Cheju Island: Main Tourist Attractions

Situated in Samyang-Dong, Cheju City and 20 minutes by bus from the bus terminal, the Cheju Folk Museum has a good collection of folk art and antiques pertaining to the traditional lifestyle of the locals. Among the exhibits are native `scuba’ gear, ancient farm implements, rainwear, grinding stones, and other interesting articles- not classic art but definitely a good insight into the lives of the islanders. The museum sits amidst a garden, in which stands a typical Cheju dwelling- a thatched roof house made of tangerine trees. It’s worth a visit if you’re at all keen on learning about the traditional lifestyles of the natives (much of which has almost completely disappeared).

Standing virtually in the centre of Cheju City, the Folklore and Natural History Museum has a collection of over 3000 exhibits ranging from local handicrafts to marine specimens. If you’ve got children along with you, this is a great place to bring them along for a bit of education. There are stuffed stingrays, bone sharks and whale sharks, along with specimens of marine vegetation, insects and animals, all of them indigenous. Also exhibited are local antiques and items of daily use. The museum is located about half a kilometre from the KAL hotel in Cheju City, and opens daily from 9 to 6 (7 in the summers), other than on major public holidays.

A short distance from Cheju City is Kwanumsa, much frequented by devout Buddhists as it houses the main Buddhist shrine on the island. It is also a good place to visit if you’re keen on natural beauty- the surrounding hills have some of the loveliest gorges to be seen on the island.

The Buddhist temple, Kwanumsa is the main temple on the island of Cheju. It’s the head temple of the 23rd Archdiocese of the Chokye denomination, and lies quite a way out of Cheju City. The temple was founded in 1908 by a nun called An Pong, and was rebuilt in 1946.  

Eight kilometres out of Cheju City lies Sanchondan, on the cross road to Sogwipo City. The place has a certain historical and religious significance, as this was the site of an annual ceremony performed by the governor of the island. The ceremony, called the `rites-to-god’ ceremony, was traditionally performed at Mt Halla, except during bad weather when the venue would be shifted to Sanchondan. Today, the place is mostly known for its ancient bear pines also called black pines or sea pines- black barked trees with white seeds. There are eight 600-year old Bear pines in Sanchondan, each about 20 mt high, and monuments in themselves (literally; the government has designated them Natural Monument no. 160).

 Cheju Island’s main attraction, one that is revered by the locals, is Mt Halla, which was designated a National Park in 1970. It offers some of the best views on the island and is worth a trek. Other than this, the island has a number of excellent beaches, great for swimming, snorkelling, surfing, sailing and scuba diving. Among these are Sinyang Beach, Hamdok Beach, Hamo Beach and Chungmun Beach. 

If you’re keen on trekking and exploring the countryside, you should definitely try to fit in a visit to the caves, caverns and lava tubes scattered around the island- there are about 60 lava tubes, of which the longest ones are Manjang and Pillemott.