Jeju Island : Seopjikoji (Romance is in the air)

Now that I am done with my post on my latest travel to Beijing, I will get back to write about my trip to South Korea 2 years ago. Yupe. This is a backdated post but I guessed I better write it down and share of this wonderful country and the places that I have the privilege to set foot on and experience them first hand.

I have blogged about Seoul in some of my previous posts. From Seoul, we took a flight for a 4 days 3 nights stay at the romantic and beautiful Jeju Island down south. If you are visiting Korea, Jeju Island is a definite MUST SEE and MUST VISIT location, especially if you are visiting in Spring. (We went in Autumn. So I guessed I would have an excuse to go back again .....:))

We managed to arrange for a private English speaking tour guide cum driver and he was simply magnificent. In fact, he made our stay in Jeju Island even more enjoyable through his jokes and detail explanation of the places we visited.

I will start off with our visit to this picturesque location at the eastern tip of Jeju Island, known as Seopjikoji (Bump in the Land).

The moment you set eyes on Seopjikoji, you will be greeted with a vast open meadowy green (spring) or brownish, yellowish (autumn) field, fronting an open ocean. There is literally not a single tree from the jagged rocky shore line. Only vast open spaces. With the strong ocean breeze blowing into your face as you, holding the hand of your loved one, take a slow climb up the long winding stairs to the lighthouse and chapel, you will feel a deep sense of liberation and romance. Romance is certainly in the air!

Beyond the clift as you looked down, you will see jagged and interested rock formations, stretching out to the clear blue ocean with waves splashing ever so majestically against the shore line. At the end of the long climb stands a lone lighthouse, standing like a sentinel, gravely watching and warning the ships that passes by below. From the lighthouse, you will get an awesome bird eyes view of the entire coast and shore line of Seopjikoji. And then, there is one single unique solitary rock jutting out called the Seondol Rock. 

Because of the beauty of this location, many korean movies have been shot here. One famous one of course was the Korean drama, "All In" starring heartthrob Lee Byun-hun and raising star Song Hye-gyo filmed in 2003 which include a chapel, convent and daycare center. The small white chapel was featured in the movie where Song went to become a nun after finding out that her friends have been implicated in the murder of a local mobster. The entire set was destroyed by Typhoon Maemi and was eventually reconstructed, now with a small casino. Now, I am not a Korean drama fan and the only movie I managed to finish was Dae Jang Geum (Jewel in the Palace).

The skies were rather gloomy when I was there in autumn and hence I could not capture this picturesque location with clear blue skies and equally interesting clouds formation. Otherwise, this would have been one perfect set for landscape photography. Nevertheless, I was still happy with the outcome of the pictures of this breathtaking site and like I said earlier, I will definitely revisit hopefully in Spring and breath in the romance that is in the air ......