In 1270, Kim Tong-jeong’s Sambyeolcho army landed in Jeju. It was a motley assortment of Korean freedom fighters and liberated Mongolian Prisoners of War who had continued to fight Mongolia despite orders from the Goryeo court in Seoul to lay down their weapons. In pursuit were the Mongolian army and their new Goryeo allies, who had assembled a force of 10,000 men to hunt down and destroy them. With the help of local residents, Kim overtook Jeju’s indigenous army and erected a fortress near Halla Mountain. They held Jeju …

In 1653, Jeju met its first foreigner. It came in the form of a shipwrecked Dutchman named Hendrick Hamel. The local community must not have liked what they saw, as they immediately shipped Hamel and his crew off the island to live in captivity in Seoul. It took Hamel and a handful of crewmates nearly 13 years to escape.
Nowadays, Jeju is far more hospitable to its foreign guests. The island attracts an eclectic group of foreigners who have come to live here for wildly different reasons. …

The next time you find yourself in the mean streets of Seogwipo with a hunger for galbi, be sure to check out these local favorites.
Tong Kun Tong Galbi | 통근통 갈비 | ☺☺☺☺
Tong Kun Tong (or “Spicy’s” as it’s known by area expats) has been a favorite with locals as much for it’s great galbi as for its friendly service. The house specialty is galbi served in a spicy marinade. The owner, Mr. Lee, is always happy to have foreign guests and …

The imposing keep of Yakcheon Temple looms over Jeju’s southern coastline, attended to by a cluster of palm and orange trees as it looks commandingly to the sea. It’s said to have been built over a mystical, medicinal stream, from which the name “Yak” (medicine) “Ch’eon” (stream) “sa” (temple) is derived. Local authorities built it on a massive scale, perhaps as much to draw throngs of tourists as hordes of worshippers. At 37,000 p’yong, (122,100 sq meters) Yakcheonsa is the second largest temple complex on the island. Its enormous size …