Trip overview - 8 days in Jeju with old school friends

After 11 years, it felt good to be back in Jeju again. This time, my wife and I came with the same group of old school friends that had travelled with us to Siem Reap and Chiang Mai in previous trips.

Once again, I was tasked to be the overall trip planner. There would be 8 persons (4 couples). After exploring the option of renting two cars for 8 persons, I decided that it would be more economical and also easier for co-ordination if I were to charter a large taxi with driver for the group.

Jumbo taxi for our group of 8 persons.

I managed to contact Mr Won Mon Soo who took me and my wife for sightseeing in Jeju when we first visited the island back in 2011. It was reassuring to have a reliable guide and driver to bring us around Jeju in his jumbo taxi on days where we needed transport. Mr Won speaks English, Chinese and Japanese. And of course Korean.

Mr Won’s contact: Facebook, Whatsapp(+82 10-3697-2303), Email: maarooii@yahoo.co.kr. 

Jeju-do is an island off the southern coast of South Korea in the Korea Strait. Previously, there was no direct flight and we had to take a domestic flight to Jeju Island from Gimpo Airport after an international flight to Incheon Airport, with a local transfer by airport shuttle bus between Gimpo and Incheon Airport. Pretty troublesome. Now, Scoot flies direct between Jeju Island and Singapore, making it very easy to visit Jeju.

The island is popular with mainland Koreans (especially honeymooners) and is also well known for many things:

1. Its unique cuisine, most notably the local seafood caught by Jeju's famous female deep-sea divers (haenyeo), all of whom are aged 60 and over.

Grilled abalones in butter.

There is also the famous Jeju black pig, silver hair-tail fish (also known as cutlass fish) and the tangerines. Tangerine picking is a great outdoor activity that both the young and old can enjoy. There are numerous farms all over Jeju that grow the fruit and some farms allow visitors to go pick their fruits for a small fee.

2. Hiking trails such as the 26 Jeju Olle trails that one could take to hike round the entire island or hiking on Hallasan (South Korea's highest peak).

Coastal scenery along Olle trail Route #10.

3. Catching sunrises and sunsets over the ocean, especially on the oreums or in one of the many seaside cafes.

4. Visiting the sets or locations where Korean television dramas were shot.

5. Visiting natural landscapes and geological marvels like the dormant volcanoes, lava tubes, polygonal basalt columns and small volcanic cones called oreums.

Hexagonal basalt columns at Jeju.

6. Chilling at the numerous cafes found all over the islands, especially at the sea side, with views of the ocean and coastline.

7. Sandy beaches and offshore islands (although it would too cold to swim or lay on the beach in autumn).

8. Horse riding.

9. Visiting museums and themed parks. Jeju has all sorts of museums and themed parks for the young and old.

10. Glamping or camping as a way to enjoy the outdoors.

With so many things to do, it was a challenge to organise them into the 8 days/7 nights that we had in Jeju.

During the planning, I used both Google Map and Naver Map to mark out the places of interest. To estimate the travelling time between destinations for itinerary planning, I used Naver since Google Map route planning function does not work in Korea.

Although Jeju is a small island, only 73 km east and west, 31 km north and south, with the famous Hallasan Mountain in the center, the speed limit on the Jeju roads is low and there are plenty of speed cameras. So it is wise to minimise road travel as much as possible. One way of doing this is to explore Jeju by regions, e.g. one day to explore the eastern part, one day for the western part and another day for the southern part.

There are two main cities in Jeju Island, Jeju City in the north where the airport is located and Seogwipo City in the south. There is also the Jungmun Tourist Complex near Seogwipo where many tourist attractions, luxurious hotels and resorts are clustered. Jeju-City is the ideal base for chartered taxi tours since most taxi drivers reside in Jeju City.

We stayed 3 nights in Jeju City at the Ocean Suite Jeju Hotel, 3 nights in Seogwipo City at BK Hotel and did glamping on our last night at Starlight Glamping. 

This was the itinerary for our 8 days in Jeju.

Day 1 – Arrival day. Free and easy at Jeju City.

After a 6 hour direct flight from Singapore, we landed in Jeju Airport at about midday. We headed to Jeju’s Noodle Street or Guksu Geori (국수거리). From my experience, a bowl of hot noodle like the Gogi Guksu is the ideal comfort food to eat after a long flight.

It was free and easy at our hotel till evening where we took a slow walk to Jeju’s Dongmun Market (동문시장) for dinner.  Dongmun is Jeju Island’s largest and oldest permanent market. On the way there and back, we walked through Chilsung-ro, the No.1 Fashion Street of Jeju and the Jungang Underground Shopping Center.      

Trip report: Enjoying Gogi Guksu and Bibim Guksu at Guksu Madang

Trip report: Evening in Jeju City and Dongmun Market

Day 2 -  Hike at Hallasan   

The plan for the second day of our trip was to hike up Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea offering a once-a-lifetime experience for adventure seekers.

We chose the 3.7 km Yeongsil and 4.7 km Eorimok Trails as these trails are short and relatively easy for beginners. We ascended via Yeongsil Trail and descended via Eorimok Trail. These trails offer good views along the way as well as Baengnokdam in the background.

The best way to pamper ourselves after a day of physical workout hiking up and down Hallasan is to have an early dinner in one of the popular Jeju’s Black Pig BBQ restaurants such as Neulbom Heukdwaeji, Childonga or Donsadon.

We chose Neulbom Heukdwaeji since it i one of the larger restaurants in Jeju specialising in this cuisine. It is also located on our way back from Hallasan to Jeju City.

My original plan was to visit Iho Tewoo Beach in the evening to see the unique horse-shaped lighthouses at sunset. But we started our hike at Hallasan too late and our hike took too long. Even though it was dark, our driver took us to view the light houses at night before driving us back to our hotel along the rainbow coastal road.

Trip report: Hiking Hallasan‘s Yeongsil and Eorimok Trail in Autumn.

Trip report: Jeju’s Black Pork BBQ and Horse-shaped Lighthouses

Day 3 - Explore the east coast of Jeju by car.

Our plan for this day was to explore the eastern part of Jeju by chartered taxi, in particular enjoy Jeju's seafood (abalone), beautiful coastal scenery and geological marvels.

These were the places we visited.

• Breakfast at Cafe Delmoondo (at Hamdeok Beach)
• Manjanggul Caves
• Jeju Haenyeo Museum
• Lunch at one of the seafood restaurants along the coast. We went to Galchi Gongjang (갈치공장) Restaurant because Myeongjin Jeonbok was closed.
• Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak)
• Sangumburi Crater - see fields of reeds in autumn.
• Dinner in Jeju City – we had cravings for samgyetang (Ginseng Chicken Soup). Mr Won brought us to a small local restaurant near our hotel called the Tophyang Health Soup (탑향보양탕).

Samgyetang at Tophyang Health Soup for 15,000 KWR each.

Trip report: Delmoondo Cafe at Hamdeok Beach.

Trip report: Back to Manjanggul Cave.

Trip report: Haenyeo Museum.

Trip report: Abalone and seafood lunch at Galchi Gongjang (갈치공장) Restaurant.

Trip report: Back to Seongsan Ilchulbong or Sunrise Peak.

Trip report: Fields of Silvery Grass at Sangumburi Crater in Autumn.

Day 4 - Travel to Seogwipo and see some South Jeju sights.

We checked out from our hotel in Jeju City and travelled to Seogwipo City, located in the southern part of Jeju. We visited several places of interests on the way and also in the southern part of Jeju.

• Visit Odeungdong Tangerine Farm near Jeju City to pick tangerines.
• Gwaneumsa (filming location of K-drama Extraordinary Attorney Woo)
• Lunch in Jungmun area. We went to try the famous Jeju cutlass fish called galchi at Galchiwang.

   
• Cheonjeyeon Falls 
• Jungsangeolli Cliff 
• Yakcheonsa Temple

 

After checking into our hotel at Seogwipo (BK Hotel) in the evening, we took a walk to Seogwipo Olle Market. Seogwipo Olle Market offers an opportunity to taste the street food of Jeju and Korea. Besides the cooked food, the market sells a good variety of dried local products, seafood, fruits like tangerines and also souvenirs for tourists.

Trip report: Tangerine Picking in Jeju.

Trip report: Visit to Gwaneumsa.

Trip report: Lunch at King of Cutlass Fish – Galchi Wang (갈치왕).

Trip report: Cheonjeyeon Waterfall and Jusangjeolli Cliff.

Trip report: Yakcheonsa Temple.

Trip report: Evening at Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market and Lee Jung Seop Art Street.

Day 5 - Explore Jeju’s southern coast by hiking Olle Trail Route #6.

Hiking in Jeju is easy with the Olle trails. There are 26 different walking and hiking courses circling the island. Jeju Olle Route #6 is one of the most scenic and also the easiest.

The start point for the Olle 6 trail is at Soesokkak Estuary. We took public taxi to the start point since we did not engage Mr Won on this day,

We hiked the coastal trail back towards Seogwipo, ending at our hotel.

Along the way, we stopped by two cafes and also the Jeongbang Waterfall.

As a coastal city, Seogwipo has many restaurants specializing in fresh, local seafood, especially along Chilsimni Food Street. We had live Fish Sashimi and Seafood Stew (Haemultang) Dinner at the Horim Sikdang Restaurant, located just opposite our hotel.

Trip report: Hiking Jeju Olle Trail Route #6 from Soesokkak Estuary to Jeongbang Waterfall.

Trip report: Live Fish Sashimi and Seafood Stew (Haemultang) Dinner at Seogwipo

Day 6 - Explore Jeju’s south-western coast by hiking Olle Trail Route #10.

Another hike on the Jeju Olle Trails. This time, we did Route #10 from Hwasun Golden Sand Beach to Songaksan (Mount Songak). Although the end point for the Jeju Olle Trail Route #10 is at Hamo Sports Park in Moseulpo, covering a distance of about 15.6 km, we hiked the coastal trail to Songaksan only, covering a distance of only 8.5 km.

We took Mr Won’s taxi to the start point of the trail after sending one of our travelling companions to the Seogwipo Medical Center to seek medical attention for her injured foot.

During the hike, we had tea break at One and Only Cafe, visited Yongmeori Coast with the Hamel Monument and saw interesting coastal scenery along Sagye Beach with views of Sanbangsan and Hyeongjeseom Islands.

My original plan was to have dinner at one of the BBQ restaurants near Songaksan after a day of hiking. Our driver cum guide, Mr Won, advised me that restaurants at touristy places are expensive and it is better to eat in Seogwipo. He drove us to a restaurant favoured by locals and Koreans.

Trip report: Hiking Jeju Olle Trail Route #10 from Hwasun Golden Sand Beach to Songaksan.

Trip report: Dinner at Charcoal Grilled Pork Restaurant in Seogwipo.

Day 7 - Explore west coast of Jeju by car

The plan for our last day was to explore the Western side of Jeju on a chartered taxi tour.

We checked out of our hotel in Seogwipo and travelled to the western part of Jeju.

We made a stop at Osulloc Tea Museum and Innisfree Jeju House before proceeding for a scenic drive along the Sinchang Windmill Coastal Road. 

The western coast of Jeju has some of the most scenic coastal roads, starting from Suwolbong Peak and going north towards Hyeopjae Beach.

We had lunch at Hyeopjae Ondajung, a restaurant that specialises in Black Pork Gomtang (rice soup).     

Our next destination was Aewol Cafe Street. We did a short walk at the Handam Coastal Trail, a 1.2 km trail between Gwakji Gwamul Beach and Handam Village in Aewol. We had opportunities to explore a few popular cafes at Aewol.

We decided to experience glamping in Jeju on our last night instead of staying in traditional hotels.

Glamping is a form of camping involving accommodation and facilities more luxurious than those associated with traditional camping. 

Trip report: Osulloc Tea Museum and Innisfree Jeju House.       

Trip report: Scenic drive along the Sinchang Windmill Coastal Road.

Trip report: Black Pork Gomtang Lunch at Hyeopjae Ondajung.

Trip report: Aewol Handam Coastal Trail from Gwakji Beach to Aewol Cafe Street.

Trip report: Glamping at Starlight Glamping       
  

This is the list of restaurants that we went to.

1. Gogi Guksu and Bibim Guksu at Guksu Madang.

Address: 65 Samseong-ro, Jeju-si, Jeju-do.
https://naver.me/5gKJETH6

2. Black Pork BBQ at Neulbom Heukdwaeji in Jeju City.

Address: 12, Halla Daehak-ro, Jeju-si, Jeju-do.
https://naver.me/5ZwQP6qc

3. Black Pork BBQ at Haengun Charcoal Grilled Short Ribs in Seogwipo.

Address: 12 Bubu-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do.
https://naver.me/GgeP85Ks

4. Abalone and seafood lunch at Galchi Gongjang (갈치공장) Restaurant.

Address: 1296 Haemajihaean-ro, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do.
https://naver.me/xv7iVBFU

5. Samgyetang (Korean Ginseng Chicken Soup) at Tophyang Health Soup (탑향보양탕). Be careful what you order. This restaurant also has dog meat in the menu!

Address: 16, Jungang-ro 1-gil, Jeju-si.
https://naver.me/FctoYmdy

6. Grilled cutlass fish or Galchi at Galchi Wang (갈치왕) or King of Cutlass Fish.

Address: 1146 Iljuseo-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do.
https://naver.me/GFGGp3Kg

7. Live fish sashimi and Seafood Stew (Haemultang) at Horim Restaurant in Seogwipo.

Address: 45 Budu-ro, Seogwipo-si, Jeju-do.
https://naver.me/5infxKT8 

8. Black Pork Gomtang Lunch at Hyeopjae Ondajung.

Address: 381-4, Hallim-ro, Hallim-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju-do.
https://naver.me/FMxJfI7R

In addition, we also ate street food at the traditional markets and also had Korean Fried Chicken at Kyochon Chicken, BHC Chicken and Mexicana Chicken.

This is the list of cafes that we went to.

1. Delmoondo Cafe at Hamdeok Beach.

2.  Oreuba Cafe along Olle Trail Route #6.

3. Honeymoon House along Olle Trail Route #6.

4. One and Only Cafe along Olle Trail Route #10.

5. Mega Coffee at Songaksan.

6. Cafe at Innisfree Jeju House.

7. A Twosome Place at Aewol.

8. Monsant Cafe at Aewol.

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Enjoying Gogi Guksu and Bibim Guksu at Guksu Madang

6 November 2022

After a 6 hour direct flight from Singapore, we arrived at sunny Jeju island at about midday. Our taxi driver, Mr. Won, was waiting for us patiently at the arrival hall of Jeju International Airport. He was holding a mobile phone with my name printed on the screen but I recognised him instantly. Mr. Won was the taxi driver who took me and my wife for sightseeing in Jeju when we first visited the island back in 2011.

After 11 years, it felt good to be back in Jeju again. It was also good to see that Mr. Won was doing very well and would be the guide and driver for my party of 4 couples for the next one week. I was tasked to be the overall trip planner and it was reassuring to have a reliable guide and driver to bring us around Jeju in his jumbo taxi.

My travel companions and I enjoying our first meal in Jeju after arrival.

After leaving Jeju International Airport, we headed to Jeju’s Noodle Street or Guksu Geori (국수거리). "Guksu Street" or "Noodle Street" is a popular street filled with noodle shops offering the Gogi Guksu.  Gogi Guksu, which loosely translates to Pork Noodle Soup, is a noodle variant that is available only on Jeju Island and not anywhere else in South Korea. In my experience, a bowl of hot noodle like the Gogi Guksu is the ideal comfort food to eat after a long flight.

I told Mr. Won to bring us to a good noodle restaurant and it turned out to be Guksu Mandang (국수마당).  This is one of the shops I had shortlisted, along with another popular noodle shop called Samdae Guksu Heogwan which is also located along this street.

Mr Won helped us to get a queue number for a table for 8. Most Korean restaurants don’t accept reservations. We would have to turn up and get a queue ticket.

Looking at the menu outside Guksu Madang while waiting for a table.

Fortunately, we did not have to wait too long. Although English menu was available for international guests, Mr. Won helped us with the orders and we invited him to eat with us as well.

Menu at the Guksu Madang Restaurant posted on the wall, surrounded by autographs of visitors or celebrities.

My wife and I ordered a bowl of Gogi Guksu (Black Pork Noodles in Pork Broth) and a bowl of Bibim Guksu (Spicy Cold Noodles) to share. There is also Myeoghi-gogi Guksu (Black Pork Noodles in Anchovy and Pork Broth) but we did not order this.

Gogi Guksu with sliced boiled pork and noodles in a milky looking pork broth that is light but favourful. 

The pork that came with the Gogi Guksu is thinly sliced pork belly. It came complete with lean meat, some fat and also the rind. I normally do not enjoy eating pork fat. To my pleasant surprise, the pork does not have the usual pork smell. It was delicious, not dry and the fat and rind had a slightly crunchy texture. The slightly milky broth is light, yet favourful.

Bibim Guksu is a cold noodle dish with fresh vegetables and bean sprouts served in a spicy, sweet and tangy gochujang (a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment popular in Korean cooking)sauce. Bibim Guksu is like Bibimbap commonly served in Seoul and mainland Korea but instead of rice, buckwheat noodles is served.

A bowl of finely chopped seaweed is also available on the table for diners to add as extra garnishing. 

Bibim Guksu – as served before it is mixed. There are beansprouts, finely chopped seaweed, fresh vegetable and gochujang sauce on the top, covering the buckwheat noodles beneath.

Bibim Guksu after mixing all the ingredients. Bibim Guksu is served cold, with ice cubes in the bowl.

After eating the Gogi Guksu, the Bibim Guksu was a refreshing change.

The restaurant also serves other signature Jeju black pork dishes including the “Dombe Gogi”.

Dombe in Jeju dialect means “cutting board,” and Dombe Gogi is an indigenous dish of Jeju-do Island that is cooked with boiled meat placed as-is on a wooden cutting board. The sliced pork is dipped in coarse salt or vinegar-mixed soy sauce, wrapped in fresh vegetables and eaten with the hands.

I was initially tempted to order the Dombe Gogi (priced at 30,000 KWR for a set) to share amongst the group but after the generous servings of Gogi Guksu and Bibim Guksu, we were too full to eat anything else.

After our hearty meal, we drank coffee from the vending machine located at the entrance to the shop. Here, we discovered that it is common practice for restaurants to offer free coffee to guests who were either waiting to get a table or have finished their meal.

While sipping our hot coffee in the chilly Jeju weather, we saw a dog leashed and unattended outside the restaurant.

Pet dog leashed outside the restaurant while its owner is having a meal inside.

Here we discovered another Jeju fact from Mr. Won - It is safe to leave your precious belongings (including pets) unattended on this island with little or no crime.

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Evening in Jeju City and Dongmun Market

6 November 2022

Our hotel in Jeju City for the next 3 nights is the Ocean Suites Jeju Hotel, located in the Tapdong area, next to the sea on the northern part of the city.

On our first evening in Jeju City, we took a slow walk southwards from our hotel to Jeju’s Dongmun Market (동문시장).  Dongmun is Jeju Island’s largest and oldest permanent market.

Map of the Dongmun Market showing the various sections of the market spread over a few streets.

It is a street market, night market, traditional market, and seafood market, all combined in one place. The best time to go is in the evening where we intend to sample some of Jeju’s or Korea’s street food in the night market.

On the way to Dongmun, we walked through Chilsung-ro, the No.1 Fashion Street of Jeju. I was looking out for outdoor clothing shops as hiking is a popular South Korean pastime and there are many good local brands in addition to international ones like Northface.

Chilsungro Fashion Street is a series of open-air pedestrian-only road lined with boutiques and branded shops.

We also went by an underground shopping mall. We were pretty hungry so we skipped it for now, planning to check it out on our way back.

The first market that we came to at Dongmun Market was the Dongmun Fish Market.

Our  travelling gang at the entrance to the Dongmun Fish Market.

I was actually surprised that there are stalls still operating at such a late hour in the day. Stalls were selling live fish, fresh seafood as well as dried seafood. Vendors called out to us in Korean as we amazed at the wide variety of exotic sea creatures on sale.

Stalls inside the clean and dry Dongmun Fish market.

    

Rows of silvery long and slim cutlass fish or hairtail fish on sale.

Many stalls were selling the hairtail fish, aptly named for the long hair-like tail. It is also called the cutlass fish due to its long, flat and slim shape, like a long sword. The Chinese name for this fish is the “belt fish”, for the same reason.

Known as Galchi locally, this fish is a popular Jeju cuisine. It is usually cooked in a hot kimchi stew or just simply grilled.

 

Exotic sea creatures like sea squirts, abalones, octopuses and other shell fishes. 

The Penis Fish (Gaebul) that is typically eaten raw by South Koreans and served with a savory sauce made of sesame oil.

    

Sashimi or raw fish that is sliced, packed and ready to eat. We gave this a miss since we would be going on a Hallasan hike the next day and there are no toilets on the trail. Not a good time to get stomach upset.

The fish market is linked to the Dongmun Traditional Market where stalls are now offering local produce such as Jeju tangerines, souvenirs, tangerine related products like juices, chocolates, biscuits and candies.

     

Tangerines are one of the icons of Jeju Island, and there are many stalls selling fresh tangerine and tangerine related products.

 Stall selling the famous Jeju Black Pig. 

We finally came to the section of the market selling street food. The food section only starts serving at 6 PM.

It was good that there were 8 persons in our travelling group and we get to share and sample a wide variety of street food. 

Seafood stalls putting up an eye catching and fiery show with blowtorches and loud music to attract customers.

Grilled cuttlefish that does not taste as good as it looks.

 

 

These rice rolls were deep dried and then cut up into slices and served with mayonnaise, sweet sauce and kimchi.

Rice rolls with black pork and red lobster (actually a small lobster like shrimp) for 10,000 KWR. 

Another kind of rice rolls.

One thing we quickly discovered in Jeju is that there is no trash bin along the street and strangely also none at a night market selling street food. We had to bring along a small plastic trash bag for our food and general waste.

After we had enough of the street food in Dongmun Market, we took a slow walk back to hotel.

On the way back, we went to check out the underground shopping mall. Jungang Underground Shopping Center is the only one of its kind in Jeju. 

Map of the Jungang Underground Shopping Center.

Inside the underground shopping mall. 

While the nearby Chilsung-ro shopping street hosts mostly branded products, many shops in Jungang Underground Shopping Center sell no-brand items and half of the shops are closed by this time. So the mall was relatively empty.

We walked all the way from one end near the Dongmun Market to the other end where the Gwandeokjeong is located. Gwandeokjeong houses a complex of historic buildings featuring a museum on Jeju along with a pond, gardens & artifacts. By now, it was closed but the gate was beautifully lit at night.

Gwandeokjeong is one of the surviving historic buildings in Jeju, located in the city center.

From the Gwandeokjeong, we walked northwards, towards our hotel.

We made a stop at a Kyochon Chicken outlet for drinks and the famous Korean Fried Chicken to supplement what we ate at the Dongmun Market.

One of the must try food when visiting South Korea - Korean Fried Chicken with beer and soju.

Celebrating our first enjoyable day in Jeju. I was glad my itinerary for Day 1 turned out well and my travelling companions had a good time.

Our last stop for the day was the E-mart at Tapdong, located next to our hotel. The E-mart is a multi-storey hypermart selling grocery and all sorts of stuff for day-to-day needs. It is opened till 11.00 PM.

For us, our mission at E-mart was to buy our breakfast for the next day and drinks and stuff for our picnic lunch the next day when we would be hiking up the Yeongsil and Eorimok trails at Mount Hallasan.

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Hiking Hallasan‘s Yeongsil and Eorimok Trail in Autumn

7 November 2022

The day before, when my plane was coming to land on Jeju Island, I saw a mountain located in the central part of the island that was half covered in clouds. This mountain is Hallasan, a massive shield volcano that erupted millions of years ago, key in the formation of Jeju island, and is now dormant. I had plan to hike up Hallasan during this trip and was glad to see that the slope of the mountain is not too steep.

The plan for the second day of our trip was to hike up Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea offering a once-a-lifetime experience for adventure seekers. This was the day that some of the avid hikers in my travelling group were looking forward to while this was also the day that a few in my group who did little hiking prior to this trip dreaded.

There are 7 hiking trails going up the 1,950 m mountain, but only two trails, the 8.7 km long Seongpanak Trail and 9.7 km long Gwaneumsa Trail, reach the very summit offering a look into the now dormant Baengnokdam crater that has a depth of 108 meters and a width of 550 meters. In view of our aged knees and lack of physical fitness, we skipped these.

We decided to do the 3.7 km Yeongsil and 4.7 km Eorimok Trails instead. These trails are short and relatively easy for beginners, we were told. Both trails meet up at Witse Oreum, mid point up Hallasan. Our plan was to ascend via Yeongsil Trail and descend via Eorimok Trail. These trails offer good views along the way as well as Baengnokdam in the background.

Although one could use the public buses, the best way to get to the start of the Yeongsil hiking trail is by rental car or hired taxi.

Our taxi driver for this trip, Mr Won, picked us promptly at 8 AM from our hotel in Jeju City and drove us to the start of the Yeongsil Trail. The journey took about 45 minutes.

Mr Won turned on the karaoke system in his van and we were entertained by some “oldies but goodies” singing. 

Upon reaching the Hallasan park office and entrance of the road leading up to the Yeongsil trail, we discovered that our jumbo taxi was not allowed to proceed further. Probably the upper car park, located at the trailhead at the end of the road, was completed filled and we had to park at the lower car park. 

Walking up to the actual trailhead from the lower car park is a 2.1 km walk and would take about one hour! Mr Won managed to flag down a passing regular taxi to ferry our group of 8 to the trailhead in two trips for a fee of 20,000 KWR.  

The upper car park at the start of the trail head was indeed full and there were many groups of hikers already gathered there. 

One of my travelling companions fished out a bunch of bananas from his backpack and we consumed a banana each before starting our hike. Good to load up on energy food and reduced his load.

There were loud messages in Korean language being blared out from the PA system basically informing hikers to bring their own bag for the rubbish.

Like most places in Jeju, there are no bins within Hallasan National Park.

 

Stone marker at the start of the Yeongsil Trail at 1280 m ASL (Above Sea Level). 

By the time we started our actual hike, it was almost 10 AM, about an hour behind schedule.

Initial part of the trail was through a forest and gradient was gentle. We were walking on wooden planks and boardwalk most of the time.

Easy part of the trail.

We soon reached a steeper part of the trail. There was a slight “human congestion” as some parts of the steeper trail are only wide enough for 2 persons. 

The Yeongsil car park – our start point of the hike could barely be seen (white patch in the upper left quadrant of this photo).

Slow and steady – one step at a time.

It was slow going up flights after flights of steps on this part of the trail. There is also little vegetation to shield us from the scorching sun. It was a good thing that we were hiking Hallasan in autumn, with cool temperatures. Despite that, I was perspiring from the workout.

Taking a break at one of the rest point and appreciating the views and the series of stairs that we had conquered.

This part of the trail is graded as Difficult (red part) and no wonder. 

Still more steps to climb before reaching the top of the ridge. The Yeongsil and 500 Disciples Rock Formation could be seen in the backgound.

One of the rewards for hiking up Hallasan is the views. Yeongsil trail offers almost 360 degree views of the surrounding. Looking down, we could see many small cone-shaped hills scattered at the foot of Hallasan Mountain. These are volcanic cones and are called "oreum" in the Jeju dialect. They are formed from lava deposits discharged following a volcanic eruption.

There are 368 oreums scattered across Jeju Island. An excellent view of the oreums was seen from the slope of Mount Hallasan.

Interesting rock formation that looked like a sitting woman.

Nearing the end of the “stairway to heaven”.

Taking a moment to enjoy the views.

After completing the grueling “stairway to heaven”, the trail flattens out. 

First sight of  Baengnokdam, the crater summit of Hallasan.

This was the one of the nicer part of the trail leading to our destination, Witse Oreum. It was also quite windy and cold at this plateau in autumn.

Baengnokdam, the crater summit of Hallasan forms a beautiful backdrop against the clear blue sky

The vegetation also changed from shrubs to that of grassland. We were actually walking through the Seonjakjiwal Plain which means “a field with small standing stones”.

Come at the right season, this place will be covered with colourful flowers.

It was about 12.30 PM when we arrived at Witse Oreum Shelter. We took 2.5 hours to cover the 3.7 km from the start point, with elevation gain of 420 metres.

At 1700m ASL, the air was much cooler and windy here. Temperature was probably around 10 degree C and it was good that we brought fleece jacket.

Having a rest and eating an onigiri rice cake at Witse Oreum while waiting for the rest of the group to arrive.

Signposts like these are found along the colour-coded trail.

We decided to have our picnic lunch inside the shelter at this site. The shelter is basic but nice and warm compared to the outdoors. There is a toilet at the shelter but no piped water. There is no food or drinks on sale along the trail, so hikers have to bring their own food and drinks.

Picnic lunch inside Witse Oreum shelter.

Lunch was hard boiled eggs and sandwich with sliced cheese, salad and ham. These were items that we bought the night before, at the E-mart next to our hotel. Some of my travelling companions even brought thermos flask with hot coffee. For me and my wife, we just drank our Gatorade.

We started down the north-facing Eorimok Trail at about 1.50 PM. The first part of the Eorimok trail was a easy, gradual descend. It was very similar to the last part of the Yeongsil trail.

Looking back, we could see Baengnokdam, the crater summit of Hallasan.   

My wife and I were slightly ahead of the rest of my group so we took a slight detour to check out a viewpoint.     

Viewpoint and rest area along the Eorimok Trail.

There are binoculars that allowed me to take a closer look of Jeju City in the distance.            

Note the bag of trash (from our picnic lunch) that was tied to my backpack. When in Jeju, you bring your trash home with you.

Rest of my group hiking along the Eorimok Trail.

The trail soon became more difficult, strewn with rough lava rocks that could easily resulted in a sprained ankle if one is not careful or did not have proper footwear.

         

It may be easier to just walk on the grass outside the rocky trail.  

For people in my age group, descending is probably more difficult than ascending. Some of the folks in my group were already feeling the effects of the hike. Some felt pain in feet and some felt pain in their knees.

The scenery along the Eorimok was not as nice as the Yeongsil trail. However, there were still plenty of nature and views to appreciate.

      

Fields of silver eulalia reeds could be seen at some places.

As we entered into the difficult part (red zone) of the trail, the trail became even steeper and more uneven.         

Everyone went at their own pace and hence, our group was soon split. I personally felt it was easier to go at a steady pace downhill instead of stopping for a long rest. My legs would turn to jelly if I was to rest for too long.

We were now going through forested area. By November, there were plenty of brown oak leaves on the ground and the trees were almost bare.

         

Mid-point of the difficult part of the Eorimok trail.

Rocky part of the Eorimok trail. Hiking sticks helped a lot when descending.

It was about 4.30 PM when we spotted the bridge that indicated to us that we had arrived at the foot of the mountain. In autumn, there was no stream and only large boulders were seen in the riverbed.

 

Sight of red maple trees is our reward for reaching  the end (almost!) of the Eorimok trail.

We took a rest at the bridge and also a few photos of the autumn colours.

There was still a short distance to go before reaching the car park where our driver was waiting for us.

Poor Mr. Won. He had been waiting for us since 3.30 PM and was worried for us since we were way behind schedule and the sun was setting.

It was almost 5 PM when we arrived at the trailhead of the Eorimok trail. The sun is soon setting!

The trailhead at Eorimok is at 970 metres ASL. We took 4 hours to hike down the 4.7 km trail with an elevation drop of 730 metres. This was longer than expected.

I find Eorimok Trail more difficult to negotiate due to the rough rocky surface and uneven steps. On hindsight, we should have ascended via Eorimok and descended via Yeongsil since it would easier on our legs and knees.

Celebrating the completion of our Hallasan hike with a group photo at the Eorimok carpark.

I am glad that everyone completed the hike. Some said “my legs almost gave way”. Perseverance and mental strength made up for our lack of physical strength and we kept going.

I am sure some time in the future, we will look back on this day and remember that we had come to Jeju and completed a hike up and down the slopes of Hallasan,  enjoyed good times with good company.

Time to reward ourselves with a nice dinner after a day of physical activity. Next up is Jeju’s famous Black Pork BBQ.

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