Jeju is Korea's Maui ...

This past week we spent 5 days on JeJu, a small island off the southern tip of Korea. It is a 50 minute fight from Seoul. We rented a car and had a wonderful time exploring the island and just relaxing. We stayed in a lovely family owned "Pension" or small motel. Ju Hong Cheon, a staff memeber at the Fulbright office, arranged for us to stay at his parent's motel (home,) when he found out we were going. He is pictured with them and his sister in photo 1. His mom is a wonderful cook and runs the restaurant at the motel. YUM!!

There are two famous symbols on the island. One is the dolhareubang or friendly grandfather, carved out of volcanic rock(photo 2). He is believed to protect the village and keep out evil. There are many of these carvings all over the island. The second is the island's aging women divers or haenyo. These women dive in the ocean in depths up to 50 feet for up to two minutes at a time without any breathing apparatus. They harvest squid, octopus, abalone, sea weed and other sea delicacies. Almost all are over age 50 and not being replaced by younger women. We were fortunate to see them bring in their nets and come ashore (photo 3).

JeJu is an agricultural island. The main crop is tangerines which ripen in December. Grains and vegetables are grown and can be seen everywhere on the island. The women (photo 4) dry sesame stalks on the roadside and harvest the seeds by beating them with a stick. The farmer's market (photo 5) has everything imaginable from food to clothes to furniture and other household goods.

We saw some gorgeous scenery including this beautiful waterfall (photo 6). But my favorite was the secluded beach we found on the last day (photos 7 & 8). We spent an hour soaking up the sun and feeling as if we were truly on Maui.