On May 27th, 1952 Cheju Provinical Junior College was established. This institution would later (March 1, 1962) become what it is known today as Cheju National University. Cheju National University boasts three qualities as its primary principles: Truth, Justice and Creativity, all of which combine together to form the university’s motto of “Explore the Universe and Its Creation.” Aside from being Korea’s 5th largest university, with a student population of 10,673, Cheju National also includes 9 colleges, 11 faculties, 24 major options, a university hospital, 46 departments with 10 department groups and 2,525 annual available admission positions (http://www.cheju.ac.kr:8080/eng/status/sta02.jsp). That’s not too shabby considering the school has only been around for less than 60 years.

In 1732 the great composer Johann Sebastian Bach was quoted as saying: “Ah! How sweet coffee tastes! Lovelier than a thousand kisses, sweeter far than muscatel wine!” If a picture is worth a thousand words then that sentence must be the literary equivalent of a photo exhibit. Coffee is many things to many people, but for this reporter, it is an important and necessary daily ritual. For me, coffee is more than just a drink: it is my own quiet cup of solstice amongst the chaos that is an English teacher’s lifestyle. That being said, when I am not preparing my own cup of percolated pleasure, I buy it in the downtown section of “High Five” city (Seogwi-po) at Vetro Coffee. A place that is as much about the atmosphere as it is about the superb selection of cafe noirs.

Right next door to Yeomiji Botanical Garden in Jungmun lays the Challa Meditation Gallery. The brainchild of Korean artist Chung Gong, Challa is both an art gallery as well as a café. It offers organic foods and Italian coffee on a scenic local overlooking the valley just beyond Cheonjiyeon Falls. It’s an oasis of calm amidst the unrelenting tackiness and excess of Jungmun.

Challa is a celebration of the possibilities of meditation and respect for nature. Past galleries have focused on farmers and organic farming along with works of modern Buddhist meditative art.

Winter weather on Jeju provides enough impetus to seek out warm and welcoming retreats. The day of our interview was one of those days. Known by a few foreign residents and locals alike, the Miru Namoo Gallery Café is a cosy space providing a mix of contemporary and traditional ambience and a place in which the founder, Kim Jo Sook, actually lived. Our welcome was one of genuine pleasure as Lee Kwan Hee smiled and guided us in.

Small hand-crafted chocolates sit arranged in two stout refrigerated cabinets. An accompanying low light casts an inviting shadow across those on show. And with a little extra luck a chef might have just delivered some fresh from the kitchens below. Owned by a professor at Halla College (who spent time in France learning her trade) JejuChocoart goes some way to satisfying those chocolate cravings.