12 November 2022
One of the best places for a short walk near Hyeopjae was the coastal stretch between Gwakji Gwamul Beach and Handam Village in Aewol. This 1.2 km trail is known as the Handam Coastal Trail or Gwakji Gwamul Beach Trail.
Gwakji Gwamul Beach to Handam Beach, where many of Aewol’s famous cafes are located.
This is a popular walking trail along the coast which connects Gwakji Beach, a seaside destination popular with families and surfers to the trendy northwestern town of Aewol, with its many hot cafes and restaurants.
We started our walk at Gwakji Beach. Since Annabelle could not walk with us with her injured foot, our taxi driver Mr Won drove Jude and her to Aewol for an early coffee break.
My friend exploring the beach at the start point. The water is cold.
Handam Coastal Trail
The course is practically flat and well paved so we could just enjoy the stroll without spending much energy. This trail is part of the Jeju Olle Trail 15B and there are Olle ribbons and trail markers seen along this trail.
Blue and orange Olle ribbons seen along this trail.
Zoomed in view of Aewol Cafe Street from the Handam Coastal Trail.
After a 30 minutes stroll, we could see Aewol. Aewol Cafe Street is a little area in Handam Village which is just full of cafes that caters to those who wants to kill some time with a drink and a great view. Also, with the love of selfies and instagram posts, many Jeju cafes catered to those needs as well.
We met up with Annabelle and Jude at Aewol. They went to the A Twosome Place cafe with Mr Won since it was more accessible for Annabelle while the rest went to explore Aewol Cafe Street.
Aewol was crowded on this day, being a Saturday. Koreans absolutely love their cafe culture and they do it so well. For a population of only 700,000 in Jeju, there are more cafes than I would have expected. A lot of the business comes from visitors from mainland Korea and tourists.
There are some famous cafes located here.
The Bomnal Cafe was popular because it was featured in a MBC K-drama called Warm and Cozy in 2015. This cafe appeared as the restaurant 'Maendorong Ttottot' in that drama. In addition to Warm and Cozy, the 2013 K-drama Goddess of Marriage also featured the Bomnal Cafe in its pilot episode.
This cafe did not permit entry unless we buy a coffee each. We were put off by the arrogance and attitude.
We went to check out other cafes. After all, there are plenty to choose from. We took a walk along the Aewol Coastal Road that leads to more cafes.
View of Bomnal Cafe from the Aewol Coastal Trail.
We stopped by the popular Knotted Cafe. This cafe sells all sorts of donuts and croissants.
Menu at Knotted Cafe.
Cafe Knotted was crowded. There were many family groups with toddlers. All the outdoor seats were occupied and the indoor environment was too warm and stuffy for us. No go.
We finally stopped at Monsant Cafe. This is another famous cafe. The one owned by Bigbang’s G-Dragon. Monsant has outdoor seatings under the shade of palm trees by the sea and that hits the spot. They got our business.
Aewol cafes are a good place to relax and watch the sunset.
Outdoor seating at Monsant Cafe in Aewol.
Mr Won has already set our expectations that the famous cafes in Aewol are expensive compared to regular cafe chains like the Twosome Place. Monsant Cafe sells cheese cakes, mushroom pie and all sorts of ades, plus coffee.
My wife and I ordered a mud pie and lime grapefruit ade to share.
After our coffee break at Monsant Cafe, we met up with the rest of the group again at A Twosome Place.
Our accommodation for the night was at Starlight Glamping. We made a stop at a BHC Chicken store in Aewol to buy the famous Korean Fried Chicken for our dinner at the glamping site. BHC Chicken or “Better & Happier Choice” is one of most popular Korean Fried Chicken chains, having opened over 1,000 stores since 2004.
While waiting for our chickens to be fried (20 minutes we were told), Mr Won drove us to the coast where we saw our last Jeju lighthouses and the sunset.
Many Koreans were fishing on the breakwater and tetrapods.
Innovative way to set up a shelter with a car.
As the sun sets, we knew that all good things would come to an end. This was our last evening in Jeju.
Each couple took turns to take photos with our driver cum guide, Mr Won, who had taken good care of us and shown us his beloved homeland for the past week.
Thank you Mr Won. Till we meet again.
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