Before we knew it, summer has come, the season that most of us get excited about.
Lots of people are eager to go on a summer holiday, searching for where to go and shopping for nice clothes that they will wear on holiday. Every summer around this time, the world had been much hotter than this summer because of the heat of excitement, at least until last year...
It seems that the severity of the Covid-19 outbreak has subsided a bit, but the pandemic is still plaguing people the world over. It was really sad to see that summer this year was quite different from last year's summer. Hopefully, the flipping virus will disappear soon and things will get back to normal. Not only that, I feel sorry for the medical workers who have dedicated their all efforts in the front line to caring for infected people and hold them in high regard.
Thinking about making my own travel blog in the past, Jeju has always been in my mind since then, as Jeju is considered the most exotic region in South Korea. Unique and tropical things such as palm trees and warm turquoise oceans are enough to attract people's eyes. In addition, you can enjoy lots of delicious food in Jeju.
For those reasons and the difficulties of traveling abroad due to coronavirus, I decided to go to Jeju for the summer holiday.
※ Jeju is the area least affected by the coronavirus in South Korea.
Day 1. (Jun 29)
The flight was booked for 7:35 a.m., so I had to get up early at 5 a.m. in order to get to Gimpo airport safely. I hauled myself out to catch a cab and went to Gimpo airport. Even though I was quite tired because of lack of sleep, I was excited about my first flight in three years.
I flew to the beautiful island, Jeju.
After arriving in Jeju, matching the weather forecast, the weather was cloudy and it was about to rain.
I went to the car rental counter where I had hired a car for the trip in advance. In order to fully enjoy Jeju, hiring a car is necessary, in my opinion, because Jeju's public transport is not as convenient as in Seoul.
I hired a car on the shopping website, "11st". It cost me ￦53,730 for the car and around ￦43,000 for the gas for five days in total.
1. 용두암 (Yongduam Rock)
Charge
Free
(for parking: ￦1,100/hour)
Rating
3.0 / 5.0
Pros and Cons
Pros - Near the airport, close to Yongyeong Gyegok Valley
Cons - Except viewing the dragon rock, there was quite nothing to do
My first destination was Yongduam Rock. "Yongdu" means "head of dragon" because its shape is the spit and image of a dragon's head. It was formed by the lava when Hallasan Mountain erupted long ago.
After taking some photos and enjoying the wind from the ocean, I headed towards Yongyeon Gyegok Valley on foot. It's located very close to Yongduam Rock so you can walk there enjoying the views, taking pictures. Many beautiful hydrangeas will greet you with a welcoming smile.
2. 용연계곡 (Yongyeon Gyegok Valley)
Charge
Free
Rating
3.8 / 5.0
Pros and Cons
Pros - Beautiful scenery, tranquil atmosphere, nice photo spots
Cons - Contrary to the pictures that were taken, the water was not so clear
It took around five minutes from Yongduam Rock to Yongyeon Gyegok Valley on foot. I think you should combine them as one attraction due to the short distance.
I much preferred Yongyeon Gyegok Valley because it had a nicer atmosphere and views than Yongduam Rock in my opinion. Because I was there in the early morning though, it was tranquil and sort of mysterious.
Nicer views, turquoise water, pretty pavilion, and the trails along the valley... Everything was quite good except some rubbish that ignorant people had thrown away in the water, but it's pretty anyway. I recommend you visit.
On the way back to the parking lots, I bought Hanchi Pang(한치빵) as a snack. Because Hanchi Pang had been catching on on Instagram, I was intrigued and had wanted to try it. But, contrary to my expectation, it was not that tasty. If you don't like bland flovours, it might be a waste of money. It contains mozzarella cheese, squid powder, cheese cream, buckwheat, and barley powder. Besides the stand I visited, there are many others that sell Hanchi Pang throughout Jeju Island.
3. 진영식당 (Jinyeong Sikdang Restaurant for lunch)
Price
순대국밥(Soondae Gukbap) - Rice is already in the soup
￦6,500
따로국밥(Taro Gukbap) - Rice and soup are served individually
￦7,000
Rating
4.5 / 5.0
Pros and Cons
Pros - Cheap price, hearty and deep taste, abundant ingredients
Cons - Extremely spicy chilli side dish(for foreigners), the disappointing taste of Korean-style sausage(called "soondae")
Address
24, Yonghwa-ro, Jeju-si, Jeju-do, Republic of Korea
In order to have the first meal in Jeju for lunch, I headed towards Jinyeong Sikdang Restaurant. The restaurant specialises in Soondae Gukbap(순대국밥). Because I LOVE 순대국밥, most of all, and was told that the restaurant's rendition was so LOVELY, I decided to visit for the first meal in Jeju.
Although the exterior of the restaurant looked shabby, matching its reputation as a local hole in the wall, there were many customers feeding themselves with the hearty and magnificent food.
The first meal in Jeju was satisfying except the Korean-style sausage, Soondae. The Soondae was not as meaty as I expected. It tasted like mushy rice porridge in pork's intestine. However, if you want to try something cheap but delicious, which local residents enjoy, it's definitely worth visiting.
To be continued on the next post...
LOCATION
WORDS BY
Minsu Kim - koreaonthescreen@gmail.com
PHOTOS BY
Minsu Kim - koreaonthescreen@gmail.com
PROOFREAD BY
Gabriela Enriquez
@koreaonthescreen
SHUTTER STOCK
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