Literally everyone says you can’t come to Korea without visiting Jeju Island. So off we went for a weekend in february. I wasn’t expecting the weather to be nice, but at least I’d miss the crowds of Koreans on on their summer holiday. Well, that was the plan, but somehow there were still bus loads of tourists everywhere we went. I guess being only a budget airline flight away, its a year-round destination for Koreans looking for a quick weekend getaway.
JejuAir gave out free balloon shapes – I think mine was meant to be a flower. Unfortunately it didn’t make up for the truly awful service on the return flight (severe delays, no communication, riots at the airport….what fun!). I was on a package tour, but with the limited public transport on Jeju, it’s probably the easiest way to go if you speak no Korean. 
Jeju’s pretty and all, but somehow it has no soul. It made me think of the Isle of Wight, a pretty island with a load of dubious tourist attractions built to fill in the time for people who don’t really like being outdoors, but who came to the island anyway because that’s what they thought they should do. Maybe that’s a little harsh, but even the ‘wonderful natural scenery’ was just not that special. It wasn’t bad, but I’ve seen better. Is this the jaded view of a world traveller now?
Dragon Rock
Juju seen from Udo (cow) Island
coral beach, Udo Island
Botanic Gardens
grandfather figures, Botanic Gardens
cacti graffiti, Botanic Gardens
babies, Udo Island
‘Mongolian’ horses (leftover from the mongol invasions) are even more prolific than golf courses. The riding was so fun, I decided all these ‘false’ tourist attractions were about as real as anything else Jeju has to offer. Alas, I could not visit the Chinese Acrobats at Happy Town, nor the curiously named Goblin World, but I did get to see the Folk Village peopled with oddly-proportioned figures and piles of retro junk that wouldn’t look out of place in your average rural Korean town…
these students look oh-so-familiar
according to this old-fashioned store, the comic book fetish has been around a long time in Korea
The Teddy Bear Museum was a bit misleading, being more of a stuffed toy museum, but very fun nonetheless.
aerial view
a wolf in sheep’s clothing
I wasn’t allowed on here, so I had to make do with the camel
Big Bear’s House
But the highlight had to be Love Land; a sculpture park and ‘art gallery’ all about sex. Amusing, slightly bizarre and just a little bit naughty, it was worth the whole trip just to see ajummas posing in front of giant phalli.
toilets
‘The Biggest Penis in the World’
‘Avarice of Noble Woman’
no gays in Korea!
‘When Chili Met Oyster’ - my personal fave
Jeju…worth the trip? It was a nice weekend away. Would have been nicer without busloads of other tourists; I imagine even if the weather was better and I’d been able to hike, I’d have still encountered hordes on the slopes of Hallasan.
