WEDNESDAY 29 MAY 2019
Jeju Island: Things to Do and What to Eat
My friend and I spent two nights on Jeju Island. Although we had a day of sunshine, most of it was cold and windy, one day it was wet and muddy, but boy, Jeju Island was still so beautiful. We got there around noon on the first day and the first thing we did was head towards the ocean.
Jeju Island is known for its nature and especially its beaches. The polar opposite to sleek, modern and fast paced Seoul, Jeju Island was filled with fields of pampas grass, crystal clear emerald coloured waters, wild terrain, citrus farms and the occasional dog.
We stayed at Daemyung Resort Jeju which is located east of Jeju Airport, near Hamdeok Beach. We didn't use much of the resort's facilities as we were out and about, but my friend and I had lots of fun watching Train to Busan starring my all time favourite Gong Yoo, one night in our room. We screamed and jumped and cried. We laughed about it the next morning, still slightly freaked out by the movie. I highly recommend it (it's available on Netflix!), I'm not the biggest fan of zombie related things, but Train to Busan was done so well and tastefully. I want to watch it again, but this time with English subtitles.
Jeju Island is known for its nature and especially its beaches. The polar opposite to sleek, modern and fast paced Seoul, Jeju Island was filled with fields of pampas grass, crystal clear emerald coloured waters, wild terrain, citrus farms and the occasional dog.
We stayed at Daemyung Resort Jeju which is located east of Jeju Airport, near Hamdeok Beach. We didn't use much of the resort's facilities as we were out and about, but my friend and I had lots of fun watching Train to Busan starring my all time favourite Gong Yoo, one night in our room. We screamed and jumped and cried. We laughed about it the next morning, still slightly freaked out by the movie. I highly recommend it (it's available on Netflix!), I'm not the biggest fan of zombie related things, but Train to Busan was done so well and tastefully. I want to watch it again, but this time with English subtitles.
Getting around Jeju Island without a car requires quite a bit of time, but it wasn't impossible. Even though travel by car would've been quicker and more convenient, I quite enjoyed our bus trips, it made the whole experience more leisurely, especially since I had my friend who GPS navigated everything.
The scenery was at times beautiful (see the second top right photo: a small peek of Seongsan Ilchulbong in the distance)* and it was the perfect time to catch up on sleep. There was something about the busses we hopped on, I noticed the bus drivers were less stressed and less last minute when breaking like in Seoul, and the journey inside the heated bus always lulled me to sleep instantly.
The bottom left photo captures one of our breakfasts, tangerines we picked ourselves from a farm, peach yoghurt, soy milk, banana flavoured milk, almond biscuits and red bean and butter bread. The bottom right picture was a mirror selfie taken outside Modak Shitak, a seafood curry restaurant we went to for lunch. Jeju Island was so fun and I was really glad that I had the opportunity to explore more of South Korea.
*Seongsan Ilchulbong, also called Sunrise Peak is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a crater made from volcanic eruptions. I highly recommend climbing to the peak, the view from the top is beautiful and I've heard that the sunrises especially are breathtaking. Be warned though, I was severely out of breath when we reached the top and I felt like I was dying about half way up (I am really unfit and not inclined to exercise), it was still worth it though.
Here are some places we went to and restaurants we ate at over our trip. If you click on the addresses, it should take you to the location on Google Maps.
The scenery was at times beautiful (see the second top right photo: a small peek of Seongsan Ilchulbong in the distance)* and it was the perfect time to catch up on sleep. There was something about the busses we hopped on, I noticed the bus drivers were less stressed and less last minute when breaking like in Seoul, and the journey inside the heated bus always lulled me to sleep instantly.
The bottom left photo captures one of our breakfasts, tangerines we picked ourselves from a farm, peach yoghurt, soy milk, banana flavoured milk, almond biscuits and red bean and butter bread. The bottom right picture was a mirror selfie taken outside Modak Shitak, a seafood curry restaurant we went to for lunch. Jeju Island was so fun and I was really glad that I had the opportunity to explore more of South Korea.
*Seongsan Ilchulbong, also called Sunrise Peak is a UNESCO World Heritage site. It is a crater made from volcanic eruptions. I highly recommend climbing to the peak, the view from the top is beautiful and I've heard that the sunrises especially are breathtaking. Be warned though, I was severely out of breath when we reached the top and I felt like I was dying about half way up (I am really unfit and not inclined to exercise), it was still worth it though.
Here are some places we went to and restaurants we ate at over our trip. If you click on the addresses, it should take you to the location on Google Maps.
Nice fried fish (According to Google Maps)
We had dinner as a local restaurant along the coast, we had to take off our shoes and we were seated on the floor. All of the food excluding the peanut makgeolli, which included a plate of fresh hamachi, Korean soy bean soup, rice, banchan (small side dishes) and unlimited lettuce and shisho leaves for wrapping only costed us around 30 000 won! The hamachi can be eaten in various ways, by itself with soy sauce or wrapped in lettuce and shisho leaf with a bit of rice, fresh chilli and garlic and Korean chilli paste. I love wrapping some sort of protein in leafy vegetables (a common thing in Korean food), it was so fresh and tasty. The spicy, bubbling soy bean soup was also warming, the banchan was delicious and the peanut makgeolli was the perfect nutty complement to our meal.
I found the location of the restaurant on Google Maps, but the name Nice fried fish doesn't seem very accurate... but who knows, maybe the restaurant also sells nice fried fish and decided to call themselves that.
빛의 벙커 Bunker de Lumières
South Korea, Jeju-do, Seogwipo, 특별자치도, Seongsan-eup, Goseong-ri, 2039-22 KR
We visited the newly opened Bunker de Lumieres, a secret bunker turned art gallery on the far east side of Jeju Island, to see their first exhibit Bunker de Lumieres: Klimt. The exhibit was a forty minute media art show that projected the artwork of Gustav Klimt for the first half an hour, and followed by ten minutes of Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Every inch of the space was covered in dazzling projections of Klimt and Hundertwasser's works with background music. It was an immersive space, I felt like I was part of the projection. The bunker was dark and cool making it the perfect place to be in the artwork itself. This exhibition is running until October 2019.
South Korea, Jeju-do, Seogwipo, 특별자치도, Seongsan-eup, Goseong-ri, 2039-22 KR
We visited the newly opened Bunker de Lumieres, a secret bunker turned art gallery on the far east side of Jeju Island, to see their first exhibit Bunker de Lumieres: Klimt. The exhibit was a forty minute media art show that projected the artwork of Gustav Klimt for the first half an hour, and followed by ten minutes of Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Every inch of the space was covered in dazzling projections of Klimt and Hundertwasser's works with background music. It was an immersive space, I felt like I was part of the projection. The bunker was dark and cool making it the perfect place to be in the artwork itself. This exhibition is running until October 2019.
명진전복 Myeongjin Jeonbok Abalone Restaurant
1282 Haemajihaean-ro, Gujwa-eup, Cheju, Jeju-do, South Korea
It was violently windy and overcast when we walked along the coast to this restaurant. With ocean views and a popularity ensuing a queue, Myeonjin Jeonbok offered only four dishes that put abalone in the spotlight. We tried their abalone stone pot rice and abalone porridge. The other two dish on the menu was grilled abalone and raw sliced abalone. It was the tastiest and most tender abalone I have ever had. Our meal also came with grilled salted fish and banchan. Across the restaurant in a separate building, where customers wait in line, there was also a shop that sold citrus jam filled cakes. They were similar to Japanese baby castella（カステラ, kasutera), a type of Japanese sponge cake.
1282 Haemajihaean-ro, Gujwa-eup, Cheju, Jeju-do, South Korea
It was violently windy and overcast when we walked along the coast to this restaurant. With ocean views and a popularity ensuing a queue, Myeonjin Jeonbok offered only four dishes that put abalone in the spotlight. We tried their abalone stone pot rice and abalone porridge. The other two dish on the menu was grilled abalone and raw sliced abalone. It was the tastiest and most tender abalone I have ever had. Our meal also came with grilled salted fish and banchan. Across the restaurant in a separate building, where customers wait in line, there was also a shop that sold citrus jam filled cakes. They were similar to Japanese baby castella（カステラ, kasutera), a type of Japanese sponge cake.
HyeWon Bookstore
While walking to Myeongjin Jeonbok, the harsh salty winds did not stop us from noticing a tiny bookstore. It was a small hut made from Jeju Island's porous volcanic rock with no owners present. It had a large amount of books on display and I even found Korean versions of Agatha Christie's books. The bookshop had a wonderful feel to it, it was cosy, had places to sit and read, and had vintage decorations. It is on the same street as Myongjin Jeonbok, Haemajihaean-ro.
While walking to Myeongjin Jeonbok, the harsh salty winds did not stop us from noticing a tiny bookstore. It was a small hut made from Jeju Island's porous volcanic rock with no owners present. It had a large amount of books on display and I even found Korean versions of Agatha Christie's books. The bookshop had a wonderful feel to it, it was cosy, had places to sit and read, and had vintage decorations. It is on the same street as Myongjin Jeonbok, Haemajihaean-ro.
Modak Shiktak
998-1 Hamdok-ri, Jochon-eup, Cheju, Jeju-do, South Korea
A contemporary and modern cafe style restaurant that served seafood curry. One was a tomatoey based curry with beans and rock shrimp, and the other was buttery with octopus and fish roe. Both were so delicious, the rice was cooked perfectly and the meal came with yummy sides and a vegetable salad. It was the type of place where you could eat and talk slowly in a naturally bright and airy place.
998-1 Hamdok-ri, Jochon-eup, Cheju, Jeju-do, South Korea
A contemporary and modern cafe style restaurant that served seafood curry. One was a tomatoey based curry with beans and rock shrimp, and the other was buttery with octopus and fish roe. Both were so delicious, the rice was cooked perfectly and the meal came with yummy sides and a vegetable salad. It was the type of place where you could eat and talk slowly in a naturally bright and airy place.
동유암식당 Dongyu Restaurant
315-3 Goseong-ri, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo, Jeju-do, South Korea
This was one of the best meals I had during my trip to Korea, spicy braised cutlass fish with daikon, soy bean soup, rice and banchan. I often think about this meal, its fiery addictiveness, how the thick slabs of daikon soaked up the chillies and the flavour of braised fish, the dish was made even better with steaming hot plain white rice. It was the type of dish that made me consume rice twice as fast and twice as much. The restaurant was deserted and we accidentally woke up the owners who were taking a light nap in the backroom when we pushed the doors opened. It was home cooked food at its best, everything from scratch. The gentleman who served us was kind in offering us an English menu when he saw my friend explaining what they served, and he gave us the soybean soup on the house.
315-3 Goseong-ri, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo, Jeju-do, South Korea
This was one of the best meals I had during my trip to Korea, spicy braised cutlass fish with daikon, soy bean soup, rice and banchan. I often think about this meal, its fiery addictiveness, how the thick slabs of daikon soaked up the chillies and the flavour of braised fish, the dish was made even better with steaming hot plain white rice. It was the type of dish that made me consume rice twice as fast and twice as much. The restaurant was deserted and we accidentally woke up the owners who were taking a light nap in the backroom when we pushed the doors opened. It was home cooked food at its best, everything from scratch. The gentleman who served us was kind in offering us an English menu when he saw my friend explaining what they served, and he gave us the soybean soup on the house.
Bijarim Forest
55 Bijasup-gil, Gujwa-eup, Cheju, Jeju-do, South Korea
Bijarim Forest was like a magical forest, shaded and hushed with clear and fresh air. Thousands of nutmeg trees ranging from 500 to 800 years old completely enveloped us while we walked along the pathway. Walking through Bijarim Forest was soothing and pleasant, it had this otherworldly quality to it owing to the ages of the trees. I could easily imagine a handsome knight on a black horse coming out from the trees upon hearing our chatter and offering to lead us to the exit of the forest!
55 Bijasup-gil, Gujwa-eup, Cheju, Jeju-do, South Korea
Bijarim Forest was like a magical forest, shaded and hushed with clear and fresh air. Thousands of nutmeg trees ranging from 500 to 800 years old completely enveloped us while we walked along the pathway. Walking through Bijarim Forest was soothing and pleasant, it had this otherworldly quality to it owing to the ages of the trees. I could easily imagine a handsome knight on a black horse coming out from the trees upon hearing our chatter and offering to lead us to the exit of the forest!
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