Celebrating my Birth in Jeju Island

Hello everyone, it’s Barritt back with another blog post! (haha is this how it feels to be a YouTuber?). Today I am going to give you a short and sweet recap of my thrilling, yet relaxing, 22nd birthday vacation trip to Jeju island. And try to offer a bit of advice to anyone who is planning to make Jeju their next destination spot—which they should! I had such a wonderful time in Jeju and already miss being surrounded by orange trees, overflowing pots of succulents, and the Island-time mentality. I will undoubtedly be planning another trip in the future. 

We started off our journey bright and early, probably too early for our own good. Our flight left at 6 am, and it took quite a bit of mental strength to launch ourselves out of our comfy warm beds, but eventually, we made it to the airport. We had to take a taxi because the buses were not running that early in the morning. Word of advice to the reader: make sure to leave moderately early just to buffer for taxi trouble (I would say give yourself at least an hour to find a taxi and drive to the airport). We made it on the plane, but just barely. The flight was only 1 hour long and the view of the sunrise from the plane window was beautiful.

We touched down in Jeju and, after a short GS 25 feast, hopped on the airport shuttle bus heading south to Seogwipo, the area we were staying in. The bus ride was about an hour and a half and was just a few dollars. We arrived in our quaint air bnb tired yet eager and dropped our bags off. Even though it was only 10:30 AM, it felt like we had been up for a lifetime. Motivated, we headed to grab a quick bite to eat at a brunch spot called Tangerine. Their brunch was delicious and they had tons of nice outdoor and indoor seating! If you are in the region here is their Naver link to check out: https://tinyurl.com/ysumxuhf

We then set out to visit Jeongbang waterfall, a tall and fierce waterfall located right on the ocean’s edge. The fall cost 1,000 won to enter and was worth the visit. Legend has it that a holy dragon once lived under Jeongbang fall, spreading its spirit within the fall’s flowing water. The dragon’s spirit was said to be able to cure disease and bring upon water in drought.

If you are a seafood lover or want to have an exciting and adventurous experience with seafood, Jeongbang is a good place to go. Located on the rocks neighboring Jeongbang is the Jeju native Haenyo (female divers). These women, often in their 80s, go diving up to ten meters underwater without the help of oxygen masks! The Jeju Haenyo have contributed to the promotion of better environmental, sustainable, and community-oriented fishing practices as well as the advancement of women's status. Watching them expertly prepare a plate of fresh-caught shellfish is humbling and impressive. We ate our platter on the rocky seashore and were amazed to taste the crazy variety of flavors and textures—I had never experienced anything like this before! It cost us around 40,000 won for a plate of seafood and a bottle of soju to share. After the busy afternoon, we headed back to relax and check in to the air bnb. 

The next morning I woke up to a yummy birthday cake breakfast and fresh-made tangerine juice. Our hosts at the air bnb gave us fresh juice each morning, they were truly so kind. The weather during our weekend stay was beautiful, and much more humid and warm compared to Seoul. We spent much of my birthday day lounging and swimming at Jungmun Saekdal Beach. If you are interested in surfing (or learning to surf) I would recommend taking a visit to this area. There were plenty of surfers around renting boards and taking lessons. The water was warm, and there was an abundance of sand to lounge on. As the sun began to set, we all decided to buy some drinks and snacks from the convenience store and sit on the beach to enjoy the view. It was a fantastic evening. We then had a nice pasta dinner and then hit the hay.     

On our last day in Jeju we ventured out to the Tea Museum and I had some of the best matcha ice cream of my life. The term ‘museum’ may be a bit misleading, as it was much more of a collection of cafes, beauty stores and tea gift stores scattered among beautiful and lush forest paths. The museum is located next to the tea fields. If you are looking to buy some tea-adjacent gifts for friends and family at home, or eat some really yummy matcha dessert, the museum is a great place to go. We ended our stay making a big home-cooked dinner. I painted a gift for our air bnb hosts as a thank you present as we sat together and chatting, trying to forget our 3AM wake time the next morning.

That's all for now, thanks for giving this post a read:)

-Barritt