Jeju Island Adventures

This week I took two days off in order to explore the beautiful island of Jeju in South Korea. 

I had heard and seen much of this island on Korean dramas, and everyone from Korea told me I need to go there. It was worth it :)

The first place I went to was Yongduam Rock ( Or dragon head rock) when I arrived in the afternoon. It was a scenic walk along the coast, near a touristy part of the city of Jeju. 

The walk itself was beautiful, and many Cherry Blossom trees were stil in tact. There was a bridge on the way to Yongduam with a trail around it, so I decided to walk around there and take a lot of pictures. The water is so blue!

Yongduam Rock was not as crowded as I had expected, and there were little snack stands selling Jeju oranges and Hallabong. These fruits were delicious, and they were very cheap. 

The rocky coast was a sight to see, and many people were fishing, selling things and walking around. 

After Yongduam I still had time to sightsee, so I decided to go to one of the many museums they had. I had wanted to go to the Psyche Musuem, but it was closed. I found out about a Greek Mythology musuem near it, and decided to take the bus there. 

Jeju is a big island, bigger than you would expect. They have cross country buses that take you around the island for a metro ticket price. I took one of those buses to the Greek Mythology Museum, which was close to a horse park, and a golf course. 

The museum itself was deserted, but it was a very nice and detailed attraction. There were statues everywhere, and the information was in Korean and English. 

They had a cool room dedicated to the Zodiac. 

And some of the areas were Optical luusions, like this room with Medusa. 

My favorite part was the garden where they explained the Greek love stories, including my favorite story, and the orgin of Beauty ad the Beast, Eros and Psyche.

After the tour, they had a gift shop with some cool merchandise.

It was getting late, so I headed back to the hostel, and prepared for my first full day at Jeju. 

But, the next day did not go as planned. 

My goal was to go to the Teddy Bear Musuem, another famous area that is featured in Korean dramas. I did get there and I met three girls from China, who were just as excited as I was. 

We took so many pictures, and it was a really fun museum. 

They also had famous works of art recreated in bear form: 

You could take pictures with really big bears.

I also found the Goong display, which brought back so many memories :) This was my first Korean Drama, and it is still well known in South Korea. 

After the Teddy Bear Musuem, I headed out to see the waterfalls around the area. And I went to visit the Tourist Center for information. Everything was fine until I used the sliding glass door, and dislocated a joint. Naturally, I panicked, and they drove me to an urgent care, where a doctor popped by joint back in place, and the manager of the tour center insisted on paying for the bill. I felt bad, but he would not back down. In the end, he payed for the bill, and he even drove me to the water fall I wanted to see. 

The Cheonjeyeon falls were beautiful, and they carry a legend. According to the mythology of the island, this is where the gods would bathe, and the waters had special healing powers. Seven celestial maidens  came here and they granted the waterfall this power. 

The cloud bridge was built in honor of the celestial maidens, and people come here for well wishes and prayers for good health. (the perfect place to go after my finger broke!)

The hike was lovely. 

Afterword, I wasn't ready to go back just yet, so I decided to go to the Yeomiji Botanical Garden. It had many different types of gardens, and in the center was a glass building where you could buy snacks and souvenirs. it was the perfect way to end the day.  

 By that time, my finger needed ice, so I headed back to the hostel, and literally chilled for awhile. 

As the sun set, I decided to walk around the coast. 

 The next day, I was invited to go with my new friend Eun Yong as she spent her last day on the island. She had a car, so we drove around, to places you can't see by the tour bus. 

Our first stop was the flower road, where the Cherry Blossom trees and canola flowers were in full bloom. Along the way, you could see horses, the training center for Korean Air and giant windmills! 

We stopped at a bright pink coffee truck on the side of the road, and got some iced coffee, before we headed off to our next stop. 

Sunrise peak is a very famous site, and so many Korean Dramas have filmed here that I've lost count. The coast was beautiful, and we walked along the coast for a while, admiring the scenery. 

We also walked to a famous church, featured in Korean dramas, but it is now some weird gingerbread house looking building. The Koreans are not happy about this, and neither am I. 

It used to look like this. 

Now it looks like this :(

As we were walking, we saw a cute Chinese couple taking wedding photos among the flowers near the seaside. 

They were so cute :) 

Our last stop was Sunrise peak itself where you could see the Haenyo or Mermaids of Jeju diving for pearls. It was a nice walk, and such a beautiful day. 

After that, my friend and I had to head back to the airport so she wouldn't miss her flight. 

On the way back from the airport, I made another friend who showed me around the Arario musuem. It was a gloomy looking buliding, but the art inside was very interesting. 

It was still daylight, so I explored more around the hostel and walked along the coast one more time. I actually caught the sunset. 

Jeju was amazing, and I'm definitely going back to see more of it once I can ^_^

 

Little Town . . .

Yesterday was a celebration of France. My friends and I ventured to Gapyeong to see Le Petite France, a cute theme park inspired by the classic children's book The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. 

This area is well known for its cameos in Korean Dramas. It is featured most recently in My Love from the Star, but it has also been in Secret Garden and Beethoven's Virus. They even had a poster with all the Korean Dramas it had been featured in, as well as photo spots that were filmed in Korean Dramas featuring the characters! There was also a TV playing behind the scenes footage of the famous kiss scene in My Love from the Star. I also discovered that you can stay here in a hotel and see the place at night, which I plan to do next weekend, along with a trip to Nami island (another Kdrama hotspot). 

The colorful houses were modeled after common structures in Europe, from Germany to the Mediterranean, and the gardens feature European statues and works of art. There are a few shops and stands, including one that serves Belgian waffles. One of the houses is a museum dedicated to The Little Prince, and it chronicles Antoine de Saint-Exupery's travels with many displays. One room had an entire wall of all the different languages that The Little Prince had been published in. 

The Little Prince is really popular here, perhaps because the story is a reflection of life's travels and what you learn from them. They even made The Little Prince comic book and TV show where the prince travels around the universe helping aliens in need. Other fairytales were displayed in the village including Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and Pinocchio. 

We walked around the village and took lots of pictures of the paintings, scenery and gardens. I found a gift shop in the fountain plaza that sold lots of The Little Prince merchandise, but it also sold antique dolls and some Studio Ghibli figurines. 

All in all it was a fun place to see, and just as pretty as I had expected from its cameos in Korean Dramas. 

A note on getting there: According to the website, you can buy a tour that features Petite France (but they're a tad pricy for a backbacker) I recommend taking the subway or ITX to Gapyeong station, then taking the bus (which runs from 8:30 to 5:30 pm) which costs 5,000 won (but you have the ticket for the whole day). The bus can also take you to Nami Island and The Garden of Morning Calm if you want to go to all three. 

The ticket price is 8,000 won for adults and 6,000 won for kids. 

After our tour of Petite France, we decided to watch La Belle et La Bete so it was truly a French experience :) We were just missing actual crepes! 

Palace of Wonder and Garden of Dreams

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The Changdeokgung Palace is a step back in time. From the imperial gate to the secret garden, it has been the movie set for many historical Korean dramas. The picturesque view and the artistic atmosphere draws in tourist after tourist. But for me, it's more than that. Once I arrived, it was like walking in a Korean fairytale. I could see the crown prince running along the game field. I saw the servants walking through the gate quickly with laundry to the great well next to the public garden. And of course, the minute I walked over the Geumcheongyo (stone bridge) I could see the crown princess with her ladies in waiting, and the procession that followed. 

This palace also has a forbidden garden, that we were lucky enough to grab tickets for, right before it sold out. (I reccomend geting them as soon as possible- they sell out fast) The great pavillion was a private resort for the royal family and a few selected noblility. The garden itself was a quiet retreat for tea, and it even has it's own area for the rice only eaten by the royal family. 

The area was beautiful, and reminded me of many Korean myths and legends. 

Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find books about Korean folklore, but their history begins with a myth, and slowly turns into facts. The Kingdom of the Four Winds begins Korea's tale, and from then on, the history unfolds. But actually walking around the regal and beautiful buildings gives you a taste of what life was like whne men feared Gumihos, women were chosen to be the crown princess, and the great school of Sungkyunkwan was the most promising school in the country. 

This area of Korea, preserved in the Joseon period is inspirational and its own work of art. 

Some of the Korean Dramas filmed here include The Moon that Embraces the Sun, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Gu Family Book, Goong, Goong S and of course Queen Inhyeon's Man.