Busan & Jeju-do, South Korea (Part 3) - Sangumburi Crater, Seongeup Jeju Folk Village, Black Pork BBQ, Seongsan Ilchubong & Seopjikoji

The weather was pretty gloomy but at least it didn't rain from the start. We started at 9am from our hostel and today we visit the east side of the island. We did the west part the previous day.

Jeju-do Day 2 Itinerary (14/10/2014) - 9am to 6.30pm
1. Sangumburi Crater (Private attraction)
2. Seongeup Jeju Folk Village
3. Heuk Dwaeji (Black Pork) Barbecue
4. Sinsanri, Seongsan windmill
5. Seongsan Ilchulbong (sunrise peak)
6. Seopjikoji
7. Woljeongri Beach (coastal road drive from Seogwipo to Jeju-shi)

 Entrance fees KRW6,000. Worth a visit for an amazing view of a volcanic crater surrounded by a field of pampas grass! 

 Interesting chairs, it spelt out the name of the place. 

 You may drink this, very clean and no mineral taste! 

 Puzzles available to play

On our way up to the crater, we see this rocks neatly arranged on the prairie. It was actually a tomb. The "broccoli" at the bottom of the photo were actually rocks covered in moss!

 All the mountains/hills surrounding the crater's vicinity. Mt Halla is one of them.

 Gorgeous day to begin at the peak

 You will see this at the viewing platform

The crater. It is so wide that my LX3 couldn't capture it in a single photograph. 

We spent about an hour here to inhale as much good air as possible (well, every where in Jeju is clean technically, including the air that we breathe there). I've not seen so much green recently and to be able to freshen up my eyes with the view of the volcanic crater, it felt so good.

Our driver, Mr. Yang then brought us to the foot of Mt. Halla to visit Seongeup Folk Village for a history "class" of Jeju island. I think it is necessary to visit at least one historical place to understand and learn about the past of the place that you are visiting. 

Apparently, the actual dol hareubang looked like this. Those that we see in front of people's homes, attractions or at the airport, are all modernised ones. 

The lady in a grey hooded jacket is our Mandarin speaking guide. She spoke so fluently that we thought she was an immigrant from China living in Korea for years. It turned out that she is pure Korean but living in China for almost 20 years just to be well versed in Mandarin. The South Korean government sponsored and send Koreans abroad to learn new languages. 

Upon entering from the entrance, there is a big empty space and you will be greeted with houses with roofs shaped like loaf bread.  

 This massive grinder is made from volcanic rocks and it is heavier than normal ones. So, no human can move the grinder except with the help from "hanna ma" or small horse.  

 We were introduced to a noble's house

 Where the parents sleep here, and the children sleep in another hut just opposite of this one. 

 Volcanic rocks formed the walls of the houses in the village strengthen and enforced with horse dung

 There are people living in this village. Hence, we have to refrain from speaking loudly or intrude the houses. 

 The house of the oldest haenyeo (sea women diver). She is 103 years old and retired. 

In the olden days, our guide explained that these three poles have meanings. If one is lifted, it means only children are in and that the parents will only be back later. If there are two poles, it means no one is at home until the next day. If three poles are up, it means nobody is home for a good couple of days. If there are no poles, means everybody is at home.   

Seongeup Folk Village is also the film site of Jewel in the Palace or "Dae Jangeum". It was an epic 100 episode drama and also the first and last drama that I watched up to 100 episodes.  

 The husband of the village must not be seen carrying this water barrel at all times because if he does and he does it by carrying it around the village for a good 2-3 rounds, it means he is divorcing his wife! Yikes. The women of the village played an important role in the village because they worked instead of the husbands to support the entire family. 

 A very exquisite taste and product speciality of Jeju island is this horse bone tablets from hanna ma. It is consumed by the South Korean's Olympic team and their sports teams. Not cheap. But you get to try a teaspoon of these for free.  

At the entrance/exit, you get to climb up the stairs to the podium and have a good view of the village 

At the car park, an introduction to the village is available for reading

After an hour here, we proceeded to lunch. Today is samgyeopsal "pork barbecue" day! Jeju island is famous for their "heuk dwaeji" or black pork. So, must have it when at Jeju island. The restaurant that we visited had very cute pinwheel decorations outside but I can't remember the name. The barbecue meals for 8 pax costed us KRW130,000.00

The gentleman who served us spoke very VERY FLUENT English. 

I was charmed by his fluency.  

Pajeon! Not fantastic and the colour tells it too. Too oily for my liking.  

Alas, I get to try "gochu" or chilli. I seen lots of celebrities munching them like nobody's business and wouldn't it be hot or spicy? So, when I had a go at it, it wasn't that spicy at all. It is like bell peppers or capsicum! Of course, if you are really lucky, you might just get a very spicy "gochu", the kind which could be compared to birds' eye chillies.  

The soup is amazing! It has chunky noodles in them too. 

It was a good lunch and we never had a better barbecue experience there than back in Penang. Of course, nothing beats home ground right? So, with a full tummy and happy faces, we went on to visit our next destination. 

We detoured on our way to Seongsan to visit the windmill. It powered 6% of Jeju island's electricity. I've not seen these power windmills up close before other than on television. So, it was a surreal feeling seeing this with your own eyes. But it can't beat the surreal view at Seongsan Ilchulbong.

 Yup, yet another volcanic crater. But this one is popular for its sunrise view from its crater. 

Happy to know that it is government owned property, hence the entrance fees is KRW2000

 Mr. Yang pointed where we are. 

Other than the climb to the top of the crater, there is also haenyeo shows at 1.30pm and 3.00pm. So, do arrange your time well. It is estimated about 50 minutes hike up and down. We took more than that. Hence, we missed the shows! :( 

 But, the view compensated all the disappointments. 

 Wear light clothing because the heat goes up as you ascend the stairs towards the crater and I mean loads of steps! 

 The view of Seongsan town! 

See the long stretch of land? 

It is a road and it is the only one on the island that is surrounded by sea! 

 At the top where you can see the volcanic crater

The descending steps are not that bad and in fact, faster than ascending. 

So, our driver's estimation of the time spent turned out differently that how long we actually spent hiking. We took almost 2 hours altogether in this place (including the time we spend at Nature Republic's store just beside the car park). Haha.. But yes, if you were climbing on your own, it would probably be just under an hour or less.

As the day is getting darker, we hurriedly move on to the last stop, Seopjikoji. Jeju island is all about volcanic rock formations because that was the base for Jeju island. Fortunately, all volcanoes in South Korea are dead, hence no more active volcanoes on this kimchi land.

 As you can see, it is better to visit here on a really nice and sunny day to be able to see everything clearly. For fans of the drama, All In, you will be disappointed to know that the church where the drama was filmed got destroyed by a typhoon last year and a ginger bread house was build to replace it.

I have had enough of rocks for 2 days. 

On our way back to the hostel from Seopjikoji, Mr. Yang added a bonus location for us to chill. We finally went to the beach at Woljeong. 

Before I crossed the street to the beach from where the car is parked, Mr. Yang asked for my camera as he said what he saw is worth capturing. It turned out to be this. Our driver really enjoy taking candid photos like this. We are eternally grateful for your thoughtfulness, Mr. Yang.

 High tide looked like this

Along the beach, plenty of cafes to hop and surf.  

We thanked Mr. Yang for all his help, information, tips and guidance throughout the two days tour with him. We'll definitely engage him again next time or recommend him to our friends and family. I found Jeju island easy to be navigated or self-drive. Perhaps, I would try left hand drive in my next trip!

It was cold at the beach so what more soothing and warm then a bowl of "gogi guksu" meat and noodle soup!

Just walking distance from our hostel. We dined at the restaurant next to the pinwheel one as the latter was closed. 

 It's like tonkutsu but lighter. 

This was my mom's vegetarian noodles. 

It was a tiring second day because we did physical activity like hiking. The next day, it will be a free and easy day until we fly on the fourth day back to Busan city. We can finally catch up on our sleep since arriving to the island.