Things to do · Jeju · South Korea
18 best things to do in Jeju
18 sights and experiences ranked for a first visit, with honest notes on time, cost and crowds.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Korea.net / Korean Culture and Information Service, CC BY-SA 2.0
Quick answer
The essential sights in Jeju are Hallasan National Park, Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) and Manjanggul Lava Tube. Of the 18 picks below, 7 are free, 6 work on a rainy day and 7 suit children. Allow about 5 days to see the highlights without rushing.
Key facts
- Top sight
- Hallasan National Park
- Free sights
- 7
- Good on a rainy day
- Manjanggul Lava Tube
- Time to see the highlights
- 5 days
At a glance
| Sight | Area | Time needed | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hallasan National Park | Central Jeju | Full day (summit); 3–4 hours (Yeongsil) | Free |
| Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak) | Seongsan | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| Manjanggul Lava Tube | Gujwa | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliff | Jungmun | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Cheonjiyeon Waterfall | Seogwipo | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Jeongbang Waterfall | Seogwipo | 45 minutes | Low cost |
| Hyeopjae Beach | Hallim and Hyeopjae | Half a day | Free |
| Hamdeok Beach and Seoubong | Hamdeok and Gujwa | 2–3 hours | Free |
| Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market | Jeju City Old Town | 1–2 hours | Low cost |
| Jeju Stone Park | Jocheon | 2–3 hours | Low cost |
| Haenyeo Museum | Hamdeok and Gujwa | 1 hour | Low cost |
| Jeju 4.3 Peace Park | Jeju City | 1.5 hours | Free |
| Seongeup Folk Village | Pyoseon | 1 hour | Free |
| Hallim Park | Hallim and Hyeopjae | 1.5–2 hours | Mid-priced |
| Sanbangsan and Yongmeori Coast | Andeok | 1.5–2 hours | Low cost |
| O'sulloc Tea Museum and Seogwang tea fields | Andeok | 1 hour | Free |
| Bijarim Forest | Hamdeok and Gujwa | 1–1.5 hours | Low cost |
| Jeju Olle Trail Route 7 | Seogwipo | Half to full day | Free |
The 18 best things to do
Nature · Central Jeju
1.Hallasan National Park
South Korea's highest mountain is a dormant shield volcano whose summit crater holds the small Baengnokdam lake. Only two trails reach the top: Seongpanak (about 9.6 km one way, gentle but long) and Gwaneumsa (about 8.7 km, steeper and more scenic). The shorter Yeongsil and Eorimok trails climb to the Witse-oreum plateau at about 1,700 m, with royal azaleas in late spring and rime ice in winter.
If you are not fit for a 9-hour summit day, take the Yeongsil trail: about 3–4 hours return with the best rock-pinnacle views on the mountain.
- Time needed
- Full day (summit); 3–4 hours (Yeongsil)
- Cost
- Free
- Book ahead
- Summit hikes on the Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa trails have required a free advance online reservation in recent years; check the official national park site before you go.
- Iconic
- Outdoors
- Active
- Nature
- Views
- Free
Nature · Seongsan
2.Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak)
This tuff cone, formed by an underwater eruption about 5,000 years ago, rises roughly 180 m from the sea at Jeju's eastern tip. A stepped path climbs to the rim in 20–30 minutes, revealing a bowl-shaped crater about 600 m across. Haenyeo divers usually give demonstrations and sell fresh catch at the cove below the peak.
Climb for sunrise or in the late afternoon; tour buses fill the stairs from mid-morning to early afternoon.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Iconic
- Views
- Photo spot
- Active
- Outdoors
Nature · Gujwa
3.Manjanggul Lava Tube
Part of the UNESCO-listed Geomunoreum lava-tube system, Manjanggul runs for about 7.4 km underground, of which roughly 1 km is open to visitors. The walk ends at a lava column about 7.6 m tall, and the cave stays cool and damp all year, so it is a good escape from summer heat or rain.
Sections have closed for safety works in recent years, so check the official Jeju sites before driving out; bring a light jacket and grippy shoes for the wet floor.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- Rainy day
- Kids
Nature · Jungmun
4.Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliff
Lava cooling against the sea formed these tightly packed hexagonal basalt columns along about 2 km of coast west of Jungmun. A boardwalk and viewing decks look down on waves breaking over the columns, which can reach 20 m or more in height.
Come on a day with a swell running; the spray over the columns is far more dramatic than on a flat calm.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Photo spot
- Nature
Nature · Seogwipo
5.Cheonjiyeon Waterfall
A level path through a subtropical gorge leads in about ten minutes to a 22 m waterfall dropping into a deep green pool, a short walk from Seogwipo harbour. The gorge is lit in the evening, and the nearby footbridge to Saeseom islet makes an easy add-on.
Visit after dark when the path is lit and tour groups have gone, then walk to the Saeseom bridge for harbour lights.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- After dark
- Couples
- Kids
Nature · Seogwipo
6.Jeongbang Waterfall
Jeongbang is unusual because it falls about 23 m off a cliff directly onto a rocky shore and into the sea. Stairs lead down to the boulders at its base, where you can feel the spray and see the falls framed against the ocean.
Wear shoes with grip; the black boulders at the bottom are slippery, and the stairs are steep for small children.
- Time needed
- 45 minutes
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- Photo spot
- Outdoors
Beach · Hallim and Hyeopjae
7.Hyeopjae Beach
Jeju's best-known swimming beach has white sand mixed with crushed shell, a gently shelving emerald bay and the volcanic cone of Biyangdo island on the horizon. Neighbouring Geumneung Beach is quieter, and a pine grove behind the sand gives shade for picnics.
Stay for sunset, which drops behind Biyangdo; arrive before 10am in August to find parking.
- Time needed
- Half a day
- Cost
- Free
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Free
- Photo spot
- Views
Beach · Hamdeok and Gujwa
8.Hamdeok Beach and Seoubong
The closest good beach to Jeju City has a shallow turquoise lagoon framed by black lava rock and a wooden walkway. Behind it, the small Seoubong hill has a 20-minute walking loop with views back over the bay and fields of canola in spring.
Low tide exposes rock pools that children love; check the tide table and bring water shoes.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Free
- Kids
- Free
- Outdoors
- Views
Market · Jeju City Old Town
1.Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market
Jeju City's main traditional market sells hairtail, abalone, hallabong and dried seafood under covered lanes, and its night market section fills with stalls selling black-pork skewers, grilled abalone and tangerine drinks. It is the easiest place to try several island specialities in one stop.
Come after about 6pm for the night-market food stalls, and buy boxed hallabong here to take home rather than at the airport.
- Time needed
- 1–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Food
- After dark
- Shopping
- Rainy day
Museum · Jocheon
2.Jeju Stone Park
This large park explains Jeju's volcanic origins and stone culture through an underground museum, outdoor trails lined with hundreds of dol hareubang statues and grave guardians, and reconstructed thatched houses. Its exhibits tie the landscape to the creation myth of Grandmother Seolmundae.
Start in the indoor museum to understand the island's geology, then walk the outdoor circuit, which takes about an hour.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Kids
- Outdoors
Museum · Hamdeok and Gujwa
3.Haenyeo Museum
In the diving village of Hado-ri, this museum tells the story of Jeju's women free-divers through their cotton diving clothes, tools, boats and recorded songs. It explains the village co-operatives that still manage shellfish and seaweed grounds along the coast.
Pair it with lunch of abalone porridge at a haenyeo-run restaurant along the Hado or Jongdal coast.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Low cost
- History
- Rainy day
- Off the beaten path
Historic site · Jeju City
4.Jeju 4.3 Peace Park
This memorial park and museum on the eastern edge of Jeju City documents the Jeju 4·3 incident, the violence of 1947–1954 in which thousands of islanders were killed. Its sober exhibition hall, memorial walls of names and quiet grounds explain a chapter of history that shapes the island's identity.
Allow time for the exhibition hall, which is clearly laid out with English panels, and visit before rather than after a beach day.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Free
- History
- Free
- Rainy day
Historic site · Pyoseon
5.Seongeup Folk Village
Seongeup was a county seat during the Joseon era, and residents still live in its thatched houses behind black stone walls. You can wander the lanes, see the old town gate and centuries-old zelkova trees, and get a sense of rural Jeju before tourism.
Walk the lanes on your own; locals may invite you in to explain houses and then sell honey or omija syrup, which you are free to decline.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- History
- Architecture
- Free
Garden · Hallim and Hyeopjae
6.Hallim Park
Across the road from Hyeopjae Beach, Hallim Park combines themed gardens of palms, bonsai and seasonal flowers with two lava caves, Hyeopjaegul and Ssangyonggul, and a small folk village. Plum blossom in February and hydrangeas in June draw local visitors.
Combine it with Hyeopjae Beach on the same afternoon, and use the caves as a cool break on hot summer days.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Outdoors
- Nature
.jpg){kind=link}
Nature · Andeok
7.Sanbangsan and Yongmeori Coast
Sanbangsan is a bell-shaped lava dome about 395 m high, with the small Sanbanggul grotto temple cut into its flank and views over the south-west coast. Below it, the Yongmeori ('dragon head') coast path winds over layered sandstone cliffs shaped by millions of years of waves.
The Yongmeori path closes at high tide and in rough seas; check conditions at the ticket booth before buying.
- Time needed
- 1.5–2 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Views
- Nature
- Photo spot
- Outdoors
Museum · Andeok
8.O'sulloc Tea Museum and Seogwang tea fields
Korea's best-known tea brand runs a free museum and café beside its Seogwang green-tea plantation, where rows of tea bushes stretch towards Sanbangsan. Visitors come for the tea-field views, green-tea ice cream and roll cakes, and tea sets to take home.
Walk into the tea rows behind the museum for photos, then go early on weekends, when the café queue becomes long.
- Time needed
- 1 hour
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Food
- Rainy day
- Photo spot
Nature · Hamdeok and Gujwa
9.Bijarim Forest
More than 2,800 nutmeg-yew (bija) trees, many several hundred years old, grow in this protected forest near Gujwa. A flat loop trail of crunchy red volcanic scoria takes about an hour, under a dense canopy that stays shady even in August.
Bring insect repellent in summer, and keep to the marked trail; the scoria path is easy for children and older walkers.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Nature
- Outdoors
- Kids
- Off the beaten path
Experience · Seogwipo
10.Jeju Olle Trail Route 7
The Jeju Olle Trail is a network of numbered walking routes around the island, each marked with blue and orange ribbons and arrows. Route 7, west of Seogwipo, is among the most popular: about 17 km past Oedolgae sea stack, cliff paths and small coves, easily shortened to a half-day section.
Pick up the Olle passport and stamp it at checkpoints, and start early in summer when the coastal sections have little shade.
- Time needed
- Half to full day
- Cost
- Free
- Free
- Outdoors
- Active
- Views
Pick by interest
| Interest | Best picks |
|---|---|
| Art and museums | Jeju Stone Park, Haenyeo Museum and O'sulloc Tea Museum and Seogwang tea fields |
| History | Jeju Stone Park, Haenyeo Museum, Jeju 4.3 Peace Park and Seongeup Folk Village |
| Views | Hallasan National Park, Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak), Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliff and Hyeopjae Beach |
| Outdoors and nature | Hallasan National Park, Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak), Manjanggul Lava Tube and Daepo Jusangjeolli Cliff |
| Food and markets | Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market and O'sulloc Tea Museum and Seogwang tea fields |
| After dark | Cheonjiyeon Waterfall and Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market |
| With children | Manjanggul Lava Tube, Cheonjiyeon Waterfall, Hyeopjae Beach and Hamdeok Beach and Seoubong |
| On a rainy day | Manjanggul Lava Tube, Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market, Jeju Stone Park and Haenyeo Museum |
What to book ahead
- Hallasan National Park: Summit hikes on the Seongpanak and Gwaneumsa trails have required a free advance online reservation in recent years; check the official national park site before you go.
Plan the rest of your trip
Questions travellers ask
+What is the number one thing to do in Jeju?
Hallasan National Park. South Korea's highest mountain is a dormant shield volcano whose summit crater holds the small Baengnokdam lake.
+What can you do for free in Jeju?
Hallasan National Park, Hyeopjae Beach, Hamdeok Beach and Seoubong, Jeju 4.3 Peace Park and Seongeup Folk Village. More free things to do.
+What is there to do in Jeju when it rains?
Head indoors to Manjanggul Lava Tube, Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market, Jeju Stone Park and Haenyeo Museum.
+What is there to do in Jeju at night?
Cheonjiyeon Waterfall and Jeju Dongmun Traditional Market are best after dark.