On May 25th 2012, we left Ilsan with our friends Sunny and Jingoo to hop a short flight from Gimpo to Jeju. The weather was beautiful - sunny blue skies, warm with just the right amount of wind, and perfect for a 3-day weekend. It was an impromtu trip with hardly any planning on our part, which made it a relief but also a bit of a surprise. It turned out that our hotel was right next to 성산 일출봉 (Sunrise Peak in Seongsan), which is where Jay proposed in early 2008.
We arrived in the afternoon and spent our first day walking around 섭지코지 (Seopji koji), where we saw a lighthouse, a church, 3 rocks that looked like frogs (although we only saw a frog shape in 2 of them), and beautiful views of the ocean. We also saw a group of dolphins that passed close to us when we were at the lighthouse. This is a rare event in this area and it was pure chance that we happened to be looking the right direction at the right time. It was amazing to watch them jump, flip, and dance past us on their way North.
The second day we woke up before 4 AM to hike up 일출봉. We were the first ones to arrive and climbed with no lights. It was spooky in some parts, but also calm and serene. We watched the sunrise (although it was overcast and we saw the light through the clouds), then spent the rest of the day biking. We rented bikes near our hotel and biked South along the Eastern coast. The sun came out and it was beautiful for our whole ride, although Jay’s legs got pretty burned. Note: Sunscreen is important. Even if you’re a man.
On our third and final day, we spent our time exploring the scenic coast of the island with Sunny and Jingoo. We had breakfast at a wonderful little cafe near the World Cup Stadium. The cafe was owned by a Japanese man who seemed to have designed the cafe and nearby house together.
Things go by much quicker in a car than on a bike. We were able to get to the airport on time after driving around the island, but we had to skip a few places we’d hoped to see.
Overall, it was a fantastic journey. One that we are not likely to forget.We don’t know when (or if) we will ever go back to Jeju, but this trip was a great respite from our everyday life in Ilsan.
~ JJ
Photos can be found on Facebook, or here on Smugmug.
