Alex on the Loose: Jeju

Hangin' with a Harubang.

(Quick note: The statue I am standing with above, is a widely known symbol from Jeju Island. This is a Harubang, or grandfather figure. They are carved out of the volcanic rock, and are protective figures. They are also linked with fertility and it is said if you rubs one nose, you will be brought a son.)

Saturday

After a beautiful nights sleep, I woke up ready to start the day and all we had in store for us. After a quick hotel breakfast our first stop was a bit of a cheap thrill. We drove to 'Mysterious Road'. Jeju is home to so many tacky and strange tourist attractions and this, on a very small scale could be considered one. We just drove to small section of road, shrouded in 'mystery'. If you put your car into neutral on what looks to be a down hill slope, it starts to roll.... uphill. Apparently taxi drivers do it for tourists too, but not so safe when people just stop in the middle of the road and throw on their hazards and just roll. Especially cause it;s just a small country road. We opted for the safer thrills and did it with a water bottle.

Next stop, Sangumburi Crater. Much more thrilling than the mysterious road. We stopped their and had a nice leisure walk on the grounds. The sights were beautiful. We walked up the crater, and although looking in the crater was nothing mind blowing, the sights in every other direction were beautiful. Here are a few shots from the crater.

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From the crater we headed to Kim Young-Gap Gallery. This was quaint little art gallery built in an old school house, near Hallasan (Korea's highest mountain). The artist was not a Jeju native but moved there after falling in love with it. His primary medium was photography, but even the grounds of the gallery itself looked like it was all part of his art work. Kim Young-Gap died of Multiple Sclerosis a few years back, but his memory lives on in each photograph hanging on the walls of his gallery.