Day 05: Eastern Jeju Discovery (Oct 2019)

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Tuesday, 15th October 2019

Since I had no intention to do a self-drive adventure in Jeju, I decided to follow one of the daily tours which would bring me to various scenic spots on the island. First up for today is the Eastern Jeju Discovery Program organised by Yeha Tour. The tour was easily arranged online a few days prior to my arrival in Korea.

One of the highlights of the tour must be the horse riding experience in the morning. This was my first time on a horse back and easily one of the most memorable moments for me in Jeju (and probably in my life). The skies started to drizzle as we proceeded to our next stop, the Seongeup Folk Village where I learnt a great deal about traditional Jeju architecture including the rock statutes (aka the Dol hareubang) that is unique in this part of Korea.

We had an early lunch at one of the local bbq restaurants before proceeding to hike up the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the iconic Seongsan's Sunrise Peak (180m). The hike to the top took about an hour via a series of well-maintained wooden steps. Instead of seeing the real performance, part of our tour program today was modified to include a visit to the Haenyeo (Women Divers) Museum. This was communicated to us very early in the morning as the divers were on vacation.

From the museum, it was time for us to head to our second UNESCO site for the day, the Manjanggul Lava Tube. This is a sprawling underground cave measuring 9km long in its entirety.

At the end of the tour, I asked to be dropped off at the Black Pork Street where I was lucky to grab a seat at one of the bbq restaurant that is willing to take in solo diners. Indeed, this was a fruitful and an enjoyable day for me!

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