Korea's Jeju Island Offers Unique Hikes

Imagine enjoying a sea breeze, waterfalls, caves, cliffs and mouth-watering local foods while you are hiking a trail along the edge of Jeju Island.

Jeju Island, located 130 km south of the Korean Peninsula, is a tourist attraction formed by volcanic eruptions. 

It is famous for its subtropical climate, tangerines, female divers, horses and dark brown rocks and soil.  This self-governed province (its official name is the Jeju Special Self-Governing Province) has generated an alluring local dialect and a unique culture. In 2007, it was listed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization’s list for places with outstanding and unique heritage.

The phrases “Sam Mu” ( Three nothings: No gates, thieves or beggars) and “Sam Da” (Three manys: Lots of lava rocks, women and winds) could describe the lives of locals.  The houses are separated by low lava rock walls. Many of the women on Jeju Island work as haenyo (female divers). They gather abalones, sea urchins, clams and seaweed.  Female divers are exclusive.  Sales of seafood along the beaches make a good business for divers and create a unique experience for the tourists.

The spectacular view of four distinctive seasons and scenic attractions draw big crowds every year. The local government is putting efforts to promote tourism.  Seasonal hands-on classes, living as a local program, and year-round ongoing events with lots of information along with language services are available upon requests.

One of the hit projects is the Olle Tour.

The word "olle" means the narrow pathways that connect houses to the main street. These walking paths are surrounded by the lava rock walls with no gates and are open to everyone.  

The word “olle” is very inviting.  It means, “Will you come?”  It happens to be, “Would you come to Jeju?”

This project was founded by Suh Myung-sook, a former magazine editor. After a long journey for herself, she came up with a brilliant idea to make a hiking trail that would be loved by everyone. She and her supporters try to find hidden roads–routes cars cannot access–and restore the old paths and create new trails for exploring. The first hiking trail was opened to the public in 2007.

Since the opening, 21 courses have been created, with varying lengths between 8 km and 22 km. Each will consume five to seven hours of your day. The trails cover the villages, seashores, tourist attractions, picnic areas, mountains and small islands around Jeju Island. If you tour the whole trails, you have seen Jeju Island.

About 350 km of trails cover the edge of the island for you to explore.

We made a trip to Korea this spring and we went on an Olle Tour just three weeks ago.

We didn’t have enough time to discover more than one trail per day, but we made small stops at the world-famous spots of a few trails. It wasn’t just “must see,” but it was more like “must do, have to do.”

We could see the huge success of this Olle Tour project.  It stirred up many people to go out and explore with family and friends. Many other hiking tours and exploring trails are developed and being created over the Korea, even in the city of Seoul.

The Olle Tour surely contributed to the tourism industry and to people who made a visit to Jeju Island.

"Peace, happiness, healing, comforting, warmth, smile" are the words described on the boards along the trail.