[Itinerary 6] - A mix of top attractions, beautiful nature and local homely food!
Highlights
🔖 평대리해변
My first retreat home? Was situated less than 1 minute walk to the Pyeondaeri Beach. This is a quiet neighborhood I wouldn’t recommend to first time foreign tourists who don’t speak Korean. There are many eateries but it is that kind of place that could make someone feel like a stranger in a strange place and out of the grid. I love it. But it can feel too disconnected
I guess it's perfect for couples or people who wanna get off the grid.
MAPS
평대리해변 Google Maps Kakaomap Naver Map
🔖 월정해녀식당 / 머물다
About 6-km away from Pyeongdaeri Beach is Woljeongri Beach. Haemajihaean-ro 해맞이해안로 (literally Meet the Sun Coastal Road) can be used be car, bike or walking to Woljeongri Beach as the sun rises behind you. Woljeongri Beach is a surfers’ haunt.
There are plenty of food options in this area and here’s 2 of them.
월정해녀식당
Woljeong Haenyeo Restaurant is right in front of the beach and hard to miss. It serves seafood menu like abalone porridge. Again, another decent but nothing spectacular foodplace.
MAPS
월정해녀식당 Google Maps Kakaomap Naver Map
머물다
Now this place, left an impression. They serve 백반정식 which is very rare especially in Seoul city.
Korean 정식 (定食):
As the hanja name implies, it is a fixed meal. It is like Japanese omakase but the meal, a variety of banchan (side dishes), rice, soup, and a main dish are served all at once. The price 정식 can vary from a low of about $9 to 10 times, while omakase is usually expected to be rather expensive.
There are 정식 restaurants that serve only one kind of set meal. There are others where you get to select the main dish or the stew .
Usually when I enter a restaurant, I kind of have to look around to guess the system. Lol Luckily, when we arrived at 머물다 Meomulda, there was a group of ahjusshis who had just reached earlier. We saw that they sat down and the food just came. Looking at the menu, we guess that there was no option for this place, you just eat what you are served.
The staff asked how many 백반 rice we want, I said “one” as the 2 of us girls don’t eat too much rice. The meal was good, I took like 4 more full eggs. As one bowl of seaweed soup came with one bowl of rice, I asked for another soup.
Now. Here’s what made Meomulda spectacular.
On the menu, it says the rice is 1,000won, and a setmeal is 9,000won. So I wondered if we would get 1,000won. You know, like in Singapore, if we don’t take the wet tissue, it will be deducted.
When I paid, he charged me 9,000won. 이것 뭐 잘못한 거아니에요? Did he get something wrong? I went back to ask him, he said because I only ordered one rice. What??!?
I don’t understand this. We ordered one rice, i kept going to the self-service counter for refills and yet I was only charred the price of one. The math wasn’t mathing. I went back and insisted to pay and the guy charged 5,000won from my card.
I felt scammed but in a reverse way. I don’t understand this concept.
It bugged me for the whole day and I have told this to a few Koreans and they seemed quite nonchalant like it is normal.
My theory is in the past, white rice was actually more expensive than the vegetables they could just grow from their gardens, fish from the sea, and it is just tradition to charge by the rice(?!?).
MAPS
머물다정식 Google Maps Kakaomap Naver Map
🔖 Manjanggul Lava Tube 만장굴 (萬 丈 窟 )
This place is closed for renovation.
The Manjanggul Lava Tube received its UNESCO World Heritage statusas one of the world’s longest lava tubes, spanning over 7.4 kilometers (1 kilometer open to the public). Exceptionally well-preserved, it offers insights into ancient volcanic activity and showcases remarkable lava formations. Its scale, preservation, and accessibility make it a geological treasure.
Hallasan, the central volcano of Jeju Island, is estimated to be around 1.8 million years old. It formed as the island itself emerged from underwater volcanic activity. Manjanggul Lava Tube was made by lava flowing from Hallasan when it erupted a long time ago. It’s like a natural tunnel showing how the volcano shaped Jeju Island.
Manjanggul Lava Tube is estimated to be around 200,000 to 300,000 years old. It was formed during volcanic eruptions from Geomunoreum, a parasitic volcano of Hallasan. Essentially, Hallasan is the "parent" volcano, and active for over a million years and Manjanggul is one of its "offspring" lava tubes created during later eruptions.
It is about 2-km to walk to and back as it has a single-entry/exit point.
Funny thing was when I went there again I had no re-collection I’ve been there although my friends with me said we haven’t been there before more than 10 years ago. No recollection at all. You know why because it was nothing spectacular.
May beUnrelated - Just be a rock. - Guess the movie.
MAPS
Manjanggul Lava Tube Google Map Kakaomap Naver Map
🔖 Gimnyeong Maze Park 김녕미로공원
I love 김녕 maze park. There are 2 maze parks here. This is the one with loads of cats. I went with my friends and their 2 below 12 young kids. All of us had fun! There’s admission ticket for adult is 7,700 KRW. There’s a maze you are supposed to complete. Upon completion you can get a free gift upon exit.
The maze was created with the help of the local university. I like it that it was very interactive. There are places to take photos for your social media, play board games like foosball, a little self-peddle kart circuit. The cats don’t really bother you though.
MAPS
Gimnyeong Maze Park Google Maps Kakaomap Naver Map
🔖 Snoopy Garden 스누피가든
This place is HUGE, it is more like a big park than a small garden. To appreciate every section that includes an indoor museum, outdoor park and indoor cafe that feels like a canteen. awesome statues and sculptures. Expect to spend at the very least 2 hours, but I think 3 hours would be physically exhausting.
It is a partnership of Peanut Worldwide with a Korean company. Peanut Worldwide is 41% owned by the same IP holders of teletubbies.
There are 11 themed outdoor areas and five indoor exhibition halls, totalling 20,000sq metres which is about the size of 3 soccer fields.
Expect to pay 19,000KRW entrance fee if you are an adult.
MAPS
Snoopy Garden Google Maps Kakaomap Naver Map
🔖 Darangswi Oreum 다랑쉬오름
This is my favorite Oreum in Jeju. It is a good work out of elevation 382.4m with a stunning view of the sea and villages scattered across the silhouettes of oreums. It is the 2nd highest oreum in Eastern Jeju. For reference, Bukit Timah Hill is 164 m.
You can memorize its name by connecting it with the Korean word for moon 달. It is high like the moon.
During Goguryeo times, ‘달’ corresponds to the Chinese character ‘達’ and means ‘high’ or ‘elevated. ‘다랑쉬오름’ (Darangshi Oreum) is often written as ‘多郞時岳,’ ‘多浪秀岳,’ or ‘月郞峰.’ The term ‘다랑’ (darang) or ‘달’ is thought to mean ‘high’ and was represented by the Chinese character ‘達.’
MAPS :
Darangswi Oreum 다랑쉬오름 : Google Maps Kakaomap Naver Map
🔖평대전복 Pyeongdae Jeonbok (abalone)
Abalone porridge was bland.
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Pyeongdae Jeonbok : Google Maps Kakaomap Naver Map
🔖Naluteo 김녕나루터
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Naluteo 나루터 : Google Maps Kakaomap Naver Map