Two weeks ago, I chose to take advantage of a special three day weekend by visiting one of the most popular tourist destinations for South Koreas: Jeju Island! According to Business Insider, the path from Seoul to Jeju is the most popular air route in the world. It's the Hawaii of South Korea, so I thought I might as well give it a shot. It wasn't quite peak season yet, but I really enjoyed exploring the nature in the area even though it wasn't warm enough to collapse on a beach.
Although I only had three days, I did a lot of exploring. I spent the first day in the southern most city, Seogwipo. My first stop was a popular waterfall, named Cheonjiyeon. Although it was packed with selfie sticked tourists, the sound was comforting and the air smelt nice and natural!
Then, I walked along the coast of the island, which was breathtaking. The landscape is marked by these grand and jagged pieces of rock forming unique and expressive shapes. Experiencing the brightest blue sea crashing against the dark stone was a feast for all of my senses.
The next day, I hiked the tallest peak in Korea: Mount Hallasan. It took me about three and a half hours to get to the summit and another two and a half hours to climb down, making for a long and steep day. It was pretty surreal to begin the hike in a tee-shirt and sunglasses and then be trudging through snow by hour three. Although the fog at the top prevented me from getting any quality pictures of the view, I did get a picture by a stone that marks the top of the mountain (pics or it didn't happen, amirite??). I listened to some of my favorite tunes and even met some fellow travelers on the trail, so all in all it was a memorable and relaxing day. And I felt my calves for an entire week after!
The next day, I woke up at 4 AM to catch the sunrise from the top of a dormant volcano on the eastern coast of the island, Seongsan Ilchulbong. It was a steep climb to the top (coupled by the fact that I did it in darkness), but being at the top and watching the sunrise was a pretty cathartic experience. I cracked open my gas station coffee can and soaked up the sun, feeling optimistic and invigorated. Why do we usually sleep through the most beautiful moment of the day? Not cool!
Anyway, Jeju was great and I definitely can see myself going back before my time in Korea comes to a close. Maybe next time I'll bring some friends and check out their beaches and the famous erotic sculpture park! Until next time!