A Weekend in Jeju

One weekend during our stay in Korea a few of us decided to take a trip to Jeju Island, which is the southern most island in South Korea. The whole group was super excited to leave straight from our meeting at Kim & Chang that day (a local law firm in Korea). After meeting with some associates from Kim & Chang, we went to lunch with them at a local traditional restaurant at a palace in the mountains. Throughout the entire lunch we all were trying to plot something to get out of there early. Needless to say, we couldn’t figure anything out so we continued on the bus that was chartered for us that took us to the university. As soon as the bus stopped, we all bolted for the big hill. We eventually all made it up the hill and managed to get our stuff together within 15 minutes (the girls – me and Lucy – were ready; however, the boys had not packed the night before). Now, in two different cabs, we were off to Gimpo International Airport. We arrived within enough time just to check in and run to the plane.

After all that turmoil, once we arrived in Jeju it felt like paradise. There were palm trees everywhere and the sun was shinning bright. We got into some taxis and headed for our 1 hour ride to Shineville Resort (Picture from a Balcony at the Resort on the first day when the sun was shinning.) However, we were not expecting the type of taxi drivers that exist in Jeju. We apparently were expecting the drivers to be somewhat like the ones in Seoul. We soon found out we were wrong to have expected that. These taxi drivers were completely crazy. It felt like we were going down some old country roads at like 100 miles an hour. So we all held on tight for the ride, and all the ones that came after that. Also, the cabs in Jeju were way more expensive then the ones in Seoul. In Seoul you can take a taxi for around 5000 won most of the time, but in Jeju we were paying around 40000 won every time we went somewhere.

The next day came and paradise no longer existed (to an extent). The weather was not so great. I don’t believe we saw the sun again until we went to the airport to fly back to Seoul (go figure). Ugh… I thought to myself. I only wanted to come here for the beaches. Well, so a few of us split up and went separate ways. I got stuck with Matt and Keith (crazy boys with the best ideas-yeah right!). And then there was Lucy. Lucy and I seem to always find ourselves with these two. So we told the taxi drive to take us to a beach – I don’t remember the name of it. So after the 45 minute cab ride and about $40 later, we arrived at “the beach.” It looked like sea world, but trashy. We started walking and came upon some penguins in a tank outside. Then we get to the edge of a cliff and see the ocean. (See picture at left.) But was we look far off in the distance we see the Hyatt (the place we wanted to stay but as students just could not afford it). So we finally manage to find the stairs down and begin to walk. The walk ended up being on a different kind of sand then we are used to at the Gulf Coast. Then we end up walking through what appears to be some type of jungle and finally found our way to the Hyatt (thinking there would be some sort of pool there). After the hour long hike, we found out that the Hyatt had a pool but it was not open yet. This is crazy I thought, because pools at hotels in America are always open.

After arriving at the Hyatt and finding that there was not a pool that we could swim in we decided to eat at a restaurant there. Then, we find out we have to spend more money. We each probably had about a 20000-25000 won lunch. So while we are spending all this money on this island we say why not go to the casino that was in the hotel. This was a bad idea for everyone but me. I won about 60000 won and everyone else lost what they put in the slots; however, they did not loose that much. But after walking out of the Hyatt, we explored the wooden, steep steps of the jungle walk around the Hyatt and saw some incredible views (see above), well worth the hike to the Hyatt.

So in conclusion, amongst all the crazy taxi drivers, the expensive taxi rides, and the long walks/hikes/climbs (whichever one you want to call it) we did not experience paradise there when we went. However, all 7 of us managed to have a great time. So in case anyone ever wants to go there, don’t go there expecting the prices of Seoul. Expect the prices that we would pay back in America to go to a tropical paradise.

Adrian Westbrook