Jeju - Ilchul Land

Our flight from Gimpo to Jeju via TW707 (yes, looks like T'way has taken away the flight code of TWA) took about an hour. Our two-way flight cost 170,000 Won (SGD 193.00) per person, all-in. T'Way used Boeing 737 jets for flights between Seoul and Jeju. There were also other budget carriers providing services from Seoul to Jeju such Jeju Air and Jin Air. However, it's not that convenient to book Seoul-Jeju flights online unless you can read Korean. Hence, we enlisted the help from our tour guide Victor to help with flight arrangements. (Victor conducts Jeju Eco Tours in English, Korean and Russian). Instead of a hotel pickup, Victor made arrangements for one of his drivers to pick us up from the airport to join the tour immediately in order to save time.
Our first stop from Jeju airport was Ilchul Land situated in the eastern part of Jeju and where the Micheon Cave are located. The journey from the airport took almost an hour. Unfortunately for us, our driver spoke very little English and we just simply enjoy the breeze and scenery along the way. We also noticed a number of wind turbines along the way - a testament of Jeju's vision of green energy.

The cave is made of volcanic rock movements and what was surprising is that the air within the cave was at least 5 degrees lower that the temperature outside. There were also water forming on the walls of the cave. Micheon is a volcanic cave, so you're in for a disappointment if you were expecting stalactites or stalagmites.

Micheon Cave

Just outside the Micheon Cave is the Bonsai garden which contains different kinds of bonsai plants as well as some man-made structures, most notably the Harubangs. These statues are found in many parts of Jeju Island, not just unique to this particular park. They represent gods that offer protection and fertility. Jeju natives believed that couples wishing for a baby boy should rub the nose of the Harubang clockwise.

Bonsai Garden

Jeju Island is renowned for its women divers, who make a living diving for seafood delicacies such as abalones, sea urchins and oysters. They can really dive and stay underwater for 10 minutes easy. Statues of women divers are erected to pay tribute to these amazing women. Korean TV dramas have been made around the lives of these divers.

Traditional Woman Diver

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Related pages: Back to main post | Seongsan Ichulbong | Dragon Rock