Second Full Day Visiting Jeju Island Attractions
Hello everybody! Now that it is summer time, I am back to posting about my travels. I realize I have not completed uploading posts about my trip to South Korea last March/April 2026. So here it is.
My partner and I wanted very much to tour the natural wonders of Jeju but given the wet weather forecast during our stay, we felt it best to just stay in the capital and discover its attractions.
On our second full day in the island, we walked over to have a closer look at the modern light houses located along the waterfront and just a few yards from our hotel. From there, we decided to walk over to the Kim Man Duk Memorial Hall, a small but beautiful museum dedicated to the local hero after whom the building is named. We first went ot the garden and then went inside to tour the exhibits about KMD. Though the museum wasn't big, we stayed a good hour there going from floor to floor. Once done, we left and walked over to the Dongmun Market once again. Along the way, we passed by some rainbow colored stairs where I had my picture taken. Then, right before we reached the market, we were pleasantly surprised to see a thrift store. It was here where I wanted to buy an artwork which was a scroll with something written in Hangul. It was big and not going to fit in my suitcase but the price was very affordable. It took guts to leave it in the store and not purchase it.
Around noon, we opted to have lunch in Dongmun. We passed by the stalls selling seafood. We first bought squid to share and then ordered what looked like a burrito filled with black pork and cabbage from another stall. We bought our drinks from a convenience store named GS 25 just outside the market.
Realizing that some of the city's attractions were not reachable on foot, we decided to board the Hop On Hop Off Bus right opposite the main entrance of Dongmun Market. We were advised by the elderly Korean lady staff to get off at Yongdam Leports Park then walk over to the another park named Eoyong to view the extensive moon like rocks by the sea. From there we boarded the bus again to reach the Red and White horse shaped light houses. We ended our bus trip with a tour of the new downtown which looked absolutely rich and upscale. There we saw lost of high end boutiques the likes of Louis Vuitton and Hermes. Needless to say, there were some posh hotels like the Shilla hotel and duty free stores here too. This was the area we would stay at next time we visit Jeju. It was just so beautiful and elegant.
For dinner, we went to another branch of the convenience store, GS 25, and ate some delicious Korean food served in bento boxes.
Our hotel, the Regent Marine, was right by the water. Everyday we were in Jeju, we walked along the promenade to watch the sea in the morning. The view of the city was likewise quite impressive from there.
This red lighthouse was a few yards away from our hotel.
Here is a lovely painting of Kim Man Duk inside the museum built in her honor. Based on what I read about her, she was born poor but was able to rise the economic ladder during her time. She is loved and respected by the locals for sharing her wealth at a time when the island was beset by the lack of food. She gave away sacks and sacks of rice to the people of the island many centuries ago.
This was the garden right behind the museum.
My partner at one of the two parks we visited. The volcanic rock formations were quite a sight.
There were two lighthouses that faced each other in the island. The red and white light houses looked huge and impressive right from the time we set our eyes on them from afar. These two though were not located downtown. We only got to visit them after we boarded the Hop On Hop Off Bus on our second full day.
The white light house was right opposite the red one. We just walked to both. Each one was roughly thirty minutes away from each other on foot.
This was the Catholic Cathedral in downtown Jeju.
We visited this supermarket every night before we went to sleep. It was just a block behind the Regent Marine Hotel where we stayed. We got the impression that this supermarket catered mostly to the tourists in the area.
Here is a statue of Kim Man Duk inside the museum named after her. Here in this vignette, she is surrounded by the sacks of rice she gave to her fellow citizens back in the day when the island suffered from famine.
This was the thrift store I enjoyed visiting. There were some Korean art pieces I desperately wanted to purchase but had to leave behind due to a lack of luggage space.
At the rainbow colored stairs along the river in the city center.