Jeju Furey Beach Volleyball Day 2

I was fortunate enough to wake up in a tent Sunday morning. Despite the ridiculously hot conditions during Saturday, it got quite chilly at night.



Walked down to the beach around 7:40 am, people were just starting to get up, some later than others. Another early morning rise took its toll on a lot of people.



Team "Mean Machine in Neon Green" was our first opponent of the day, and mean they were. We were slaughtered 21-9 in both games, but on the plus side, no one else could beat them either.

Here they are taking down yet another team:



The "Hallabacks" taking on the "Peace Frogs," two of the better teams in the tournament.



By 10:00 am, the sun was shining brightly, turning the sand into a lethal weapon. People were sprinkling water on the sand in an attempt to cool things down. Everyone's feet were burning, some even put on socks to play. I kept to the shade after our team lost all of our remaining games, it was probably a good thing.



"Mean Machine" taking on "Peace Frogs" for a by to the finals:



Dan Nabben of Peace Frogs trying his spiderman reflexes to get the ball; he was a ninja out there.



Some good volley action:



Peace Frogs facing elimination, trying to stay alive in the tournament.



Mean Machine in the finals; sheer domination. I think they went undefeated on Sunday.



Valiant effort by the other team, but they were just no match for the Mean Machine.



Tournament over, and a weekend of great memories.



Dan Nabben put together an amazing event; Nathan would be proud.

After spending two days out on the beach, the first thing on my mind and many others was a shower...and then bed.

Jeju Furey Beach Volleyball Day 1

Although the Jeju Furey Beach Volleyball tournament was a few weeks ago, I'm just getting around to putting up some of the video from the event now. Held during the June 13th weekend, the weather conditions were perfect for some volleyball, too bad my skills were no where near.

8:00 am start: I grab the 6:30 am bus from Shinsigaji to Jeju-si. I text my team captain, Naomi, and inform her of my decision to stop by McDonald's on the way; nothing says breakfast of champions like a sausage egg mcmuffin...or two.

I happen to run into some other players competing in the tournament at McDonald's and secure a ride to the beach. We get to the beach to find the tournament has already started, thick fog surrounds the beach.



Fortunately my team didn't have to play first, but we were a man down to start anyway, as one of members didn't show up til after our first three sets. Despite our handicap, we still managed to draw all three sets with the help of some substitutes.

Sun came out and it got hot; really hot. Here is the Seogwipo team trying to keep it real, with a Nova Scotian flag hoisted over the court. Still have no idea where the flag came from, but it's great nonetheless.



Here is my friend Laurel's team against one of the Korean Swing dancing teams that were competing in the tournament. Their teams were good, but even better swing dancers. I was witness to some of their skills later that evening.



The Seogwipo team was about on par with ours, which was somewhere near the bottom of the barrel.



Here are the "Hallabacks" against fellow Maritimer Troy's team:



There were quite a few of us Maritimers out there, which is always a good thing in my opinion. Troy is heading back to the Martimes after two and half years on Jeju. He's probably headed out Halifax way, so I wish him the best.

Included in our 30,000 won admission fee into the tournament, we got some nice t-shirts as well as some pizza for dinner. All eyes were on the delivery men as they made their approach to the center stage.




Not long after, the most beautiful sunset came upon us. I never tire of seeing such sights.



Most of the participants camped the night on the beach, myself included. There was a great bonfire happening with some acoustic music to go around, putting the perfect end to a great day.

Jungmun treats

Went on the first "official" war ride of The Jeju Soggies Motorcycle club with the Matts from Seogwipo yesterday. We took the scoots out to Jungmun in the morning, looking for some beach action.

Despite the somewhat cloudy conditions, it was still hot and humid out.



It was a warm breezy drive into town, and we stopped at the GS 25 to pick up some drinks and a few popsicles. My favourites are the classic "Jaws" bar, which is usually filled with strawberry or an orange inside, though solid all the way through.


Another tasty treat is the honey dew melon popsicle, which is this perfect fusion of fruit and creamsicle, giving you a real sensation of eating a cool slice of honey dew melon.


And third, but not ranked lower in the least, is the watermelon slice popsicle. I've only had one, but it was the best damn watermelon popsicle ever. They're a lot harder to come by than the other two.


We arrived at the Hyatt just after ten, and started walking around its facilities looking for a way down to this somewhat more secluded beach on the far side of Jungmun's main beach location.



Waves looked big and scary; surfer's dream come true.



We eventually found this smaller and almost non-existent beach (due to high tide) after walking down a path through a bamboo-ish jungle. We found even more massive waves awaiting us there.



After taking a few minutes to read and relax on the tiny beach, we decided that it might be worth it to check out the main beach back on the other side.



The water was just as fierce, and there were even a few surfers out catching some waves, but all I wanted to do was go for a swim. However, because of the strong undercurrent, and the repeated intercom warnings in Korean, I didn't go in too far. Just a quick splash in the waves, which were easily capable of ripping my shorts off and pulling me out to sea; awesome.

The Jeju Weekly Issue No.3

The new issue of The Jeju Weekly is out, and I've got a couple stories published in it. The first is about Seongsan Ilchulbong or "Sunrise Peak". You can find it here: "Step back in time on Sunrise Peak"

My second article talks about Jeju's 14th Annual Marathon, entitled: "A run with a view"

I'll try to get up to the office this week to pick up some print copies to deliver to the South-side, where distribution is not so readily available. I'll be dropping copies off at Gecko's, Vetro Coffee and possibly the Metro Building and hostel in Seogwipo.

FC Seoul edges past Jeju United

Saturday, June 20th: Jeju United scores in the first 8 minutes, managing to hold their lead until the 83rd minute when FC Seoul's M.J. Koh ties it up. FC Seoul cashes in on a late goal in the 90 minute mark to steal the game back.

In probably what is the most anticipated game of the season, Jeju United faces off against Busan I Park on Sunday, the 28th of June. Jeju's star goal-scorer from last season, Homulo, got quite the bad reputation amongst players and fans alike here on Jeju. He took a deal and was traded to Busan I Park, one of the worst teams in the league.


If Jeju wins, not only will they get their revenge against Homulo, but they will move past Busan I Park in the K-league standings, putting them in good position for a playoff spot.

Photo by Brian Miller

Planning a vacation

As a hagwon teacher, I don't get very many days off. Ten days to be exact, five of which are already assigned. So I've been working on a plan for my other days off, which I hope to take and go to Japan.

I'll be flying into Osaka mid-July for fives days. Rather than spend my time in the city, I decided I am going to see the much more scenic and highly appraised Kyoto. Just so happens to be the peak of Gion Matsuri while I'm there:

The Gion Festival (祇園祭 Gion Matsuri) takes place annually in Kyoto and is one of the most famous festivals in Japan. It spans the entire month of July and is crowned by a parade, the Yamaboko Junkō (山鉾巡行) on July 17.

Kyoto's downtown area is reserved for pedestrian traffic on the three nights leading up to the massive parade. These nights are known as yoiyama (宵山) on July 16th, yoiyoiyama (宵々山) on July 15th, and yoiyoiyoiyama (宵々々山) on July 14th...many girls dressed in yukata (summer kimono) walk around the area, carrying with them traditional purses and paper fans.

To plan for this vacation, I've been using as many online resources as possible. There was a really good article published by Mashable that goes through all the details of planning a vacation using social media.

The article lists many valuable resources such as Tripadvisor and Nextstop, as well as many others which I've found useful.

Another website I've turned my attention to is Hostelworld. It gives you all the available hotels, hostels, guest houses, or any other accommodations in the area with a listing of availability and room rates. For those working on a budget and looking for the best place for their money, it should be the first site you check.

Working in tandem with other social media sites, you'll find whatever you're looking for very quickly.

Springtime for Hallasan (한나산)

Last week I felt a bit adventurous and thought that going for a rigorous hike would be a good option. The weather was perfect, and Matt was interested as well. What should be the rainy season has been very dry so far, hopefully we'll just skip the thing entirely, but I've been wrong before.

Woke up about 6:00 am and threw some onion bagels and chive cream cheese together for breakfast; Matt ate his immediately.

It was a very scenic, although slow at some times (my scooter doesn't agree with any kind of incline), ride up to Yeongshil trail. Matt spotted another Blue Rock Thrush as we started our ride; our spiritual guide and sign of good fortune.

The hardest part was the wind. Both Matt and I were regretting not bringing any gloves, but who ever heard of wearing gloves in June?!?

My hands were numb, but we arrived at the base of Yeongshil around 7:00 am, and immediately began our ascent. The clouds were sprinkled in every which pattern, but the sky was mostly clear.



The canopy of trees along the trail had grown in a lot more since I had been back. Everything looked a lot more livelier and vibrant.



Once you get that first glimpse of the South shore you're sold. This island can seem so big at some times, but the mountain just compresses that into one frame along the horizon.



The South coast never looked so good.



Although the waterfalls weren't flowing, you could still see that water had been there recently. The valley below is green, dotted with white flowers from trees in bloom.



I knew that Blue Rock Thrush was a good sign: Matt spots a rare deer sighting just off the path near one of the lookout stations. I would never have thought that they would be so close to the edge. It was just enjoying some of the fresh leaves as we tried to get its attention for a picture.



Looking west, you can see almost Jeju-si, the beginnings of Sin-Jeju and the airport are within sight; amazing.



The spring flowers, azaleas, are in full bloom. The climate takes so long to catch up to the seasons on top of the mountain. It's always colder, but that doesn't stop anyone from coming.



I think I spot a fox or something, turns out to be another deer. This one is even closer to plummeting several hundred metres to its death. They act like there is no danger at all, and are on almost a vertical plain to an edge with no safety.



This one takes notice of us quickly and returns to hiding in the brush.


Matt thinks he hears a cuckoo and grabs his binoculars in an attempt to catch a fleeting glimpse of it flying across our vision.

Once we emerge onto the plain that is at the top, we are greeted by fields of azaleas. The mountain is almost a shade of pink from them. Still, it seems so serene as it was before.



It's hard to ignore all the pretty pink flowers, it's a photographer's paradise.



We walk to the midway point station and stop to have a snack. No ramyeon this time, but some fresh fruit and a sip of hallasan water.

After looking around for several minutes, we come to the realization that you can't get to the summit from either Yeongshil or Eorimok trail.

We head back down the mountain, but the quiet serenity of the trail has vanished and is replaced by a log jam of high school boys.

Once we get to the bottom, we take a short stroll over to the nearby buddhist shrine. There are many wish piles out front of the buddhist temple, some maybe glued; how else can a rock stick to the underside of another rock?



Before we head back to Seogwipo we take a few minutes to rest, enjoying a can of demi-soda (half juice, half soda). The ride home is much quicker, and warmer.

The 14th Annual Jeju Marathon

This past weekend was the 14th Annual Jeju Maraton, which was held in Gimnyeong at the Gujwa Life Sports Park. I arrived on scene rather late, considering the 9:00 am start time; both Brian and I had been recruited to cover the event for The Jeju Weekly.

Not long after we got there, we met up with a few familiar faces. The announcer was reading off the list of women's 10k winners.



Among the winners, was Meagan McGinley, an American English teacher here on the island. The women took to the podium for their prizes and to pose for the cameras.



I've been told somewhere around 5,000 participated, and it made for an extremely successful and fun event. There were even a group from Japan competing wearing only Kimonos.

Paul Deveau, a fellow Nova Scotian and former Jeju resident, competed in the Full marathon. He finished around three hours and fifteen minutes, and was proud of the way he finished; strong and feeling a lot better than his previous experiences.



After all was said and done, the English marathon participants posed for a group photo with a giant dolhareubang, Batman and Spiderman; awesome.



The full story will be available soon through the third issue of The Jeju Weekly, and hopefully not long after, on their website too.

제주위클리 Issue No.2

The second issue of Jeju weekly has been available on print for the last couple of weeks; the website is slowly uploading the newer stories. You can find them at www.jejuweekly.com.

My second article about Jeju's lava tube system, which was the centerfold of the print issue (yay!), can be found here.

The next issue is due out as early as next week, check back then for more updates.

The old keep, 관덕정 (Gwandeokjeong)

Late Saturday afternoon Brian and I went for a stroll down to the old city center:

Located at the center of downtown Jeju city, designated as the national treasure No. 322, Gwandeokjeong is one of the most familiar landmark for citizens used as a meeting place or milestone to locate other places. In 1448 during the reign of King Sejong, Jeju minister Shin Sukcheong constructed this building in order to train soldiers and build martial spirit.

Standing outside the city center gate are guards dressed in the traditional Korean garb; tourists come and pose next to them for pictures, much like the guards at Buckingham Palace.



With a quick flash of our residence cards we stroll inside the old city grounds. The atmosphere was very quiet, and while there isn't much to do, there is still some interesting sights.



They keep some of the older wooden bulls that they drag through the streets from the new City Hall to here. It's one of the most interesting festivals on the island, sadly it took place during the work day earlier this year:

According to Jeju myth, “ipchun,” or the coming of spring, is known as the time for 18,000 spirits to descend from heaven to do their new year's job on the earth. The time will be celebrated with a street parade, "gayageum" the traditional twelve-string zither and percussion playing, tightrope walking by intangible property number 58, an “anabana” market place that allows barter trade, calligraphy performance, tea ceremony and more.

To mark the occasion, they drag a wooden bull through the streets getting drunk on soju and makgeolli. Later, the bull is burned at the Fire Festival.

The old buildings here used to serve as the City Hall and military jurisdiction. Most of the buildings have plaques with English explanation.



The best view comes from the terrace of a building near the back, which also serves as a change room for the guards.


Although we missed the changing of the guard, we still got to see them come in for day when the bell struck six.



It's a nice place to stop by, but it's a more suitable place to visit when you're wandering around downtown. It's another remnant of Tamna that brings you back to that older Jeju culture.

Photo by Brian Miller

An early luncheon at The Plate

I was in Jeju-si early Friday morning to stop by The Jeju Weekly office; I met up with Naomi before hand and we went for an early lunch before I headed back onto the bus to Seogwipo.

Our choice: The Plate, Modern Bistro.


It's a quaint little spot just off the road from E-mart in Shin-Jeju. If you're walking away from the main intersection in front of E-mart, you take a left down the first intersection you cross and keep walking; you'll find it a few blocks down on your right.

The Plate offers delicious and moderately priced Western style dishes in a comfortable atmosphere. Along with an outside patio, they also have indoor air-conditioning and a plasma screen television; It just so happened that game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals was playing when we walked in.

All along the wall are photos of the dishes, so if you want to know what something will actually look like, take a glance before you order.


Naomi ordered the Grilled Chicken Burger, while I went with the Chicken Burrito, priced at $8,000 and $7,000 won respectively.

It was a nice treat and I'll be sure to go back again when in town.

Photos provided by Naomi Stanko

Jeju World Culture & Travel Expo at 월드컵 경기장

The ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit was held this past week at the International Convention Center in Jungmun, but over the weekend there were also some festivities going on at the World Cup Stadium in Seogwipo.


The Jeju World Culture & Travel Expo was an opportunity for tourists and locals to discover a taste of what Asia and beyond has to offer. With some unique performances from the member countries of the ASEAN group, the Expo was a big hit, bringing in some major crowds over the weekend.

On a stage setup on the soccer field there were a few speeches proclaiming the opening of the summit, along with a few performances for those seated in the stands.



The most exciting features however, were kept inside the stadium, in the underground parking lot which had been converted into a world cultural ensemble with tents and booths.

I ran into Mr. Miller taking some shots of a Chinese performance. Their makeup and dress were simply amazing.


I can only imagine what a full-on performance would be like.



Along with the other countries setup, Jeju had a lot of its own stuff, including a 판소리 (pansori) haenyo performance:



Probably the most popular thing about the Expo was the food; with food from Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and more, people were quickly grabbing tables to stake their territory.

Brian and I decided we'd each get a different thing, so that we could try as many tastes as possible. For 5,000 you got a plate dinner, not completely filling, but it was a nice sampler of what eating food from the various countries is probably like; the real thing is probably a lot cheaper.

Certainly one incentive to visit one of the many countries present there.



After having a bite, I decided to roam around the exhibitions and collect some travel brochures and other material, in case I ever decide to travel the Southeast, which is what I'm hoping to do once I'm finished here in Jeju.

Most of the material was in Korean, but the odd English pamphlet was available; the pictures and name titles are what's really important, as they give you the inspiration to find out more about such places.

The Cambodian performance wasn't as impressive as the Chinese one, but it had it's own style and rhythm to it:



I think the country I was most drawn to was Myanmar, as the pictures from their travel booklets just looked unreal. They had this puppet show scheduled for later in the afternoon, but I didn't get to stick around for it. I managed to catch a few minutes of one of the performers practicing.



It was probably one of the most well organized and cultural setups I've seen here on Jeju. If the Summit was received half as well, then the whole thing was probably a big success. Cheers to World Culture.

Photos by Brian Miller

Prime time

Matt and I decided to take "The Prime" and "Speedracer" for a drive east into Bomok. Our mission: to climb the oreum there.



Matt led us off the main road looking for a way up, but all we found were winding driveways that went nowhere. When we did go back onto the main road, we found it almost immediately, just on the right hand side. There was a big sign that read: 제지기 오름 (Jejigi oreum)



We parked our beasts and started our trek up the volcanic cone. It was a nice warm day, so t-shirt and shorts were in our best interest. The view from midway up the oreum:



There was some names carved into the rock near one of the clearing points. You can walk out and get a pretty good view of the area and jigwido island. (vertigo warning: the video is a little shaky)



A few more steps and we made it to the summit of jejigi oreum. It was an almost surreal moment finding a workout park at the top.



There are some park benches and some very good lookout points on either side of the summit. The view of the ocean from one of the lookouts:



It's a perfect spot for an early afternoon picnic or even just for a walk. We found another way down the oreum on the other side where there was a great view of Bomok and Seogwipo.



We went back down the way we came up, and since it was only a quarter past ten, we decided to stop by the lesser-known waterfall, Sojeongbang.



It's a small waterfall, but there is a trail that leads back along the coast past this abandoned summer home and to the more popular Jeongbang falls.

As we were walking along the harbour, some helicopters flew overhead. All part of the upscale security measures for the ASEAN Summit.



After some bagels and coffee at Dunkin' Donuts, Matt and I went off to a great little spot just off the coastal road from Oedolgae to Sinsigaji.

There were about a dozen police buses parked outside the Sun Beach and Napoli hotels in Seogwipo; cop cars and scooters were everywhere too.



The view from the coastal road is great; you get a nice view of the outskirts of downtown Seogwipo with Hallasan looming in the background.



There was this nearby buddhist temple that was a nice find by Matt. All over the island are small and sacred shrines or temples that are just waiting to be found. The temple grounds were immaculate.



With our mission accomplished and even a bonus ride thrown in too, The Prime and Speedracer went their separate ways; one East, one West, they rode off into the distance.

Udo Island (우도)

On the weekend before last, Brian, Naomi, Ryan and myself made plans to checkout Udo island (우도) on Saturday. While Brian, Naomi and Ryan drove out to Seongsan from Jeju-si, I took a bus from Shinsigaji to Seongsan waterfront.

For those of you traveling from Seogwipo, the bus is 3,000 won, and takes about an hour and a half to reach the waterfront; the bus doesn't drop you off exactly out front of the ferry terminal to Udo, but within 500m walking distance. Take a left once you step off the bus and follow the road going right until you reach the terminal at the end of the harbour.

It's about another 5,000 for a return trip on the ferry to the island; last ferry returns at 6:00 pm. After I met up with the other three, we grabbed our stuff and got onto the ferry for the island. The weather was cloudy, but I had been informed that the sun was going to make an appearance in the afternoon.

Pulling into Udo port gave me a better idea of what kind of community lives there; a small town catered completely towards tourists. Buses, scooters, and bikes, were all available for whatever experience you were looking to have.



Some people even choose to walk, but for anyone looking to checkout the island in an afternoon, the scooter is the best option for speed and freedom to roam as you please. For 15,000 won, you get a scooter for two hours.

Brian and I decided to share one, while Naomi and Ryan shared another. Driving along the coast we got a pretty good view of Sunrise peak.



The funniest thing was that the rent-a-scoot place only had one helmet that would fit my large head; he literally said "Hitler, hitler!" and laughed as he handed me a helmet that looked like it had once been in use by the Third Reich.



Brian and I were ahead of Naomi and Ryan, but were soon passed due to the fact that we stopped for photo opportunities every five or ten minutes. The first was some haenyo that we spotted down on the rocks by the water.



Our next brief rest was to try and capture some egrets that were hanging out near some cows. Udo in Chinese translates as cow island; somehow I thought there would be more cows on the island.



There were these red-headed egrets everywhere, but every time we tried to get close enough for a picture they would just fly away. Brian was disappointed and kept bringing up the idea of him purchasing a teleconverter that would help with taking bird pictures. Matt recommended as such, so you know it's a bird sanctioned option.



We even spotted some great egrets along the rocks. There were about three of them, but like the other egrets, they cleverly foiled our attempts to get in close for a picture. They didn't seem phased by the scooter engines, probably used to it by now, but the closest we could get was within 50 metres or so.



There is also a very nice beach on Udo, which I've heard some positive feedback about camping on. I'm thinking next time I come back I wouldn't mind bringing along a tent to try it out for myself, an afternoon on Udo just doesn't seem long enough to really relax and enjoy all it has to offer.



There are some really unique caves on Udo as well, you can climb down to them from some stairs near the cliffs, but we decided to leave them 'til next time because of our limited time.

Apparently, at noon, when the sun is high and shinning brightly, you can see its reflection on the ceiling inside the cave, which looks like the moon; the cave is known as Dongangyeongul.



As we past the caves and headed up towards the summit of Udo island, Brian and I drove up and down a few roads before we finally found the route leading up to the light house. There is a parking lot where the buses stop and people have to leave their scooters behind, as the path ahead is a walking route only.

We passed Naomi and Ryan coming back from the lighthouse on our way up. I guess our photo and video shooting had slowed us down quite a bit. Naomi mentioned that there were two routes up, one of which, the left one, led to the lighthouse and the highest point on the island. The other went along the cliffs, facing the other side of the island closer to the mainland.

There are many horses available to ride on the way up, as well as a field of cows along the base of this mini-oreum covered with graves.



The view from midway up was spectacular, I can only imagine how much better it would have been had it not have been cloudy.



At this point my camera battery died on me, so I couldn't get any shots from the lighthouse looking out onto the sea or back towards the mainland, both of which are equally stunning. I'm definitely going back there again.

With our time almost up with our scooters, we headed back down the summit and to the harbour. From the lighthouse, the port is only a five minute scooter ride. We returned our bikes with the infamous hitler helmet and got back on the ferry for the mainland.


The sun finally did come out, only as we were leaving...

Photo by Brian Miller