Jeju Island
Jejudo(do is Korean for island), Korea's largest island (approx. 73km from east to west, 31km from south to north), lies in the Korean Strait, southwest of the Korean mainland. The oval-shaped island maintains a rich cultural heritage that is distinctly different from that of the mainland. It is also the only province of Korea where mandarin oranges are grown in natural conditions, providing a great source of income for many households since the 1960s. It was an extremely popular honeymoon destination among mainland Koreans during the 1970s and 1980s, and has since grown into one of Korea's top tourist attractions, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists from neighboring countries including Japan and China. In 2006, the Korean government designated the island as Jeju Special Self-Governing Province in an effort to turn it into a Free Trade Zone. It is now a very popular venue for important international gatherings including summit meetings.
Jejudo was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions and is rich with the distinctive features of volcanic topography including 368 oreum (parasitic cones) and about 160 lava tubes. This unique natural heritage led to the island's inclusion on the UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2002, World Heritage Sites in 2007, and Global Geoparks Network in 2010. The worldwide recognition of Jejudo as a global natural heritage is expected to further promote the value of the island as a tourist destination and as one of Korea's key environmental assets.
Hallasan Mountain, a dormant volcano, soars upwards from the center of Jejudo to a height of 1,950 meters, making it the highest mountain in South Korea. The mountain is home to over 1,800 species of alpine plants that select their habitats according to altitude and exhibits great diversity of vegetation. The mountain largely consists of basalt, and slopes steeply in the south and more gently in the north. There is a crater-lake, Baengnokdam, at the top with over 50 parasitic cones scattered around it.
Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone, situated at the eastern tip of Jejudo, is probably the most popular tourist attraction on the island. This 182-meter-tall volcanic peak is said to resemble a huge amphitheater with a deep, bowl-like center filled with reeds and rimmed with rocky cliffs. Many visitors also compare this popular sunrise celebration venue, which is now designated as a Natural Monument, with a heavily fortified, impregnable castle or a tall, full-circle tiara.
Other key attractions reflecting the natural wonders of Jeju include Yongcheondonggul Cave, located in Woljeong-ri of Gujwa-eup, which exhibits a unique combination of the characteristic features of both lime caves and lava tubes, the lime caves in Hyeopjae and Pyoseon, and the Gotjawal forests which formed on the rocky areas thrown up during a volcanic eruption. These forests provide natural habitats for rare plants, some of which are suited to cold climates while others are more typical of tropical or subtropical areas. These untouched, densely wooded forests are often referred to as the lungs of Jeju.
Jejudo was formed by a series of volcanic eruptions and is rich with the distinctive features of volcanic topography including 368 oreum (parasitic cones) and about 160 lava tubes. This unique natural heritage led to the island's inclusion on the UNESCO's World Network of Biosphere Reserves in 2002, World Heritage Sites in 2007, and Global Geoparks Network in 2010. The worldwide recognition of Jejudo as a global natural heritage is expected to further promote the value of the island as a tourist destination and as one of Korea's key environmental assets.
Hallasan Mountain, a dormant volcano, soars upwards from the center of Jejudo to a height of 1,950 meters, making it the highest mountain in South Korea. The mountain is home to over 1,800 species of alpine plants that select their habitats according to altitude and exhibits great diversity of vegetation. The mountain largely consists of basalt, and slopes steeply in the south and more gently in the north. There is a crater-lake, Baengnokdam, at the top with over 50 parasitic cones scattered around it.
Seongsan Ilchulbong Tuff Cone, situated at the eastern tip of Jejudo, is probably the most popular tourist attraction on the island. This 182-meter-tall volcanic peak is said to resemble a huge amphitheater with a deep, bowl-like center filled with reeds and rimmed with rocky cliffs. Many visitors also compare this popular sunrise celebration venue, which is now designated as a Natural Monument, with a heavily fortified, impregnable castle or a tall, full-circle tiara.
Other key attractions reflecting the natural wonders of Jeju include Yongcheondonggul Cave, located in Woljeong-ri of Gujwa-eup, which exhibits a unique combination of the characteristic features of both lime caves and lava tubes, the lime caves in Hyeopjae and Pyoseon, and the Gotjawal forests which formed on the rocky areas thrown up during a volcanic eruption. These forests provide natural habitats for rare plants, some of which are suited to cold climates while others are more typical of tropical or subtropical areas. These untouched, densely wooded forests are often referred to as the lungs of Jeju.
The Jungmun Tourist Complex located on the southern coast in Seogwipo boasts many fascinating places and facilities for a variety of outdoor activities, including swimming and sunbathing, golfing, horse riding and hunting, world-class hotels, and enchanting natural attractions such as the three-tier waterfalls of Cheonjeyeon and coastal columnar jointing. A new attraction was added to the already long list recently when one of Asia's largest aquariums, Aqua Planet, was opened in July 2012 at Seopjikoji Beach in Seongsan-eup.
One of the island's main attractions, the recently created Jeju Olle Trail, comprises a set of nature trails along the coast that lead hikers to fascinating views of Jeju, old villages and fields enclosed or separated by basalt stone walls, coastal seas where elderly women divers (haenyeo, sea women) harvest seafood beneath the sea, and waves of wind rolling through fields of long grass (Jeju has been called Samdado, literally, the island of three abundances, namely, stones, women, and wind). Jejudo is famous for its many special farming and marine products of which the prickly palm cactus (Opuntia ficusindica), also known as baengnJejudo(do is Korean for island), Korea's largest island (approx. 73km from east to west, 31km from south to north), lies in the Korean Strait, southwest of the Korean mainland. The oval-shaped island maintains a rich cultural heritage that is distinctly different from that of the mainland. It is also the only province of Korea where mandarin oranges are grown in natural conditions, providing a great source of income for many households since the 1960s. It was an extremely popular honeymoon destination among mainland Koreans during the 1970s and 1980s, and has since grown into one of Korea's top tourist attractions, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists from neighboring countries including Japan and China. In 2006, the Korean government designated the island as Jeju Special Self-Governing Province in an effort to turn it into a Free Trade Zone. It is now a very popular venue for important international gatherings including summit meetings.
The article above is courtesy of Korea Net (http://www.korea.net/AboutKorea/Tourism/Recreation-Nature).
One of the island's main attractions, the recently created Jeju Olle Trail, comprises a set of nature trails along the coast that lead hikers to fascinating views of Jeju, old villages and fields enclosed or separated by basalt stone walls, coastal seas where elderly women divers (haenyeo, sea women) harvest seafood beneath the sea, and waves of wind rolling through fields of long grass (Jeju has been called Samdado, literally, the island of three abundances, namely, stones, women, and wind). Jejudo is famous for its many special farming and marine products of which the prickly palm cactus (Opuntia ficusindica), also known as baengnJejudo(do is Korean for island), Korea's largest island (approx. 73km from east to west, 31km from south to north), lies in the Korean Strait, southwest of the Korean mainland. The oval-shaped island maintains a rich cultural heritage that is distinctly different from that of the mainland. It is also the only province of Korea where mandarin oranges are grown in natural conditions, providing a great source of income for many households since the 1960s. It was an extremely popular honeymoon destination among mainland Koreans during the 1970s and 1980s, and has since grown into one of Korea's top tourist attractions, drawing hundreds of thousands of tourists from neighboring countries including Japan and China. In 2006, the Korean government designated the island as Jeju Special Self-Governing Province in an effort to turn it into a Free Trade Zone. It is now a very popular venue for important international gatherings including summit meetings.
The article above is courtesy of Korea Net (http://www.korea.net/AboutKorea/Tourism/Recreation-Nature).