Jeju Island – a meeting with Olle Route 17

The first place I stayed at on Jeju Island was right in front of Dodo Marina. I ended up having to move and in a way, I missed the marina, although the view I got from the 15^th floor of the building I moved to close to the center of Jeju City showed me up close it seemed, albeit far, Mount Halla and wonderful sunsets before I moved to Seogwipo. Dodo Marina also showed some amazing sunsets and sunrises with fog covering the sea, pouring rain over the water stretching as far as the eye could see and… Olle Route 17.

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I actually had no idea I was right in the heart of this route when I chose the accommodation, but to my surprise, it passed right in front of the entrance, since Dodo Marina is one of the points that offers a great view, together with the small hill nearby and the Buddhist Temple that is on the trail taking you further to the Rainbow Road, a very well-known spot for photographs which was almost always busy with people taking pictures, less so when it rained, although it was so very beautiful even then. There are so many cafes in front of the Rainbow Road for as far as it stretches and along the whole route 17 that for sure one can sit at a nice café, grab a drink get something to eat since there are also many restaurants and watch the rain come down. Since I was there in summer, it rained quite often and it was pretty hot and humid.

The first time I went on Olle Route 17 I started from my accommodation, I didn’t start from its beginning point. I walked the first half on the same day I walked route 16 and stopped home for I was too tired to walk the whole of route 17 as well.

It was very hot the day I first stepped foot, like officially and not for a walk around my place or to the supermarket, on route 17. And as the case may be, I took my camera, but forgot my phone and I only had the macro lens on my camera. I was kind of stressed not to lose my way since I had no phone to help guide me back, but the route is very well marked. I actually decided not to go all the way until the end and go back home as it was towards the evening and truth be told, I had gotten quite hungry.

I think it was quite an inspired idea to walk that day starting from my accommodation on route 17 since it was sunny and I could see the sights through the lens of the sun, especially that there is a point from which you can see airplanes coming in to land at Jeju Airport that is kind of close by and I had the chance to catch quite some good shots due to the fact that the sky was clear, as the second time I went on the route to finish it and get all my stamps on my Olle Passport, it rained and the sky was grey. The first time, I walked alone, the second time, for some part of the route, I walked with two people, mother and son that were so nice, funny and spoke such good English, fed me, gave me gifts (besides their wonderful presence) that they will forever be imprinted in my memories of Jeju! It was also nice to admire with them the Dragon Head Rock instead of alone, as I did the first time, along with a super nice visit to Gwandeokjeong Hall, the oldest existing building on Jeju Island, designated as Treasure 322 that I absolutely loved, where we took great photos and played Korean traditional games (turns out I’m pretty good at throwing arrows… had no idea). It’s a must visit for sure, don’t just pass it by on your way to getting the end stamp on your Olle Passport!

I have to admit that the first time I walked route 17 from my accommodation, I stopped at one of the stores I afterwards went often to, kind of like a heaven for me from where I bought most of the presents to bring home to family and friends and I stayed in that store for quite some time to explore the floors and maybe that’s one reason why hunger caught up with me. Ha, ha…

So I don’t forget later on, after you finish this route, you might want to make a stop at the traditional market nearby, the food there is super good and you can buy fresh fruit, vegetables, fish and other stuff for cooking at home or buy souvenirs. It’s also close to the underground market, so I would advise to check it out.

And… ta daaaam, maybe you saw these horse lighthouses in Korean dramas and shows, one red and one white, right along route 17 at Iho Tewoo Beach, quite a crowded place, but super nice to pass by and even stop for some time just to be. I went there a few times on my walks since it wasn’t that far from my accommodation as I was exploring the surroundings in the days when I couldn’t walk the Olle Routes before moving from Dodo Marina. There are photo spots and you can sit on the stairs leading to the sea right before the lighthouses.

I have to say, there were so many first happenings for me while living in Jeju, but one of the memories that will remain as fuzzy for my soul is the sound of raindrops on my umbrella. Since it was warm even though it rained, I chose not to put my rain jacket on and instead take out the umbrella. Even though the rain jacket might seem like a more comfortable choice instead of holding an umbrella, to me, it had a certain charm and I loved it! I loved walking the wet streets as much as I loved walking when they were dry. Each view with its beauty, as you can see in the photos.

There are so many stories to be told about just one route, it’s incredible since you don’t know where to look first, especially for a foreigner, I think, as everything was new to me, being for the first time in Korea!

I absolutely loved Yongyeon Pond-Bridge! The view was spectacular, I didn’t know where to look first, as it seemed like a mix of a gorge and mountain cliffs, with boats, beautiful trees and a wooden pavilion just right for photos and taking shelter from the summer heat! Many people stopped to take photos there and on the bridge and I’m lucky I also went when it was sunny.

Since I’m going down memory lane, I can’t possibly forget to mention the Street of Memories right near Dodu Marina, a place full of paintings and statues of past dances, games, pieces of history and the feelings imprinted there by the souls of the people passing by with their spirit while in human form. Now, children, adults, cats and dogs alike reside there, playing, chatting, having a siesta while maybe, thinking of time, everything that was, everything that is and everything that still could be.

I would write novels about Olle Route 17 alone, but I’m afraid not to bore you and promise to also write about the other routes I walked on, making up Jeju Island, making up pieces of memories that now reside in my soul.

Some technical info:

• the total distance of route 17 is of 18.1 km
• it takes about 6 to 7 hours, depending on how you walk and the stops you make and the difficulty level is set as medium since it’s a relatively flat route
• the starting point is Gwangnyeong 1-ri Office and the finish point is Ganse Lounge X Gwan Deok Jeong BUNSIK (Jeju Olle Trail Information Center) and you can get to these points to start walking the route by bus as they are easily found on the navigation map (I used Naver Maps, very good and accurate guidance), or if you know Korean, you can also use the Olle app – Olle Pass that also records your progress and gives you lots of useful information.

Happy walking! See you on the Olle Trails!

When I was human 30

I was once human

I was once part of this earth

Breathing, walking, living

Just like everyone else.

A time came when I left

Bodies, stories, memories, lives

Behind

And went somewhere far away

From the mind of humans,

From the earth itself

Becoming nothing

Becoming everything

Becoming something

And then nothing again.

I was once human,

I dreamt of being a god

Of nothingness,

But then I would still be something

So I gave it up

While I was once human

I gave everything up

When I was nothing

I dreamt of nothing

I didn’t know I was

I knew I could be

Something

When I was human.

Jeju Island’s Olle Trails – walking in South Korea

Jeju Island in South Korea is mostly known as a beautiful resort, full of volcanic beaches, white and black fine sands, emerald clear waters, and of course, Mount Halla, the highest mountain in South Korea, standing at 1,947 meters, actually an extinct volcano, surrounded by 366 smaller volcanoes or oreum, in Korean, scattered all over the island. Thinking about it, the island isn’t that big at 1,833.2 km², but to me, it seemed very big while living there for a month and a week this summer. There are a great number of tourist attractions on Jeju Island, everyone can take their pick, for all tastes, from museums to theme parks, from fancy cafés to black pork barbeque restaurants, from art galleries to hiking trails.

Cheonjeyeon Waterfalls

I’m a walker, a lover of hiking since little, so Jeju Island meant I could meet the sea as well as the mountains in a perfect combination for the summer, even though summer means monsoon season in Korea, high temperatures and humidity, but that’s when I could go, so that’s when I went. When I first found out about the Olle Trails, I didn’t immediately think – “Oh, I’m going to walk the trails!”, but put it on my to-do list alongside numerous other activities I was planning for Jeju. When I got there though and started walking on the trails, I couldn’t stop, although the weather didn’t allow me to walk daily and then, I have an old fracture on my left foot that needs a break after walking two days in a row.

Near Jeongbang Waterfall

The Olle Trails aren’t that known to foreigners, I think, as much as they are known to Koreans, of course, and many go to Jeju Island especially to only walk on the trails that surround the whole island, like on a sort of pilgrimage, making me think of Europe’s Camino de Santiago, which is actually the road that inspired the founder of the Olle Trails to establish her own route on the island, her place of birth, after making the pilgrimage herself on the Camino.

While walking the Olle Trails, I started feeling that this is the best way to know the island, from noticing how local life takes place to marveling at the natural beauty, to learning about farming and how the waves and the sea aren’t the same in different parts of the island. The Olle Trails took my breath away, stretching on and on, along 27 routes, summing up 437 km.

Seongsan Ilchulbong

I know not everyone has a month to dedicate to walking the trails, or that maybe, one would want to visit more of the island, like theme parks or sit in a nice café and enjoy the view of the sea, especially foreigners who go to South Korea on vacation as it’s usually a holiday of only two weeks away from work, and I think Koreans are lucky in this regard since they can go back to the trails anytime they are free to dedicate themselves to walking, as Jeju is only an hour away by airplane from the mainland, and flights are as often as 30 minutes apart from each other. I couldn’t believe how often the flights were, but in the end, they’re almost all fully booked, with Jeju having an international airport, meaning people from all over the world fly in. To my surprise, I didn’t meet as many foreign tourists as I would have thought, most of them were from China and then, other parts of Asia, less from the West.

The blue and orange ribbons indicating the Olle Trails

Jeju has many hotels and various rooms to rent, alongside guesthouses and resorts inside the main resort itself – the island, with many golf courses near big hotels. I noticed Koreans are very passionate about golf, maybe also due to their worldwide known Korean gold players.

As I said, summer in Korea is very hot and humid, meaning you sweat like mad, continuously if you’re used to European climate, like me, which is also hot, but dry. I wasn’t planning on wearing full gear while walking or hiking, but that’s exactly what I ended up doing. The sun is so strong, it can burn your skin easily if you’re not careful and most locals I saw on the island and walkers on the Olle Trails, were fully covered, with hiking shoes or sturdy sports shoes since the trails carry you from fields to rocky beaches to hills that are actually those small extinct volcanoes, those oreums.

View from the top of an oreum in Gyorae Natural Recreation Forest. In the distance you can see Mount Halla.

As a tourist, and especially a foreigner, you wouldn’t think to go to most of the places the trails take you on, places known only to locals. The trails are marked with orange and blue ribbons and arrows and there is even an app that guides and gives you information with maps and such. You can purchase an Olle Passport and stamp your way around the island. There is the beginning stamp point at the start of each course, the middle and the end one. If you walk all the trails and have your stamps, you can get a certificate as an Olle Trails finisher, which I actually find pretty awesome, as I loved stamping my way around. The road is also indicated with metal horses, with the name of Ganse, which is the name for Jeju’s pony (meaning “slow idler” – “Ganse-dari”) and the stamp points are also horses in which you find the stamp and ink. I was always happy to see them! Some of the metal horses indicating the way also have short stories about the road ahead or the area you find yourself in.

I cannot begin to say how many times the trails have made me go “WOW!” since I lost count! The trails follow the history of the island and its inhabitants, the most notable events that happened in its history and the main attractions, so after walking the trails, you can decide if you want to visit those attractions separately or not, for you might want to stay more at a certain attraction and time doesn’t allow you while walking, since some trails are almost 19-20 km long. For example, I went separately to the Buddhist Temple Yakcheonsa, found on Olle Trail no. 8 as I wanted to take my time and meditate there.

Yakcheonsa Temple

While the trails themselves are breathtaking and some take you on paths you might not have thought of taking otherwise, like between portions of beaches found after the tide retreats, coming out from a portion of a small forest, taking you by surprise with their raw beauty, the people you meet on the trails, walkers like yourself, are special. Just like the founder of the trails, Suh Myung-sook told me, “those who walk are special”. Just like I always thought, albeit subjectively, that hikers are a special kind of people, open and warm when you meet them on trails or at night, at the mountain chalet and it’s like you have known each other forever. Those who walk the Olle Trails are just as open and warm, no matter if you’re Korean or foreigner. The Koreans I met while walking were happy to hear me say “Annyeonghaseyo” (“안녕하세요” / “Hello”) in Korean and get along with the little Korean I know, helped by their knowledge of English and the translator app. They felt like feeding me, giving me gifts, telling me about Korea, about their travels through Europe, their families, we took photos together and had fun while walking the trails! With some of them I still keep in touch, so yes, the people who walk the Olle are truly special.

Olle Trail 5

I was very surprised to find that people of all ages walk the trails, and as they say in French, chapeau and great admiration and respect for the ones who are in their 70’s, not to mention in their 90’s for walking the trails, as some of them were quite challenging to me, a 40 year-old, during Korean summer. They encouraged me, told me jokes to take the tiredness away and warmly smiled as I was going in one direction and they in another, after meeting each other at the shade of a wooden pavilion.

Olle Trail 16

As a graduate of tourist and commercial management, I totally appreciate the fact that the trails boosted the island’s economy, as more people came in especially to walk on the Olle, meaning rise in transportation income, from buses to taxis, restaurants, traditional markets, guesthouses, cafés, various shops, including the Olle Trails souvenir shops, which also meant creating jobs to cover the Olle Foundation and the making of maps, books, souvenirs and other such things. I very much appreciate Koreans’ abilities when it comes to marketing, I think they could market absolutely anything and do a very good job at it.

The best seasons to visit would be spring and autumn, I would say, as the weather is milder and it isn’t as hot or as rainy as in summer, although to be honest, I would love to walk the trails in all seasons just to see them change. I would need to live there for a year… at least.

Olle Trail 17

Walking the trails also means getting a glimpse of the daily lives of the islanders and also, there are a few trails covering small islands near Jeju that fall under its administration, so you have the chance to take the ferry and increase your experience of what South Korea’s islands are about!

Getting around Jeju is very easy with the bus system, you just have to be careful at the schedule since some buses come rarely, like 30 or more minutes apart. I walked the trails going from my accommodation and didn’t necessarily walk them in order, I started with course 16, and then, went back home, but there are some walkers who start with course 1 and walk in order, staying at guesthouses or hotels for the night, carrying their backpacks with everything they need for whatever time they choose to spend on the trails. Then, you have small marts and restaurants on many of the courses, so you don’t have to carry too much water or food to weigh you down, although on some trails, marts and restaurants are rare, so it’s good to study the trail before you start walking to make sure you don’t run out of water or food. You can do this on the Olle Foundation website or get the book with all the trails and what you need to know, although if you’re a foreigner, there aren’t that many in English, so maybe learn a little Korean before you go? (ha ha) I have to say that knowing some Korean and being able to read the alphabet was definitely useful for me and just like in any other country, when you speak the language, even if just a little, people open up more since you can get along and you find out things, experience and receive way more than if you only knew English, although of course, you can get around just with it and a translating app.

Olle Trail 7

On a lot of trails, for long periods of time, I didn’t meet anyone, I was by myself, dressed from head to toe and sometimes with the rain umbrella, to shelter myself even more from the sun, and walking started being my meditation. I didn’t get the chance to walk on all the trails, only on half, so I will definitely go back for the rest! These trails just call out to the soul, an oasis for you to simply be, filling your being with the beauty the earth created, feeling small in front of creation and all that amazing geology, feeling happy and grateful the trails exist and you get the chance to walk on them, meeting people who will stay in your memory forever and the views that imprint themselves not only in your brain, but in your soul as well.

I’ll meet you on the Olle Trails!

Olle Trail 17

For more images and videos, check out my “Korea Travels” playlist on YouTube:

When I was human 29

To go up high

You first have to descend into hell

To fly above the mountains tops

You first have to plunge into caves

To know thyself

To then forget yourself

To then remember your image

Reflected back at you

From a place between the stars

From a place between the grass blades

From a place between the rivers

Meeting to form an ocean

Of knowing who you are

Who you were

Who you will be.

When I was human 28

I was in a garden

Of my own making,

I wasn’t in the story

Of Adam and Eve

Although I might just as well

Have been,

You might just as well

Have been;

We don’t know

What was first,

The chicken or the egg,

Maybe neither;

Then how did we appear,

From what, from where?

I have no idea,

Nor do I need to know

To peacefully sit in my garden

I only need to be

Me,

No one else,

Cannot be someone else,

Don’t want to be either;

My garden smells of roses,

Of jasmine and some tea

Brewed on the wooden benches

Of old trees

Telling stories

Of what used to be

What is

And what will be

In the garden of dreams

I still live.

When I was human 27

In a world of ants,

I was just another ant

Working its way through

Life

Lived as a human,

From a slightly higher perspective

Then when I was an ant

In I don’t remember what life;

I work just as much, or maybe,

Even more

Then when I was building communities

With my fellow ants;

Now, we all still work,

But separately, although

The impression is of one soul

That holds on to something ancient

Like a calling to go home;

But home is neither here,

Nor there,

It could be everywhere,

It could be nowhere

The world is the same

Be it for the ant

Or for the human

Soul.

When I was human 26

I was flying,
I was anchored to the earth
Learning how to walk
In a world of clouds and jungle,
Summer came
Just like any other year,
Unknowingly silent,
Yet loud for the ears
Of insects
Passing by
Near the sea,
Near a temple
In which I got lost
Trying to find myself
Anew
In a year that wasn’t
Bad or good,
It was just lived,
Saying goodbye
Saying hello
To the versions of me
I was
I could be,
I wasn’t particularly happy,
I wasn’t particularly sad either,
I was simply flying with the Gods.

When I was human 25

Days in red

Going slowly

Through life

As the wind passes by

Announcing rain, or maybe just summer

Buzzing through the grass

Insects abound

In a world of noise and silence,

In the cityscape they fall

And rise

With the seasons’ passing;

I am born

I live

I die

In an infinite cycle

Of being me, yet still different

From life to life

I jump

In an attempt

To grab a consciousness

That seemingly, I am.

When I was human 24

Dreaming of smiling

In a world that wasn’t smiling back

Amongst people in a hurry

To get here and there,

In the end, nowhere,

For there is no end in sight

For those who have forgotten

To dream

To dare

To be;

Not to pretend at life,

Not to play a play

That was outdated

On the scenes of the world,

We all wear masks

That are painfully stuck

To our being

Until we reach out

And dream

Of a better beginning

At being aware

That life

Is

A gift from the heavens

That is to be lived

Authentically.

When I was human 23

While I wasn’t looking

A world of pink opened up

While pink was just a color

Amongst other colors

Dotting the earth,

It was the brightest color for me

As I was climbing an inner mountain

Of knowing the road

Little by little,

Letting go of control,

Of views

Of perceptions

Of ideas,

I was building a world

In which pink was ruling

Over all the other colors,

Not because it was more special than the others,

But because it was special to me,

Someone dear once told me

“You will, from now on, start wearing pink,

Leaving the black aside,

Even though black

Contains all the other colors,

So you contain everything

No matter what you wear,

No matter where you go,

So pink shall you be”

Even though, of course,

The story wasn’t really about pink.