What should we expect when we are in Jeju? Rocky roads and undeveloped area? I was thinking about that when I was on my way to Jeju Island. I knew about Jeju Island from Korean drama - "Daejanggeum" - there was a part where Janggeum was sent to Jeju Island as a slave and she spent a few years there learning medicine from a doctor and returned to the palace being a royal doctor. At that time, I felt that Jeju Island was an undeveloped island with many traditional houses and customs but it wasn't like that. With our rental car, we set off for lunch and we could see the grey clouds floating above us. On our way, all the road were developed and low-rise apartments and houses. There were also many big hotels like Lotte Hotel, Haevichi and Ramada and casinos which only foreigners could visit. In 10 years' time I believe Jeju Island will be developed into a tourist area so it would be good to visit soon before that happens.
For lunch, we went to Herbal Cafe that is famous for its enormous burgers with patties made out of Jeju pork and natural herbs. The shop was filled with lots of local products like soaps, shampoo, aroma oil, natural candy and chocolates. The burger we ordered was enough for 4 people and it was full of local vegetables and the patty tasted delicious with a little herbal flavor. The staff also introduced to us their homemade stress-relief spray which was made out of peppermint oil and he sprayed it on our shoulders that slowly made our shoulders felt warm and relieved with a nice after smell. After a heavy lunch, we moved on to Hallim Park that was filled with caves, Jae-Ann folk village, tropical birds and plants, bonsai garden and Botanical Garden. The best part in Hallim Park was actually the Hyeopjae and Ssangyong caves which were the Korea Natural Monument and formed by the eruption of Mt. Halla. There were over 20 caves in that area connected in a single system, making it the longest lava cave system in the world. After Hallim Park, we moved on to Teddy Bear Museum that hundreds of teddy bears and it was also used as one of the filming located in drama "Goong/Princess Hours". The museum uses the bears to describe its history and world art and it also has Teddy's Forest where you could see bears instead of people in a park. A pity that it was raining heavily and we were not able to enjoy that scene. Nevertheless it was fun taking pictures with teddy bear which was about 3 times my height. For dinner, we went to Juk Rim Seafood Restaurant and enjoyed fresh raw fish, oysters, abalones, octopus and many more. For people who are not keen to see live seafood moving on the dishes, I wouldn't recommend going since it could be expensive and there were too many live ones.
Finally we had a chance to look at our accommodation, Haevichi Resort (beside Haevichi Hotel). It was spacious and elegant and our room had a bedroom, a korean-style ondol room, a living room, a bathroom and a kitchen. It was great for friends and families since we could cook in the kitchen and enjoy the sea scenery from our balcony. In the morning, the continental breakfast provided by resort was delicious with lots of bread, juices, vegetables, fruits, western and Korean style breakfast. Let's just say we OVER ATE. After breakfast, we moved to Yeong Tto Falls which would only have waterfall if there was a downpour. Unfortunately for us, by the time we reached there, there was hardly any rain and we only saw the fall without the water. Then, we drove to see Oedolgae (Lonely Rock) which was formed through volcanic eruption and about 20m high and 10m wide. Around the park, we also saw the filming site for drama "Daejanggeum" and many tourists tried to take pictures with Janggeum's statue. Next we moved on to Jeongbang Waterfall (23m high and 10m wide) which is one of the 10 scenic wonders in Jeju Island and it was beautifully set around the mountain area. Of course after all the walking and climbing, we were all ready for lunch. Coming to Jeju Island, I was told to try Jeju pork so there we were, in front of a feast with lots of side dishes and pork. The pork was tender compared to those eaten in Seoul and the meat felt juicier. I also tried the kimchi made by the restaurant and I must admit that it was definitely better than those I found in Seoul. While I was wondering why, my friends told me that people in Jeju Island use sea water to wash salt off the vegetables instead of water and I guess that made the difference in taste and I believe it would taste really good in kimchi stew. Yummy…
In the afternoon, we moved on to All-In House which was the main drama site and it was subsequently used in other dramas and as a wedding hall for the locals. It was kind of located on the top of a hill and the walk to the house was scenic listening to the waves beating onto the rocks and walking against the strong wind. Inside we could see the filming locations, the chapel, mini casino and Lee Byeong Hong’s statues which were definitely funny as people were trying to kiss 'him’. Next we moved on to Seongsan Ilchulbong which was a typical volcanic tuff cone about 5000 years ago and we spent about 30 minutes walking up to the top to enjoy Jeju Island scenery. After panting most of my way up, I was rewarded with wonderful view of Jeju and of course trying to walk against the wind. Nevertheless I felt great as it seemed so high before I climb the tuff cone and actually it didn’t take me that long to reach the top. As usual going downhill was easier and it took us about 20 minutes to reach the starting point.
After that we dragged our tired feet back to our resort to take a break and after shower, we went to Haevichi Hotel to enjoy the dinner buffet. The variety was great from Japanese dishes like sushi and tempura to Chinese dishes like dim sum and Western dishes like pasta and salad. My favorite spot was the dessert since there was a chocolate fondue available and I mainly dipped it with strawberries and the strawberry tarts and cakes were fantastic. After this huge meal, we were lucky enough to have the chance to look at the standard and suite rooms in Haevichi. All rooms were equipped with king-sized bed and we had the chance to look at the suite which was filmed in drama "IRIS" and guess the room rate for the suite…. It cost 4,000,000 won (about US$4000) per night. The suite had a kitchen, a living room, two bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and one of them had a Jacuzzi inside. Haevichi was built three years ago and the rooms were all facing outside with corridors facing the concourse. It has a bar beside the restaurant and with a singer and a pianist, they provided us beautiful songs like Sad Movies which I started listening to it from high school. With this, we ended the day with beautiful songs in our heads. What a memorable night!
After another big breakfast, we set off to take photos surrounding Haevichi Hotel and the filming scenes of drama “IRIS”. The lighthouse was used in the final episode where the main female character was waiting for her beloved man but the man died in his car watching her from the side. I didn’t expect a tragic ending since I watched that halfway but I was told that the two main male characters died in the end. On the way to the airport we stopped by a café and it was interesting since there was no one taking care of the café and we just had to put the money for what we drink or eat. With all these, I was glad to visit Jeju and I left Jeju Island with good memories filled with delicious food, kind people and beautiful sceneries.
