Jeju Island

 

   

   My trip to Jeju Island was one of the most rewarding experiences I've had. I took the trip by myself. The first day I arrived I made it to my hostel around 8:00 and decided to go straight to bed to get ready for the next day.

Estuary

   After waking up, I waited until the rain stopped and then I made my way to the south side of the island and explored an estuary, the beach and some small neighborhoods around the area. The estuary was a popular spot that day despite the weather and had a beautiful color to it. There was an area for people to rent boats or join a large tour boat. 

   For lunch, I found some gimbap to enjoy while sitting beside the beach. After walking around I found a bridge leading to a lighthouse that was decorated with paintings to take photos with. Some of the pictures were structure to look like you were walking over a canyon or flying or sitting in a car. My favorite one was the one with dolphins.

My new friends

   That night I joined some of the other residents staying at the hostel for dinner together. It was overwhelming but very rewarding. Everyone I met that night was Korean and I really had to work very hard to participate in the conversation. Everyone was so kind and understanding and I was actually able to convey most of my thoughts. 

   At dinner, we had black pork, a common dish of Jeju Island. We also had drinks and then went for a night walk to the beach. 

Traditional Jeju House

   The following day, I got to explore the island with one of my new friends. The first place we went to was Seongeup Folk Village. Normally, the locals can be found outside participating in traditional chores, however, because it was raining there was no one there. 

Aquarium

   Trying to find something to do in the rain was hard, but we decided on going to the aquarium. At the aquarium, we got to watch a performance sharing the culture of Haenyeos. They are female divers from Jeju Island. The diving culture started in 434 A.D. but women didn't participate until the 17th century. The two women that we watched were around 70 years old and started training when they were around 11 years old. 

   After the aquarium, we went to the Dongmun Traditional Market and had Korean street food. 

Dinner

   That night again we all had dinner together again. This night there were more people and I even met two people from China. I felt very proud of myself this night because I ended up being in charge of translating Korean to English for the two Chinese people. 

   The next morning a group of us went out to get a type of Korean meat soup. My new friends explained to me that the soup was a common food that many Koreans ate to cure

New friends

their hangovers. They laughed with a little bit of disbelief when I told them many Americans choose to go for greasy foods the next morning. We stopped by the beach to take a few pictures before we headed to the airport and parted ways.  

The Explanation in Korean:

이번주에 제주도에 갔어요. 일요일에 서울에서 제주도까지 비행기로 쫌 한시간 걸렸어요. 화요일에 제주도에서 혼자 구경을 했어요. 나는 바다 구경을 하고 사진을 찍었어요. 그때 7:00부터 9:00까지 저녁을 먹었어요. 저녁 파티가 있었어요! 나는 많은 한국인들이 만났어요. 한국말 해야 했으는대 괜찮았어요. 다음날 새로운 친구랑 수준과 갔으니까 비다 왔어요. 지난 밤에 한국인들을 만났어요. 중국인들도 만났어요. 중국인들이 한국말 할 수 없어서 한국말을 영어로 번역 해야했어요.

지난밤에 술을 너무 많이 마셔서 오늘은 숙츼있어요.