to waterfalls and to Jeju World Cup Stadium, where you can catch a soccer game featuring the local K-league club, Jeju United FC. Suites come in three sizes, and all have kitchenettes and balconies, giving them lots of light and an airy yet intimate feel. If you’re not into cooking, the cordial owner will barbecue for you.
1523 Beon-ji,
Beomhwan-dong,
Seogwipo-si82-64/739-1152
RATES: $85–$115
hodohouse.com
The Shilla Jeju
More refined than its neighbor—the Vegas-style Lotte Hotel—the Shilla is both high-class and low-key. The 429-room Mediterranean-style resort hotel is situated on a 21-acre private garden and overlooks the multicolored sand and black rock cliffs of the Jungmun coast on Jeju’s south side. At Cheon-jee, the restaurant, you can sample Jeju specialties in a private dining room with ondol flooring, warmed by hot-water pipes under-neath. There are also Japanese and Western restaurants, a jazz bar, and a karaoke room. The spa is an Institut de Guerlain.
2039–3 Saekdal-dong,
Jungmun
82-64/735-5114
RATES: $195–$280
shilla.net/jeju
Ramada Plaza Jeju
Near the Tapdong boardwalk area in downtown Jeju-si is this 380-room “floating hotel,” modeled on a luxury cruise liner. Although
it doesn’t actually look or feel much like a boat, ocean-view rooms do look straight out over the sea. If you prefer more solid ground, there are mountain views available. Chinese and Japanese restaurants serve local seafood, and for binge eating there’s a Western-style buffet lounge, which also has a large outdoor patio—a rarity in Jeju City. The coastal café road and Tapdong Seaside Concert Hall are both within easy walking distance.
1255 Samdo2-dong,
Jeju-si82-64/729-8100
RATES: $240–$270
ramadajeju.co.kr
Eat:
The best place to sample Jeju’s freshest seafood is at one of the stalls on the coast, where you can choose abalone, sea squirt, or baby octopus from tubs and have them sliced on request. Pair your meal with a bottle of Hallasan soju, a distilled rice drink. In the warm season, it’s easy to find stalls at Yongmeori coast at the base of Sanbangsan, or at the entrance to Jungmun beach.
Jin Mi Siktang
This hole-in-the-wall near Sanbangsan is where chef Kang Chang-keon serves his patented (literally—the document is displayed on a board outside) dageumbari, a dish of sliced raw giant grouper. The decor resembles a fishing tackle shop, but the organizers of Slow Food’s 2006 Terra Madre conference in Torino selected Kang as one of 100 global chefs brought in to showcase their signature cuisine.
679–922, 2072
Sagye-ri,
Seogwipo-si
82-64/794-3639
jinmiga.co.kr
Jeju Kkweong Ch’on
Seafood is just one side of Jeju cuisine. From the island’s forests comes this res-taurant’s specialty, a set-course meal of local pheasant. Starting with shabu-shabu—rich, pink slices of raw pheasant swished through boiling broth stuffed with sesame greens—the meal cycles through grilled bird, dumpling soup with handcut buckwheat noodles, and a shifting constellation of banchan, cold Korean side dishes. Look for the pictures of the colorful birds on the main highway south of the airport.
320–9 Yeon-dong,
Jeju-si
82-64/712-9009
Bagdad Cafe
Among Jeju’s non-Korean dining options, this stylish Indian restaurant in the bustling city hall district is the best. Owner Hyun Ju-ryeong imported chefs and tandoor ovens from India to ensure the authen-ticity of the smooth chicken makhni (buttered chicken) and the fluffy naan.
1186–16 Ido2-dong,
Jeju-si
82-64/757-8182
Drink:
Tobabangsok-e Changdokdae
Places on Jeju to drink makkolli, the milky white booze favored by Korean farmers, are becoming rare as it loses popularity among younger people. But at this second-floor restaurant with a warm, lodgelike in-terior, you can still get it served in stout wooden bowls. Downstairs is a fine tea shop. To find it, go three blocks south from the T.H.E. Hotel, turn right, and look for the sign that says
“Jeju Famous Liquor Drinking House.”
283–4 Yeon-dong,
Jeju-si
82-64/742-8700
See:
Geumneung-seokmulwon
Chang Kong-ik is the most renowned sculptor of dolharubang, the phallic stone men that stand guard at nearly every corner in Jeju. At his sculpture park just outside the fishing village of Hallim, you’ll find dozens of variations on the figure, plus stone representations of traditional Jeju villages, creation myths, and a journey through the underworld. If you’re lucky, you might even run across Chang himself, hammering away in his quarry.
1282–9 Geumneung-ri,
Hallim-eup
Jeju Loveland
The most infamous of Jeju’s tourist fantasias is a collection of 140 sculptures, most in glossy white plaster, on various sexual themes. The pieces were created by graduates of Hongik University’s art program and range from giant labia to humping dogs throwing the victory sign. At night, it’s utterly surreal.
680–26 Yeon-dong,
Jeju-sisi
82-64/712-6988
jejuloveland.com
Art Space C
This contemporary gallery space features rotating exhibitions of work on themes related to Jeju and Korean culture. In late summer, the gallery will feature an exhibition of work by painter Hong Sung-dam, offering a Korean perspective on the controversial Yasukuni shrine honoring the war dead in Tokyo.
1295–13
No-hyung dong,
Jeju-si
82-64/745-3693
artspacec.com
Do:
Oiljang
Jeju’s sprawling traditional “five-day” market is the best place to see seafood caught by the haenyeo, plus a staggering variety of other goods, from hand-forged knives to ginseng root. It runs only on days of the month that end in 2 or 7 (hence the name). The entrance is on the main highway south of the airport.
Seongsan Ilchulbong
The view of dawn atop this imposing crag of volcanic rock off Jeju’s east coast earned it the English name Sunrise Peak. If you miss the solar spectacle, it’s also a good place to see the haenyeo offshore during the day. It’s in Seongsan village, and is impossible to miss from Highway 1132.
82-64/784-0959
"Jeju-Do, Korea" originally appeared in the July/August 2008 issue of Culture+Travel along with the article "Lady Good Divers." For a complete list of articles from Culture+Travel available on ARTINFO, click here.
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