The island of Jeju juts up abruptly off the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula. Stretching from east to west like a yam with Mt. Halla soaring majestically from its center, the island looks from a distance like an open parasol. Halla is the second tallest mountain in Korea, after Mt. Baekdu to the north. A long-dormant volcano, Halla seems like a single mass of basalt forming an entire island. With the mountain standing so high above the sea, one can only imagine how high it must actually be from the ocean floor.
The Jeju Folklore and Natural History Museum in Jeju, the island’s largest city, features an exhibit of the chemically preserved bones of a red bear. Discovered in Billemot Cave in Aewol in Township, the site of the earliest known settlers of this island, the bones of the animal (which is known to inhabit only northern polar regions) strongly suggest that the island was once part of the mainland. The volcano that became Mt. Halla likely erupted between the third and fourth ice age, causing the area adjoining the mainland to sink into the sea while the remaining areas became elevated.
Due to this volcanic activity, Jeju has numerous rock and natural caves. Manjang is a lava cave in Gimnyeong, a village in Gujwa Township about 30 minutes east of Jeju City. It is 6.8 kilometers in length, making it the world’s largest lava tube. About 13 meters high and 15 meters wide, this magnificent cave is actually a tunnel that was formed by lava flowing from Mt. Halla. A number of bizarrely distorted stalagmites indicate that the cave is still evolving. The Gimnyeong cave is tied to the legend of Magistrate Seo Ryeon who valiantly battled and killed a giant serpent that lived in the cave and harassed the local villagers. On the ceiling of the cave, one can still see marks resembling the scales of a serpent.
The Manjang and Gimnyeong caves are on the eastern side of the island. Along the island’s western side is another cluster of caves that includes Hyeopjae and Ssangyong. The entire area around these two caves is open to tourists. In addition to these, the island includes a large number of subterranean caves that are not open to the public, including the previously mentioned Billemot. These caves, and their surrounding areas, are protected as Natural Monument No. 236.
Entrance to Manjang Cave, designated a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site in 2007 and recognized as a UNESCO Geopark
Lava column, Manjang Cave
Map of Lava Tube
DEFINED BY NATURE
Jeju Island has always been defined by nature. An ecological wonder in the comprehensiveness of its geologic features, a place in which humans and nature have co-existed harmoniously for millennia, a temperate island with flora and fauna from both polar and subtropical regions, a finalist in the global New 7 Wonders of Nature campaign, and a site that has now been given more nature-related UNESCO designations than any other on earth, Jeju is nothing if not rich in natural capital.
Jeju’s inhabitants have also historically struggled with nature and the elements to maintain their existence. The indigenous people of this island culture combined hunter-gatherer and agrarian ways, developing multiple methods for harnessing the natural features of the island and for coping with the hardships of its climate and geography. Created by volcanic eruption, the island is over 90% basalt which rendered efforts at agriculture nearly impossible. With strong winds owing to its location at sea and multiple seasonal typhoons, plus perpetual drought conditions from living atop porous rock with no means of accessing the aquifers below, life on this island has been challenging to say the least.
Jeju Island was formed from basalt due to volcanic eruptions. As a result, its ground does not hold water well. In the past, the people of Jeju suffered from constant water shortages.
Nevertheless, the people of what is now known as Jeju did not simply prevail; they became ingenious in their efforts to develop the best possible ways to cope with what was considered a harsh environment. What’s more, as with all animistic early peoples, they looked to nature for spiritual sustenance and developed a multitude of myths and legends with which they comforted themselves in their difficulties.
Jeju artists of the past and present, have repeatedly focused on the island’s landscape and elements as a defining force of the people themselves, and their gods.
The first UNESCO designation given to this island, typically identified as “bioreserve,” is part of the “Man and the Biosphere Programme.” This is to say, it specifically recognizes the harmony between members of a longstanding human civilization and the ecological system in which they reside. The second designation, World Natural Heritage, identifies a natural site or structure as particularly significant to the “common heritage of humanity”—once again linking the two.
Of course, humans are not separate from their biosphere; we are one element of it, however distanced we may feel ourselves to be. This interrelatedness—indeed, interdependence—among species in a closed ecological system is something which indigenous peoples inherently understand, and the early people of Jeju were no exception. They found creative ways of living in oneness with the natural world, no matter how much hardship it brought them. This is evidenced by their many inventive agricultural and marine practices, building methods, means for clothing themselves, and other subsistence techniques. They also practiced stewardship, using only what they needed and replacing it as they did so. Like indigenous peoples everywhere, they lived a form of deep ecology that modern civilizations have long forgotten and are now struggling to recreate.
Farmland swept away by heavy rains
Stony ground and a lack of water have made hard workers of the people of Jeju. They built walls from the stone and cleared and cultivated the land.
A green tea field
Rape is sometimes grown and eaten as a vegetable. It has now become the flower that represents spring on Jeju Island.
The people of Jeju have always lived, both literally and metaphorically, in the shadow of Mt. Halla. It is their progenitor—both in the volcanic activity that created this island and in the mythology of a giant grandmother goddess called Seolmundae, the personification of the central mountain so sacred to the people of Jeju.
“Jeju’s nature is feminine,” says Jeju Olle founder and chairperson Suh Myung Sook, a sentiment echoed by many—and manifested daily by the famed diving women, who represent an innate form of eco-feminism.
FORGED BY FIRE, TURNED TO STONE
“Jeju is Halla, and Halla is Jeju.” A longstanding saying among the island’s people, this perfectly expresses their relationship with its central figure.
There is perhaps no more dramatic creator than an erupting volcano. As fire and ash spews from above and torrents of burning lava from below quickly turn to stone, all with great energy and force, the resulting topography is inevitably exaggerated.
Jeju’s natural wonders are a stunning example. With eruptions beginning as early as 2 million years ago, it was a final major explosion that took place between 400,000 and 700,000 years ago that formed the Jeju Island we see today.
The originating force at the center of it all is Mt. Halla, a shield volcano whose slopes represent a temperate climate and ecosystem all its own. From base to peak, the distinct flora zones of this 1,950m structure are: coastal, subtropical, meadow, broadleaf tree, coniferous, shrub, alpine, and finally the peak with a crater that houses a crystal-clear lake and is home to many more species of flora and fauna. Both polar and subtropical species are found in this mountain ecosystem.
Baengnokdam, a lake at the summit of Mt. Halla. Mt. Halla is the highest mountain not only on Jeju but anywhere in the Republic of Korea.
Jeju Plant Distribution by Altitude
Parallel to Mt. Halla are the oreum—nearly 400 of them. These smaller mountains, most of them merely hills, are the most distinctive characteristic of the island and represent the largest cluster, or colony, of secondary volcanic cones anywhere in the world. Although they are all called oreum by Jeju’s people, there are cinder and scoria cones, lava domes, and more than 20 tuff cones and rings among those by the sea.
In addition to the crater atop Halla, with its magnificent lake Baengnokdam, Jeju is home to several other distinguished craters, providing further evidence of the island’s volcanic origins. Indeed, most of the oreum are topped with craters. Notable examples are the one that tops Seongsan Ilchulbong, another of Jeju’s UNESCO-designated sites; one at the peak of Abu Oreum, with a semicircle of trees and a population of horses; and Sangumburi, a crater found not on a cone but at ground level.
Oreum
Volcanic Jeju also has caves and lava tubes dotting the island. There are more than 120 of the latter, though only a few are open to the public. The lava tube at Manjang Cave in Geomun Oreum, designated by UNESCO as a World Natural Heritage and Geopark site, is the largest of its kind in the world. In actuality, Geomun Oreum houses nine caves and an entire lava tube system, thought to be between 100,000 and 300,000 years old.
Several outlying islands and numerous islets surround Jeju, another result of the volcanic eruptions.
The beaches along Jeju’s coast are a myriad of colors—some white, others gray, still others black, pink, and beige, with the water changing color from site to site as well. Along the beaches are such spectacular volcanic delights as Seongsan Ilchulbong, the Seogwipo Formation, the Daepo Jusangjeolli (Columnar Joints), Oedolgae Rock, the Yongmeori Cliffs, Mt. Songak, and Suwolbong. The basalt that makes up the vast majority of this island including these stunning formations, has nevertheless been a great source of difficulty. Its soil is too rocky for farming, and it is poor at retaing groundwater due to its porous nature and deep aquifers. On it grows an ancient rainforest (known locally as gotjawal) that covers more than 12% of the island.
The summit of Seongsan Ilchulbong, measuring 182 meters high
Geomun Oreum, a designated UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site
COASTAL ROADS
The Coastal Roads provide a good way of enjoying Jeju’s spectacular volcanic delights.
Circumscribing the island is Ring Road, also called Ocean Road, Coast or Coastal Road, and Shore Road—and known officially as Route 12. Drivers would do well to watch for the road signs, as the course makes some unexpected turns. Traversing the shoreline much of the time, this route affords drivers some stunning scenery of the sea, harbors, and seaside villages, as well as many of the natural wonders of Jeju.
Beginning in the east at Yongduam (Dragon Head) Rock and extending several kilometers to the west, the capital city’s Coastal Road is dotted with restaurants, cafés, and pensions. Seaside dining, with outdoor plastic tables and chairs at the water’s edge in summertime and food at reasonable prices, can be found at the east end of this stretch in Yongdam-dong. As one drives further west, the restaurants become more decidedly upscale, and small pensions offer accommodations with breathtaking views of the sea.
A popular option among visitors is to rent a car and drive this road, which can be accomplished in a single day—although it is more enjoyable if you allow time to make many stops along the way. Traveling by bicycle or scooter is also popular, although as a matter of precaution, one is advised to keep in mind that car drivers are more often looking at the sights than the road.
The route can also traveled by bus: the East Belt Line and West Belt Line buses each cover half of the Ring Road, traversing between Jeju City and Seogwipo along the coast of the eastern and western halves of the island, respectively.
Gotjawal: THE LUNGS OF JEJU
In the native language of Jeju, the word gotjawal simply refers to any forest that grows out of rocky terrain and presents a virtually impassible mixture of trees and undergrowth. There are several such areas on the island, mostly on the middle slopes of Mt. Halla, with two each in the extreme eastern and western regions. Collectively, they cover 224km2, or 55,000 acres (22,258 hectares). The gotjawal are referred to as the “lungs of Jeju.” Indeed, it is well recognized that they are essential to the carbon cycle, or the oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange necessary for an ecosystem.
Additionally, this forested land is critical for Jeju’s groundwater supply system. Helping to capture rainwater in its canopy, the forest redirects the fresh water, which is then filtered through extensive layers of porous volcanic rock until it reaches the aquifers deep below the island’s surface. This is a structure vital to not only the collection but also the purification and replenishment of the groundwater into a particularly pure mineral water. This forested land is also crucial for flood control and seasonal water retention or downstream conservation. Furthermore, it contributes to an underground spring system for Jeju’s surface wetlands.
Map of Jeju’s Gotjawal
A. Hangyeong-Andeok Area
B. Aewol Area
C. Jocheon-Hamdeok Area
D. Gujwa-Seongsan Area
One unique characteristic of these forests is the shallow root system of the trees, which owes itself to the rocky base on which they sit. Age and storm can easily topple a tree, leaving it lying on the forest floor. But because of the moist nature of rainforests, the roots of the fallen trees receive enough moisture to remain alive. The tree continues to leaf and bloom, its roots wrapped around rocks.
As the gotjawal is, by definition, virtually inaccessible to humans, it remains a biosphere that is species-rich and pristine. The people of Jeju have a close, historically anthropomorphic relationship with these forested regions, much as they do with Mt. Halla, the many oreum, and other natural structures on the island, and numerous myths and legends center around them. They are a feature of ecological, historical, and cultural significance. They are also threatened now by development, leading to a number of governmental and civic efforts to preserve them.
Gotjawal, the lungs of Jeju
RELATIONSHIP WITH WATER
As an island, Jeju is naturally surrounded by the sea. In addition, the gotjawal rainforest system contributes to the vast aquifer on which this island rests, as well an underground system of springs. There are several wetland regions, three of which are listed with the Ramsar Convention as being “of international importance.” Jeju also has several significant waterfalls, which, like so many of the natural structures and phenomena of this island, have inspired myths and legends. A rainy season and multiple typhoons bombard the island with water.
Most of Jeju’s people have always gleaned their livelihood from the sea, most notably the fishermen and diving women—indeed, all inhabitants of coastal villages have partaken in the seaside harvest of anchovies and other trapped sea creatures. While the diving women in particular made a decent living, the frequent typhoons and other storms all too often brought suffering and death. Fresh water has always been lacking at the surface due to the island’s porous rock and the inability, until recently, to reach the deep aquifers—or even to know that they existed. Springs are found in a few areas, but they are relatively rare. Crater lakes are also few in number, while sources of fresh water were difficult to attain with any regularity. Dry farming was the norm; rice farming, which required wet cultivation, was considered secondary in the region, and both digging and collecting from communal wells depended upon collective effort and inspired labor songs.
The relationship between Jeju’s people and its water has always been as significant as these with stone and wind.
Spring on Geomun Oreum
Gaegasi Namu, a member of the genus Quercus (oak), in a gotjawal
In Jeju, the basalt rock makes water storage difficult. Wetlands are both important places of water storage and valuable wildlife havens.
A valley at Mt. Halla
FLORA AND FAUNA
Species of both flora and Fauna are extensively represented in a biosphere as rich as Jeju’s. According to one recent source, “Jeju Volcanic Island & Lava Tubes” (2009), there are 77 species of mammals, 198 of birds, eight of reptiles and another eight of amphibians, 893 of insects, and another 74 of arachnids. More than 2,000 species of vegetation have been identified in temperate, sub-tropical, and polar categories.
Indigenous species include the Jeju weasel (Mustela siberica quelpartis), blackheaded snake (Sibynophis chinensis), Jeju salamander (Hynobius quelpartensis), Jeju gold beetle (Chejuanomala quelparta), Abies koreana fir, the Sasa quelpartensis (a plant), and fairy pitta (Pitta branchyura, a type of bird), among many others.
In the coastal or seasonal tidal zone of the island, halophilic plants such as reeds and mallow abound, and migratory birds can include spoonbills, swans, and storks. The evergreen broadleaf forest that constitutes the next zone has two Cimbidium tree species, Cimbidium tree species, Ardisia japonica, and others; examples of birds include great tits and bush warblers. The grassland zone includes marshland with such plant species as Braseria schreberi and Marsilea quadrifolia as well as tiger keelback snakes and black-spotted pond frogs. The deciduous forest region houses such tree species as Prunus yedoensis and Carpinus laxiflora, as well as mammals like roe deer and badgers.
Next in order of elevation is the coniferous area, which includes trees such as Pinus densiflora as well as shrubs like the crowberry; birds of prey like the common buzzard and peregrine falcon make this region their home. The alpine shrub zone, bordering the crater of Mt. Halla and its lake, houses many small shrub species hardy enough to withstand lower temperatures and high winds. The Jeju salamander and Korean fire-bellied toad are found in the lake itself.
Marine life also abounds in the waters around Jeju Island, including 350 species of sedentary fish and countless migratory varieties. Marine algae and mollusks are likewise prolific. More than 150 species of shellfish and an equal number of crustacean species reside in Jeju’s coastal waters. Coral reef populations are found in abundance off of Jeju’s southern shore, and recently have been located north of the island as well; this is assumed to be an indication of climate change.
The fairy pitta (Pitta brachyura), designated Natural Monument No. 204
Buds on an Agave americana, known in Korean as yongseollan and in English as the century plant, as it flowers once every hundred years
The “Jeju weasel” (Mustela sibirica quelpartis), an endemic subspecies of Siberian weasel
The gusangjangmi beoseot (Bondarzewia montana), a species of fungus not yet recorded in Korea
Boksucho (Adonis amurensis) is also known as the “snow lotus” because of its resemblance to a lotus flower blooming in the snow.
The “Jeju badger”, an indigenous species
Jeju bibaribaem
MAN AND HIS HORSE
There are three types of horses on Jeju Island: the Jeju horse (also known as a pony), international racing thoroughbreds, and the Halla horse, which is a hybrid of the two. Today, these horses are not used for military purposes, transport, or field labor; instead, they are raised for racing, recreational riding, and food.
Although horses are believed to have existed on Jeju since prehistoric times, the first record of them on the island dates back to 1073, when the ruling Mongolian Yuan Dynasty of China established a ranch on what was then Tamna in order to breed warhorses. Jeju was home to ten large horse ranches during the Joseon era. During the reign of King Sejong in the 15th century, a 200-kilometer-long stone wall, called the “jatseong,” was built around Mt. Halla to prevent the horses from escaping. The consumption of malgogi (horse meat) was forbidden during that time in order to protect the horse population.
At Majodan (“Horse Ancestor Altar”), located near today’s KAL Hotel intersection in Jeju City, rituals were historically held to pray for the horses’ fecundity. A monument marks the original site atop a picturesque hill.
“Horse drivers” are experts trained in traditional animal husbandry techniques to raise and live in close proximity with horses. A children’s book called Majimak Taeuri (The Last Horse Driver), written by Bak Jaehyeong of the Jeju Office of Education, tells the story of 82-year-old Go Tae-u, who has spent his entire life with horses.
“In the old days,” Go recalls, “every family raised horses, so we took turns rounding them up and taking them to graze in the mountains, where the grass was good. Horse drivers were the professionals who did this, while everyone else simply looked after the horses when their turn came.” His call to the horses is like a spiritual melody that allows him to communicate with these animals.
After the advent of the automobile, horses lost their traditional function. In 1984, fewer than 1,000 purebred horses lived on Jeju Island, and in 1986 a few dozen horses of proper pedigree were designated as natural monuments.
Today, figures from the provincial government put the local horse population at 1,392 Jeju horses (200 of them purebreds with registered pedigree), 4,179 thoroughbreds, and 16,692 hybrid Halla horses, for a total of 22,223. These are raised by 1,157 farm households around the island, and 1,000 are slaughtered every year for consumption. Horse-racing is a popular Jeju sport.
Jeju’s unique horses can be seen in fields throughout the island, especially in the foothills of Mt. Halla as one drives between Jeju City and Seogwipo along 5.16 Road. Many places provide horseback riding to the public: in the Halla foothills, in the countryside, and along the coast.
Horses on Jeju can graze in the spring, summer, and autumn without supplementary feeding, but require feeding in winter.
The teuri kosa is a rite that takes place on the 15th day of the lunar month of July on Jeju Island. The teuri (“cowherds” in the Jeju dialect) who raise horses and cows go to the pastures and pray for the health and safety of their animals.
JEJU’S ECOLOGICAL FUTURE
Jeju’s ecosystem is extraordinarily well preserved. But modernization and the island’s dependency on tourism, as well as the development of large projects deemed critical for Jeju’s economic future, have recently been prompting concerns.
The struggle between ecological preservation and economic development is common among societies around the world. Jeju, in recognition of its natural assets and remembrance of its close historical relationship—kinship, even—with its environment, is taking many steps to strike a careful balance. Environmental education, including eco-tours and cultural tourism, is a focus of the island’s development. One example of this preservation can be found in endeavors like the government-sponsored “Gotjawal Trust.”
With UNESCO status comes responsibility: the need for education, careful eco-tourism, and environmental preservation in order to maintain such designations. Acquiring this recognition helps to preserve Jeju’s natural heritage.
Members of several environmental groups work to restore the habitat of sambaekcho (Saururus chinensis; sometimes known as Chinese lizardtail), an endangered species.
Jeju will also host the World Conservation Congress of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2012. In preparation for this event, the island’s international convention center is undergoing a massive renovation according to “green,” or environmentally sound, construction principles. A Jeju Nature School has recently been established for children, and an international effort is under way to develop a World Environment University on the island.
Additionally, experimentation with other ecologically beneficial practices is taking place on Jeju. At a Smart-Grid Testbed, research is currently being conducted in a number of related categories. There are also land-and sea-based wind farms for efficiency studies and, on outlying Gapado, a particularly ambitious long-term project through which the island’s inhabitants and researchers hope to convert the island to completely carbon emission-free status within 25 years. Nine farms on the tiny island have also eliminated the use of pesticides in a government-sponsored program for eco-friendly agriculture.
Jeju is determined to preserve its nature in the face of the challenges brought by modernization.
The Seonjakjiwat Korean fir forest, located at 1,650m above sea level (top), and the Yeongsil pine forest, located at 1,250m above sea level (bottom), have been chosen as sample areas by the Mt. Halla ecosystem department of a local environmental resource research institute for prediction and analysis of the effects of climate change on Mt. Halla’s ecosystem and development of an adaptation strategy.
Oreum: A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP
Oreum is the local word for the small mountains or peaks that arose to dot the island from beneath the earth following the eruptions of Mt. Halla. Officially, they are “secondary,” “lateral,” “satellite,” or “parasitic” volcanic cones of various types, including cinder and scoria cones, tuff cones and rings, and lava domes. There are 368 of them on Jeju, ranging in height from 100 to 700 meters.
“You can hike one each day of the year and have three left over,” a common saying among Jeju residents goes. Many express a kinship with these structures, and there are more in this cluster around a central volcano than at any other location in the world. They, along with Mt. Halla, serve to define the topography of the island.
The word oreum, suffixed to a cone’s name, is replaced by bong when the peak is at sea (e.g., Ilchulbong or Sarabong) and san to indicate a mountain (e.g., Hallasan or Sanbangsan)—although the distinction in the latter case is rather vague. The people of Jeju hike the oreum regularly, building shamanic shrines, temples, the conical stacked stone prayer structures known as bangsatap, and exercise equipment on a majority of them. Most of the oreum have craters, which are referred to locally as gumburi and, like many extraordinary features of nature on Jeju, are associated with the divine.
Each oreum has a name, many of them descriptive. One example is the famous, UNESCO-designated Seongsan Ilchulbong. With both san and bong suffixes, it translates into English as “Castle Mountain, Sunrise Peak” and is a tuff cone with a wide crater from which one can watch the sunrise across the sea. Every New Year’s Eve, there is a festival at this site, with thousands spending the frigid night atop the cone to observe the first seaside sunrise of the new year.
Another beloved oreum is nearby Yongnuni. With a name meaning “dragon’s eye,” this oreum is said to look like a dragon lying on its side. It was the favorite site of renowned photographer Kim Young Gap, who believed it to be one of the most beautiful settings on Jeju. He particularly loved how different it looked from every angle.
Sarabong, a seaside oreum located in Jeju City, provides a natural escape from the urban life below. It is the home of the Chilmeori dang, or shamanic shrine, where the annual Yeongdeung gut, or ritual, for the Goddess of Wind and Sea is held. It is also home to the Mochung Buddhist temple, on the grounds of which Kim Man-deok, Jeju’s most historic female icon, is buried and a small memorial hall is kept in her name. The oreum is famous for its view of the sunset over the water, which has earned its own special term: sabong nakjo.
Abu Oreum is another beloved peak, which is often photographed in the different seasons. It has a semicircle of evergreen trees in the middle of its crater and a population of horses. Suwolbong and Yongmeori Oreum, both seaside tuff rings similar to Seongsan Ilchulbong, are also favorites for their stunning beauty; Yongmeori, or “dragon’s head,” is especially remarkable for its unusual seaside cliffs and was designated as one of the island’s Geopark sites.
Mt. Sanbang is a giant lava dome and the oldest rock formation on Jeju Island. This bell-shaped mountain is also a Geopark site and can be seen from nearly every part of Jeju. It matches the size and shape of the crater on Mt. Halla; an ancient legend tells of an angry god who, in a fit of rage, plucked off the top of Halla and threw it to the southwest of the island, where it became Mt. Sanbang.
Geomun Oreum, a UNESCO-designated World Natural Heritage and Geopark site, is a unique structure of nine caves and a system of lava tubes, including Manjang Cave, which has the longest such tube in the world. “Geomun” has two meanings in Jeju dialect: “black” and “divine.” It bears an exceptionally large crater with nine peaks and a smaller cone in the center, called an Aroreum. It is referred to by locals as “the nine dragons playing with a Chintamani stone,” referring to a wish-granting stone of ancient India’s Hindu and Buddhist traditions, often depicted throughout Asia in the mouth of a dragon. Geomun Oreum also houses a 35m vertical lava tube, a gorge that gives the appearance of a valley, and a microclimate all its own. One of the four gotjawal rainforests occupies the same area as Geomun Oreum, which is a very complex oreum indeed.
To Jeju people, the oreum are members of their family. To visitors, they provide endless opportunities to experience Jeju’s nature in a direct and personal way.
