← All articles · South Korea · 6 August 2023

Jeju

A week on Jeju in August 2023: the Mysterious Road illusion, an ivy-covered garden hideout, a proper Jeju City lunch and sunset from a sea-view balcony.

We spent a week on Jeju in August 2023, and the island turned out to be exactly as strange and generous as everyone promises: optical-illusion roads, gardens you can hide inside, tables that vanish under side dishes, and sunsets served to your balcony.

Dileep pointing at the brown Mysterious Road sign written in Korean, Chinese and English on Jeju — The famous Mysterious Road, where parked cars appear to roll uphill. We tested it. They do.

Inga and Dileep sitting inside a small stone dome hut covered in ivy in a lush green garden — We found this ivy-covered stone dome in a garden nearby and immediately moved in. Rent negotiations are ongoing.

Dileep at a wooden table in a traditional Korean restaurant, earthenware pots, savoury pancakes and banchan in front of him — Lunch in a traditional restaurant in Jeju City: earthenware pots, savoury pancakes and more banchan than table.

Dileep and three new Korean friends grinning with thumbs up outside a glass-fronted building on Jeju — Some photos need no backstory: three new friends and a unanimous round of thumbs up.

A lobby screen at the Jeju NANTA theatre showing the five cast members of the day's Cookin NANTA performance with their character names — Cast board at NANTA Jeju, the non-verbal kitchen show. The characters include a Manager, a Head Chef, a Hot Sauce and, officially, a Sexy Guy.

Inga and Dileep in white Ramada Plaza bathrobes holding coffee cups on a balcony as the sun sets over the sea — Bathrobes, coffee and a Jeju sunset from the balcony of the Ramada Plaza. Checkout was a genuinely sad event.

Jeju rewards the slow lane: rent a car, follow the coast, and stop whenever a sign promises something mysterious. It usually delivers. For more of Korea, start with our Seoul and Busan stories.