Regions & prefectures
KoreaRegions & prefectures
Jeju
A volcanic island with its own language, its free-diving women and the country’s highest peak.
- Capital
- Jeju City
- Status
- Special self-governing province
- Region
- Jeju
- Must-see
- Seongsan Ilchulbong crater
- Local specialty
- Jeju black pork, tangerines, abalone
Formed by eruptions two million years ago, Jeju is dominated by Hallasan, a 1,947-metre volcano and South Korea’s highest point. The island was a separate kingdom, Tamna, until the twelfth century, and keeps its own language, classed by UNESCO as critically endangered. The haenyeo, women who free-dive for shellfish, form an old matrifocal society. In April 1948 the crushing of an uprising killed tens of thousands, a subject that stayed taboo until the 2000s.
What to see there
Places, dishes and traditions tied to this territory.
The haenyeo of JejuFree divers who go down ten metres without tanks, many of them past seventy.Korean Shamanism (Muism)Traditional Korean religion practiced by mudang (shamans).KakaoThe South Korean company behind the KakaoTalk messenger.Hallasan MountainNatural site · Jeju, KoreaSeongsan Sunrise PeakNatural site · Jeju, KoreaJeju IslandVolcanic island south of Korea. UNESCO heritage, haenyeo (divers), and honeymoon destination.
In the magazine
Articles that cover this topic.