After successfully climbing Korea’s tallest mountain, I decided to take a bus tour around the west side of the island so I could relax and enjoy some of the quirky attractions of Jeju Island. I booked my tour through Jeju Day Tour because they go to the most places out of all the tour companies and are locally owned. The price for seeing half the island is only $65 USD which is worth it because it’s cheaper than renting a taxi or car. Mr. Ko, who personally organizes the tours and is the main guide, speaks very good English and answered all of my questions about the culture here.
The tour is about 9 – 10 hours but includes lunch and plenty of breaks. Our tour only had about seven people on it which was the just the right amount. The bus came directly to my hostel at dawn so we could get an early start. I couldn’t wait to see how my third day on the island was about to unfold!
Mysterious Road
Our first stop was the “Mysterious Road” (also known as “Dokkaebi Road”) which was located at the base of a mountain that connects two major highways. It was given this name because things that fall on it seem to roll up the hill rather than down. In other words, the road appears to defy gravity due to an optical illusion of its mountainous surroundings. Since we came on a slightly rainy day, we could see water droplets coming towards us from the top of the hill and it was supernatural. The demon head statue that marked the road also added to the ambiance, and it was only our first stop!
Cheonjeyoen Falls
Our next stop was the Cheonjeyoen Falls, which are three of the most beautiful waterfalls in Jeju! The water from the first waterfall divides into the other two making it a beautiful natural occurrence. The water from this park eventually flows into the ocean, which is why people call it “The Pond of the Gods”. It definitely looks like something mythical straight out of a video game. I was grateful to have my guide explain its origin or else I would have overlooked it. These are the best waterfalls to see on the island in my opinion.
Mt. Songak
Mt. Songak is a little volcano with 99 peaks. This was the second volcano I visited after Mt. Hallasan and was a much easier climb! The summit has the best view of the west side of the island, but unfortunately due to the heavy fog it was difficult to see. The coast and walk to the temple however were breathtaking. Even with the fog I could still clearly make them out. I climbed part of the mountain (which only took a few minutes) then opted to go horseback riding for a small fee. My horse looked similar to Epona so it was totally worth it.
The good thing about Jeju is that the fog usually clears quickly. Since I was here for 5 days and had already climbed the tallest mountain, I was more focused on the experience of hiking rather than taking photos.
Jeju Trickeye Museum
After spending the entire morning submersed in nature, we had a Korean buffet lunch that was included in the tour package and were dropped off at the Jeju Trickeye Museum. At Trickeye museums you can pose with various paintings that are designed to make it look like you are part of the art. I had been to the Trickeye Museum in Seoul the previous year so this was quite similar. However, the Trickeye App that you can download for free on your phone makes photography much more interesting here. My favorite part was the VR pandas that were created with the app. This video I took made it look like they had crawled out of the painting. It was honestly worth the trip.
Soingook Theme Park
I was not expecting to run into Shrek and crew while I was in Korea, but that just goes to show how crazy this island is. At Soingook Theme Park you can can see replicas of famous architecture around the world juxtaposed to characters from famous films in a humorous display. I enjoyed seeing Buddha, Shrek, an Angry Birds plane, and some vaporwave all in the same place. Not to mention a beautiful bridge and lake from god knows where. I bought some knock-off Kit-Kats called “Twin Kicker” at a convenience store here and they tasted pretty good. I’m still trying to process everything I saw here!
Osulloc Tea Museum
Osulloc is the largest tea plantation in Korea and is also a museum with delicious sweets. From Jeju Island, the plants receive the perfect amount of sunlight so they can be processed into high quality tea and shipped around the country. You can freely wander through the plantation and learn about how tea is made. I tried the green tea ice cream and chocolate green tea roll which was amazing! This is one of the best spots to pick up souvenirs on Jeju too. I would say Korean green tea is just as good as Japanese green tea.
Teddy Bear Museum (Teseum)
Because meeting Shrek wasn’t enough, our final stop was the Teddy Bear Museum (also called “Teseum”) where we went on a “Teddy Bear Safari” to meet stuffed bears from all over the world. Not gonna lie, the concept seems childish but this was actually a very fun exhibition. Seeing everything from the anatomy of a teddy bear to their origin made me think back to all the stuffed Beanie Babies I collected as a kid. I did not realize how much of an impact teddy bears had on the world before I came here. Why was this on a sub tropical island in Korea? I have no idea, but it was an interesting concept.
When we got back on the bus, Mr. Ko kindly gave us mini bear keychains as souvenirs from the museum. I still have mine and think back to this trip very fondly.
After a fulfilling day of nature, green tea, and some of the craziest museums in Jeju, I was taken back to my hostel Skywalker around dinner time. I chose this hostel because it was close to Mt. Hallasan Park and the dorms were only around $12 per night. Unfortunately this hostel is now closed, but my other recommendation GreenDay is still open!
Final Thoughts
This tour was 100% worth it. The amount of things we were able to see in one day was astonishing. We had the perfect balance of nature, museums, and silly tourist attractions (which I never would have went to by myself but I enjoyed them). Basically we saw the entire west part of the island and were free to explore each destination after listening to a brief explanation. You could try to reach these places with a local Jeju bus, but some spots such as the Mysterious Road can only be accessed by car or via tour bus. The amount I paid for this tour was about the same as I paid for my bus tour in Okinawa, Japan, so it was pretty fair. I was happy to have a Jeju local as my guide. If you book a tour with Jeju Day Tour then be sure to say hello to Mr. Ko for me!
In my next article, I will be exploring the east side of the island with the same tour company (they were that good)! The west tour runs on even days and we east tour runs on odd days, so you can easily fit them into your schedule. Thank you for reading!
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