A Day in Jeju By Bus | Manjanggul Caves, Stone Park, Dongmun Market
On a gorgeous Thursday morning I hopped on a plane to Jeju Island. I was lucky enough to be invited by the Jeju Tourism Organization to test out and promote their Jeju Bus Guidebook that they created this year. It is a guidebook aimed at helping tourists use public transportation to explore the island complete with FAQs, itineraries, and contact numbers. So many people think that you need a car to get around the island and while that would definitely be helpful, it’s not necessary. I’ve used public transportation for all of my Jeju adventures so I am so happy the organization wanted me to promote this!
You can access the guide and download the PDF file for free right >>here<< (it’s the pink one for English!)
I arrived around 10am and my friend and I decided to do one of the one day itineraries. First stop, Dongmun Market for lunch!
This market is so easy to get to from the airport! About 20 minutes later, we were deep in the seafood and tangerine aisles, trying all the samples and getting citrus-induced heartburn. My friend and I had a lunch of 갈치조림 (kal-chi jo-rim) which is a spicy stew made from a local Jeju fish, then at a few hundred more tangerines. Since our day started around 6am, we headed to a small cafe next to the market for a bit of caffeine.
The cafe is called Maeume On and is tucked down a small alley. We charged our phones, had some coffee and tea, and figured out our next stop. We could take a bus from the entrance of the market to our next destination, the Manjanggul Lava Tubes!
I have been to these caves once before and don’t think I’ll ever get over the temperature drop upon entering! The caves are tunnels made by lava (all gone now, don’t worry!) and are pretty wild to walk through. The walkways are faintly lit and the roof is constantly dripping, but it really feels like another world down there. It’s a great option for a hot day - bring a scarf or cardigan for your descent!
Our final stop was a place I’d never even heard of before reading the guidebook: Jeju’s Stone Park. Appropriately named, it is a large park showcasing giant stone native to Jeju. There were 500 massive stones arranged to look like men that had a very dark local legend attached to them, along with traditional wheels, gravestones, and endless rows of Jeju’s famous Dol Hareubang (stone grandpas). We got there around golden hour and it was a really peaceful and beautiful way to end our first day in Jeju. We took a direct bus from the entrance of the stone park to the Jeju Airport where we had put our bags in lockers. We took a short taxi to our hotel and got ready for our next day’s adventure!
Watch it all here: