Jeolla and Jeju-do travel guide
South Korea’s southwestern Jeolla Provinces (Joellabuk-do and Jeollanam-do) are known above all for their spectacular rural landscapes, and also encompass thousands of secluded islands. Jeollabuk-do (North Jeolla Province) with its capital Jeonju – renowned for its paper and paper products, its bibimbap and characterful old city centre – is also home to Horse Ears Mountain (Maisan), close to Jinan Town, Moaksan Provincial Park, and Naejangsan National Park. Jeollanam-do (South Jeolla Province), meanwhile, is a must-see for the ancient provincial capital of Gwangju, which competes with Jeonju for some of the best food in South Korea. You can enjoy South Korea’s center of bamboo cultivation and craftsmanship in Damyang, north of Gwangju. Or seek out the enchanting mountain of Jirisan – the highest point of mainland South Korea – complete with quiet temples and some of the country’s best autumn foliage. And don’t forget, in the southwestern corner of the peninsula lies the port city of Mokpo and the attractions of the southwestern islands.
South Korea’s top spot
If the Jeolla Provinces don’t take up all your time, then there is still the large island of Jeju-do, lying across the Korea strait, the country’s most popular holiday destination. It is not difficult to see why. The island has a benign climate, great seafood, dramatic volcanic peaks and craters, and top-notch facilities including first-class hotels, golf courses, hiking trails, and sports-fishing grounds. It has been dubbed the “Bali of North Asia” and “Korea’s Hawaii” and not without reason. Highlights include the extinct volcano of Mount Halla and its surrounding national park, the amazing Manjang cavern, Jeongbang waterfall, and some beautiful beaches.
Top places to visit in Jeolla and Jeju-do
Jeonju
Jeonju, located approximately 240km (150 miles) south of Seoul is the provincial capital of Jeollabuk-do. It is the ancestral home of the descendants of Yi Seonggye (Taejo), founder of the Joseon dynasty, and is famous throughout South Korea for its paper and paper products (such as fans and umbrellas), and for its food – particularly the delicious bibimba. Jeonju is also of great appeal to tourists because of the sizeable area of traditional hanok housing in the city center, built in the 1930s as a response to the Japanese-style architecture that was overtaking the country. The charming buildings are the perfect backdrop for discovering more about the city’s esteemed traditions.
The best place to see traditional papermaking is at the Korean Paper Institute, situated in the hanok centre of the city. This beautiful old-style paperworks provides an illuminating introduction, with samples of Korean paper craftwork and demonstrations of how paper goes from mulberry bark to finished sheet.
But if you ask any Korean what Jeonju is really famous for, the answer will be bibimbap, one of the few Korean foods to become recognized worldwide. Don’t leave Jeonju without tasting this dish of rice and vegetables. The bibimbap often comes with the rice deliciously mixed with soy sprouts and topped with broiled and sliced meat, fern bracken, strips of boiled squid, bluebell roots, toasted sesame seeds, pine nuts, and a sunny-side-up egg. Sanchae bibimbap is even more exotic, using mountain roots and vegetables in place of the more traditional items. This savory dish is further accompanied by a bowl of beef broth and side dishes of cool seaweed and onion soup, then spiced further by at least five kinds of gimchi. Indeed, even at the simplest Jeonju restaurant expect to see amazing foods piled up at your table, in some cases at least as many as 20 different side dishes. When in Jeonju, don’t be shy, eat!
Gwangju
Gwangju, the ancient provincial capital of Jeollanam-do, is a low-key city where at night, in many areas of the center, vehicular traffic ceases and streets become pedestrian malls busy with strolling townfolk.
Gwangju competes with Jeonju for honors such as “best food in South Korea” and “the most food served in South Korea.” This is because in the past wealthy landlords established gracious food standards, and because the lush Honam Plain in Jeollanam-do has provided food for the city’s gourmets. Also, the country’s best jeongjong (barley and rice wine) and makgeolli (a simpler form of rice wine) are served here with an array of anju (drinking snacks) which make a veritable dinner out of a drink.
The best time to visit Gwangju is during one of its two popular festivals. If you have developed a taste for the pride of Korean cuisine, visit during Gwangju’s Gimchi Festival. The festival is held over an extended weekend in late September or early October. Here you can get a taste of every gimchi imaginable, and some (such as gimchi pizza) that you never imagined. There are plenty of games and local talent performing to keep the crowds happy.
The other major festival is the Gwangju Biennale, which runs from September through to November every even-numbered year. This is South Korea’s premier exhibition for the arts, displaying works from Korea’s best artists, as well as contributions from artists from more than 50 other countries.
Damyang Bamboo Crafts Museum
One of the most revered plants in South Korea is bamboo, called daenamu in Korean. It is splintered into chopsticks, carved into spoons, harvested for its delicious tender shoots, and immortalized in paintings and poetry.
The center of bamboo cultivation and craftsmanship in South Korea is Damyang, north of Gwangju on the main highway. The best time to visit Damyang is on market day, which falls on days that end with the number 2 or 7. The market is held along the Gwanbangcheon stream, opposite a bright chartreuse bamboo forest. Usually, the bamboo is not cultivated longer than three years, as its purpose is not for sturdy construction but specifically for gentle basket-weaving. Villagers bring these utilitarian objects down from their nearby village homes on market day, which starts at around 6am and peters out by 3pm. Straw and bamboo mats are sold near the market above the riverbank.
In the town center stands what locals claim to be the only museum devoted to bamboo. Check out the many uses made of this most utilitarian of plants in Damyang’s Bamboo Crafts Museum.
Dadohae Haesang Maritime National Park
Mokpo is the chief point of departure for some 3,000 islands, many of which make up the Dadohae Haesang Maritime National Park. This area is called the “Land of 10,000 islands,” in fact, and at least if you aren’t counting that sure looks to be true.
One of the easiest ways for the traveler to see them is from the ferry as it leaves for Jeju. Stand on the deck and for the first half of the trip you will pass through hundreds of isles. Many are quite beautiful; some are not. The largest have fishing ports and small villages, but most are essentially uninhabited. With fog rising off a glassy sea, it’s one of the world’s most spectacular sights to see these eerie shapes forming as the boat gets closer. Some have the silhouettes of animals or people. Others are barren, save for a lone salt-stunted pine that tops the crag like a lost lover. Beaches are infrequent but just as beautiful, strewn with millions of small stones, shells, and shorebirds. Life on the islands is centered around the ocean: harvesting fish, seaweed, kelp, clams, and anything else even remotely edible.
The two best-known islands in the national park are Heuksan-gundo and Hongdo. Heuksan-gundo is actually a group of 100 islands, the largest of which is Daeheuksan-do. Hong-do is a rugged piece of rock to the west of Daeheuksan-do. Hong-do, the “Red Island,” is named for the pink hues of its rock and is famous for the imposing, contorted rock formations and precipitous cliffs that line its coast. The best way to see this small island is by boat.
Jin-do
Jin-do (Jin Island) is a large island that is only two hours’ travel by ferry from Mokpo itself. The island is also connected to the mainland via Korea’s longest suspension bridge, but the scenery makes the boat trip enjoyable.
Jin-do is famous for two things: a rare breed of dog and an unusual natural event. The pedigree Jindotgae (literally translated as Jin Island dog) has a short, nearly white coat of fur with a touch of ochre along the inner curve of its characteristic arched tail. An annual Jin-do dog show is held in the fall and billed in the English-language press as a “beauty contest.”
Jin-do’s other claim to fame is its impressive low tides. Twice a year (end of February and mid-June), the tides are so low that a small island nearly 3km (2 miles) offshore becomes accessible by foot. In the 1970s, a Frenchman likened it to Moses’ parting of the Red Sea, and the “Moses Miracle” moniker stuck. In recent years it has become an extremely popular event, with thousands of people walking between the two islands.
The event has reached festival proportions, and become a showcase for the island’s cultural traditions and enthusiastic local talent.
Manjang cavern
Unlike Hawaii, Jeju-do cannot advertise that its deep fissures and frozen lava swirls are the products of still-active volcanoes. On the other hand, it can claim the world’s longest known lava tubes, the Gimnyeongsa and Manjang caverns located at Gimnyeong in the northeast of the island between Jeju City and Seongsan. The Manjang cavern, the longer of the two tubes, is a mind-boggling 13.4km (8½ miles) in length (although only 1km/2/3 mile is open to the public) with a diameter that ranges from 3 to 20 meters (10–66ft). In the summer, tourists can join lamplight tours of these caverns filled with bats, spiders, centipedes, and unusual lava formations. You are advised to dress warmly as temperatures inside the caverns stay between 10–20°C (50–68°F) throughout the year.
Read more from the travel guide to South Korea