Location:
Jeju island known as a place of fantasy or mystery is the largest island in Korea and is located in the southwest sea of the Korean peninsula and is highlighted for its uniqueness. The size of Jeju is 73km from east to west, 41Km from north to south in the shape of an oval. The island has an area of 1,845km2 with a circuit road of 182km along the seashores. It has a convenient traffic situation thanks to the several transversal roads and many other small and large roads and its population is about 530,000.
Tourism
Tourism commands a large fraction of Jeju's economy. Jeju's temperate climate, natural scenery, and beaches make it a popular tourist destination for South Koreans as well as visitors from other parts of East Asia. The most popular tourist spots on the island are Cheonjeyeon and Cheonjiyeon waterfalls, Mount Halla, Hyeobje cave, and Hyeongje island. There is a variety of leisure sports that tourists can take part in Jeju including golf, horse riding, hunting, fishing, mountain climbing, etc. Depending on the season, Jeju hosts many festivals for tourists including a penguin swimming contest in winter, cherry blossom festival in spring, the midsummer night beach festival in summer, and Jeju horse festival in autumn, among others. For most tourists, traffic to and from the island is mainly taken through Jeju International Airport and transport within the island by rental cars. Some local products are popular to tourists, including Jeju's special tile fish and mandarin oranges, aside from souvenirs and duty-free shopping.
Jeju was chosen as one of the 28 finalists for the New 7 Wonders of Nature
Because of the relative isolation of the island, the people of Jeju have developed a culture and language that are distinct from those of mainland Korea. Jeju is home to thousands of local legends. Perhaps the most distinct cultural artifact is the ubiquitous dol hareubang ("stone grandfather") carved from a block of basalt.
Cuisine
Jeju Island is the southernmost and largest island isolated from the Korean peninsula. Due to its lack of fresh water, paddy farming is only done on a small scale on the island, with the cultivation of cereal crops such as millet, barnyard millet, buckwheat, and barley being the main feature of agriculture. Therefore, the traditional Jeju meal generally consisted of japgokbap which is a bowl of steamed multiple grains as a main dish, with various salted dried fish called jaban as banchan (side dishes), and a soup based on doenjang (soybean paste) such as baechuguk made with Napa cabbage, kongnipguk made with soybean leaves, or muguk made with daikon. Jeju dishes are made with simple ingredients, and the taste is generally salty. Raw seafood called hoe is commonly consumed as a part of the meal. The warm weather affects Jeju cuisine in that gimjang, preparing kimchi in late autumn for winter consumption, is not necessary to Jeju locals unlike the other provinces. Only a small amount of kimchi is pickled by Jeju locals. Representative main dishes in Jeju cuisine are porridge made with fish, seafood, seaweeds, or mushrooms. Examples include jeonbokjuk made with abalone, okdomjuk made with Red tilefish, gejuk made with crabs, gingijuk made with small crabs called bangge (Helice tridens)maeyeoksae juk made with young wakame, and chogijuk made with shiita.
