The Adventures of Team Daniels: The Hawaii Of Korea

Seollal (Lunar New Year) is a big holiday in Asia. Lucky for us, the kids and Abe got a long weekend to observe the holiday.

We celebrated Seollal with our Korean BFFs on Jeju Island. Jeju is just south of us in the Korea Strait and is locally known as 'the Hawaii of Korea.' We decided to take the opportunity to go check it out. Hallasan Mountain is a dormant volcano in the center of the island. {Side note: I read it technically is still considered active because it has erupted in the last 10,000 years, but it is a dormant active volcano.} The island abounds with hiking trails, lava tubes, waterfalls and beaches. However, although it is the Hawaii of Korea, it still has winter temperatures. The forecast was rain for every day we were there. We ended up dodging a bullet and only got rained on one day. Yay us!

Although we flew out of the tiny Sacheon airport, we played it safe and wore our masks due to the risk of the corona virus outbreak.

Lijee was enjoying himself a quick smoke before takeoff.

We found these guys outside the airport. We quickly learned they are the 'mascot' of Jeju and you see them everywhere.

=====Hallim Park=====

Hallim Park is like the botanic gardens. There are 9 different little theme parks within. This particular building was the subtropical botanical reptile garden. Look at those cute little bananas.

This is a stag horn fern. The leaves grow from these little wooden pods on the tree.

The colors were so vibrant.

Cactus Garden

This palm tree was interesting.

The flowering part looked like something from the coral reef up close.

The Daiser is tiny next to this huge agave plant.

I have never seen aloe shoot up like that.

This guy is a Dol Hareubang. You see them everywhere you turn. They are said to be considered gods for offering both protection and fertility. The name translates to 'grandfather of stone' and they are always carved from the black baltic volcanic rock. They all have the same squatty appearance with big eyes and noses, and a mushroom-type hat. Folklore says are called grandfather because the statues are considered to be guardians of the island and they ward off demons and evil spirits. There is also a legend that says that newly married women can rub different parts of the statue to increase their chances of conceiving a boy if you rub the nose or a girl if you rub the ears. Maybe that's why the majority of them are holding their tummies?

Every now and then you see one that is making a heart instead of holding its belly.

These little flowers and berries are such a pretty color combination.

This is what you get when a teen takes a picture for you.

Jeju is known for its lava tubes. Two of them are located in Hallim Park. These 2 are called Hyeopjaegul and Ssangyong caves. Apparently these are unique because they have stalactites and stalagmites that are not normally formed in lava tubes.

Lava tubes are formed when the outer part of flowing lava cools and forms a hard crust but the lava beneath continues to flow. These were formed from the eruption of Mt. Halla. There are seashells found in the walls which suggest is was underwater when the tubes were formed.

You can see the line on the wall called a lava shelf, where the lava flowed.

This statue represents the legend of Dr. Jin. He is getting ready to swallow a berry that led him to see everything about the human body and he became a great doctor, able to see inside the human body.

There's Daisy waiting for us at the exit.

In all these little stone people,

the boys found one they dubbed 'pizza guy.'

We were quite a motley crew.

Pretty cool how they get these rocks to balance.

Mwa!

My angel wings.

Stone and Bonsai Garden

This little garden was cool. There were lots of big rocks to climb, and lots of unique bonsai trees.

This rock is called the duck. You can see it eating from its dish.

This one I call 'cheeky little monkeys peeking from behind a big rock.'

This particular tree is 250 years old. There was another one 300 years old!

This rock is called 'the face.'

I think it was the inspiration for Humpty Dumpty.

I love these 4 little guys growing on this pillar.

It was amazing that so many of the trees were growing in such little soil.

Daisy is getting sneezed out of this guy's nose.

A little teamwork.

Zeke calls this a candy cane flower.

Jeju Island is also known for their tangerines. Hallabongs are very large tangerines with a big ball on the top where it connects to the tree, resembling Mt. Hallasan, hence the namesake. These little guys, called gamgyul, are the kind I buy in the grocery store.

Jae-Am Folk Village is a replica of traditional life of Jeju, with the thatched roofs, kimchi pots, and stone statues.

Haenyeo means sea woman. There are a group of women who free dive, or dive deep holding their breath, to gather seaweed, clams, red sea cucmber, sea urchins and abalone among other aquatic life. This tradition has been happening for centuries as these women make a living selling the fruits of their efforts. This statue is depicting one of these haenyeo. You see the diving ladies in various forms of art all over the island.

What a good big brother.

The Bird Garden

I don't know if it is a coincidence or not, but the botanic garden in Jinju also has peacocks and ostriches.

Jae-Am Stone Exhibit Hall

The Daniels and the Tighes. Yes, that's a lot of people for only 2 families.

Water Gardens

Yep, another horse.

Wild Grass and Flower Garden

=====Hyeopjae Beach=====

As we drove up to Hyeopjae Beach, I was in awe over the white sand. As we drew near, we discovered that was in fact not white sand, but a tarp. Yes, a tarp over the whole beach. A sign posted said the tarp was put in place at the main entry to prevent sand from flying. Because, you know, it's the beach.

Part of the waterfront was black lava rock. It was a pretty contrast to the turquoise water.

Aww, the Hawaii of Korea.

Daisy's outfit coordinated well with the water.

If there are rocks lying around, you know the Koreans are gonna build their cute little towers.

There are the girls way out there on that big black rock.

=====Glass Castle=====

I wanted Eli to pose by these figures and he didn't want to, so Zekers drug him over there for me. Such a good son.

The Glass Castle is a museum of glass objects made into creative displays of varied objects. The museum 'reflects the gift of nature and clean environment of Jeju in the transparent and clean glass works.'

This area is called Jewelry Falls.

This is so Korea. They are all about love and hearts, which totally beats being full of hate and anger.

That's Zekers in an infinity room.

And they lived happily ever after.

Sibling love, at its finest.

This area is the Magic Forest Gotjawal Gallery.

They aimed to create a fantasy world. It was very unique.

The spider webs in the pic above and below are so intricate. I had to take this picture because of the turd rollers like in my parents' pasture at home.

Aren't they the cutest.

So much effort into all the pieces. The website says it took years of preparation and construction to complete. When you look at each individual piece it's mind-blowing the amount of effort and time and skill it took to create.

What the???

Displaying some of that Jeju black pork.

Here are the famous tangerine trees. Each tangerine and leaf are individually crafted. Imagine the time put into that!

Each of these flowers were covered with probably 50-100 individual pieces of glass.

They're each looking into a kaleidoscope.

What happened to my little boy?

Daisy honed her art skills by making a glass necklace.

Those colored sticks are glass. She chose 2 colors to heat up and mold.

That's her red-hot necklace, cooling before she got to take it.

The boys and I tried a little glass blowing. Notice our friends watching through the window.

See Eli's big glass bubble?

Zeke's was the largest of us 3.

That's my bubble just starting.

We look just like the guy out front.

The evening ended with more games.

=====Maze Land=====

Maze Land was a fun attraction that was filled with mazes and puzzles. The website boasts that it has mazes created with three things that are said to be plentiful on Jeju Island: stones, wind and women.

There was not a shortage of odd stone monuments created from volcanic rock.

I do...want to run through mazes with you.

Hedges, rose bushes, bamboo, and whinstone (a rock found only on Jeju Island) are some of the materials that the mazes are created from.

These two are taking a break after making their way to the center of a maze.

Look a little closer and you will see these three yahoos waiting on the rest of us to emerge from a maze.

Eli is overlooking the top of the stone maze. FYI, this is the world's longest stone labyrinth at 5.3 km in length.

Ringing the victory bell.

Lots more Dol Hareubang with their big eyes, hands on tummies and odd hats.

Studying the mazes from a different point of view.

Lijee was leading me through the bamboo maze.

Diligently working on puzzles.

Daisy is taking it all in from the observatory deck.

Game time! Mafia, BS, One Night, Murder Mystery and Sardine Hide-n-Zeke in the dark to name a few. There was lots of laughter during game time.

This green container of white stuff was on the bathroom sink.

When I used it the first time I realized it was not soap. Consequently, I decided to try it on my legs, thinking it must be lotion. NOPE. It was super thick and did not rub in. At all. When it dried it kind of turned chalky. It was at that point that I decided to try to read the label.

I was able to decipher the words 'gel type pump' and it wasn't until that moment that I saw the toothbrush. It was toothpaste. I had rubbed toothpaste all over my legs.

What are ya gonna do?

=====Cafe Cola=====

This particular morning we did not dodge the rain, so we opted for a treat at Cafe Cola. It was located right on the water and was a pretty sight to soak in, if we weren't literally getting soaked.

Look at that cute little turtle light house.

Nothing to see here...

or is there?

Cafe Cola was a cute little cafe dedicated to nothing but Coca Cola. We wanted a Coke float, but since it was winter they did not sell ice cream. Duh. We settled on coffee Coke, vanilla Coke, lemon Coke, traditional Coke, and an espresso.

The downstairs was super cute with a sunken table with an ocean view,

and a football chair with an ocean view.

Me and my little buddy.

Upstairs was a little fun house with hats to try on and pretend bar-b-q.

We all tried on a few hats.

Then Abe headed on over to the YMCA,

while Eli downed a bottle of giant Coke.

=====Dokkaebbi Road=====

Dokkaebbi Road, also called the Mysterious Road, lived up to its name. Korean folklore depicts Dokkaebbi as goblins that have extraordinary powers and often like to play tricks on humans. I wrote about those tricky little goblins back in August when the kids got assigned to Dokkaebbi at school.

We are obviously going slightly downhill at this point, but it appears the small hill in the distance starts to go up. This is a fully functioning road, but it is known to be freaky and lots of people visit, so you just stop on the road and put on your hazards. Most people were doing the same thing, but if not they just drive around.

At Dokkaebbi Road there is a sign that you can stop at and put your car in neutral. This is the bottom of the hill, or so it seems...

After we stopped and put the car in neutral, it should have rolled backwards downhill. But no! We defied the laws of gravity and started to climb the slight incline! Those sneaky little Dokkaebbi goblins!

Jeju is known for their black pork. I thought it meant 'blackened' pork, meaning how it was cooked. Another American told us a story how her meal actually had pig hairs still on the skin; the server said it was so you could tell it was really a black pig. Staying with their pony theme, here is a black pig riding a horse.

We headed across and down Hallasan Mountain from there. Here is a lookout spot. However, it had been raining hard all morning and the view was almost non-existent. Hallasan is the highest mountain in South Korea. We wanted to hike it, but that will have to be for another trip.

It was right as we were pulling into the observation point that it started to snow! Big, wet, heavy snowflakes that were perfect to catch on your tongue.

=====Georinsaseum Observation Deck=====

By the time we descended the mountain a bit to Georinsaseum Observation Deck the snow and the rain had cleared. This view is to the southwest of the island.

=====Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliff=====

You gotta love a tourist attraction with a giant shell to climb on.

Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliffs might be one of the most beautiful spots on Jeju Island.

These cliffs were formed when the lava from the eruption of Mt. Hallasan flowed into the Jungman Sea. The volcano last erupted about 5,000 years ago so these cliffs are quite old.

For some reason when the lava hit the water if formed these perfectly formed hexagon columns. The rocks at the cliffs are also called Jistagae Rocks, which is a system of fractures that splits a rock body into long prisms, or columns and is characteristic of lava flows, or so my internet search told me.

You can see a little better in this closeup.

Surprisingly, the umbrella that Eli is dangling made it home with us.

That is Hallasan Mountain in the distance. That's a long way for lava to flow.

Some more shell climbing.

This kid is not going to be left out.

Cool as a cucumber.

These rocks are around the corner from the cliffs.

These particular rocks were unique because it actually looks like bubbles that have been popped.

After walking along a trail we took a little side path to check out the rocks further down.

I took these pics of Zeke and when I looked at them I saw that green glowing light. There has been alien activity reported in this area and rumor has it if you see a green glowing light aliens recently abducted someone.

Just kidding. None of that is true. But I did notice that glowing light in the top pic, and it's totally gone in the shot just a couple seconds later.

I mapped it all out and lightened the picture so you can get a better look.

Another picture a second after, and there is still no glow under that rock. There's something strange afoot here, people. Something strange indeed.

I am all about a good theme, and so is Jeju. First and probably most prominent, are the Dol Hareubangs as posted above. Those little guys are everywhere. When we got back I even saw 2 different packages that have Dol Hareubangs on them in the grocery store. Kinda cool, because before we went to Jeju I had not even noticed it, but now I know those products are from Jeju Island. Second of all are the Jeju horses. Third is the women skin divers who are popular and there are signs/pictures/paintings of them all over the island. Lastly is the use of black volcanic rock. For obvious reasons since the island is based on a volcano, it's everywhere, but they put it to good use with all the statues. I also noticed the farmers use them to make fences. On the mainland there are not fences dividing farms; you might see wide sidewalks for equipment to drive, or a small raised mounds of soil, but not a fence.

The black baltic stones are also used for walls all around town.

=====Iho Tewoo Beach=====

Iho Tewoo Beach is not far from the airport. You can see the iconic red and white lighthouses in the form of the Jeju Pony from the airplane window upon landing and takeoff.

Flirting with disaster.

My big stallion on the little ponies.

The Jeju horse is an actual breed. They do well in harsh conditions so they can be outside in the winter without stables or blankets. According to fossils they estimate the horses were on the island since the end of the Stone Age. Records indicate a Jeju steed was presented to the king of the Goryeo Dynasty in 1073, so if not the Stone Age the horses have at least been there for 1,000 years. The 'Jeju horse of Jeju' is now considered a Natural Monument of South Korea.