Travel: The Magnificent Seong San Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak), Jeju Island!

Anyong!

I know, you've been waiting for a Busan-related post, and now what? Jejudo?! 미안해 (mi-an-hae : sorry) 친구들 (chin-gu : friends). My cousin posted a 사진 (sa-jin : picture) of us horse-riding at Jejudo and it made me missed Jejudo so much! 그리워요 (keu-ri-wo-yo : missing)!!!

During our road trip with our self-hired taxi driver cum tour guide, one of our stops was Seong San Ilchulbong , which meant Sunrise Peak. How did the word come about?

일출 Il-chul : Sun Rise. Comes from the Chinese word 日出
봉 bong: Peak. Comes from the Chinese word 峰

Seong San Ilchulbong rose after a volcanic eruption over 100,000 years ago. There is a huge crater at the top of the peak, where we innocently wished there was a lake or something but nope, there will be no lake because the volcanic rock is so porous. Because of that, my cousin bro was nagging why did we take more than 30 minutes to climb up to see an "abandoned" green field. Surrounded by 99 sharp rocks, the crater looks like a crown from afar. What a pity I did not have the chance to sit on a helicopter to view it from top-down ;)

GIANT CROWN: This UNESCO World Heritage looks majestic from afar
Credits: Visit Korea

The local taxi driver cum tour guide we hired was fantastic! He gave us a good rate for taxi hire for the whole day and brought us to many local places! One of it was this horse riding experience for only 5,000 Won (USD 5)! Previously we passed by a horse riding place but it was priced at 20,000 Won to 30,000 Won per ride! Kill me! 미쳤어 (mi-cheo-sseo: are you crazy)? So once he brought us to this cheap and cool place, I felt like I was in a drama! 

WHAT A SCENE: Seong San Il Chul Bong at the background. It's so peaceful. 

HORSE RIDER WANNABE: Somehow the horses here look better than those in Malaysia

PERFECT PICTURE: Felt like I was in paradise!

After that pit-stop, we drove further 10 minutes and reached the final destination - Seong San Ilchulbong itself. Entrance fee was 2,000 Won per adult.

What greeted me once I entered was this awesome impressive ROCK!

If you would love to see the Sun Rise, you need to spend a night at Seong-san-ri, and then climb up before the Sun Rise. Usually it would take around 20 minutes if you are very fit! Or you could run up as well if you owned  extremely good stamina!

HALF WAY THROUGH: Great scene from above. Cities and waterscapes below us!

I was climbing at late noon time but it felt like the sun was still scorching hot. This made the climb even worse, like "when will I ever reach!? 언제??? (on-je : when)". But once I reached, as I mentioned, I was that innocent girl who stupidly really wished there was some lake at the crater but all I saw was this:

THE LAND OF NOBODY: I wonder if ever there were animals in there

So for those who wishfully hoped there will be some pond or sort up at the peak, my above picture assures you that no it doesn't. Plus, Visit Korea website too said that this UNESCO World Heritage is superbly porous, no lake can be formed :)

But for once and for all, I still stand in awe when I look at this whole gigantic volcanic rock from below. It felt like a fairytale, 100,000 years ago! 

Visit Ratings: 10/10 MUST GO!

I went during end of Summer, it wasn't splendid enough as the best season is SPRING. Why? You'll know why when you see this picture:

BEHOLD: Seongsan Ilchulbong is surrounded by bright yellow rapeseed flowers in Spring

Things you should know:

• Rated #1 of 36 Seogwipo major attractions in Trip Advisor
• Not allowed to enter during bad weather
• During Winter: Opens 1 hour before sunrise - 8pm
• During Summer: Opens 1 hour before sunrise - 9pm
• Parking fees: 1,000 won ~ 2,000 won
• Entrance Fees

Classification	Adults	Youths	Children
Individual	2,000 won	1,000 won	1,000 won
Group (over 10)	1,200 won	600 won	600 won

Directions
At Jeju Intercity Bus Terminal, 
Take a Direct Bus (Dongilju bus bound for Seongsan) and get off at Seongsalliipgu bus stop. (Travel time : 2 hrs)

At Seogwipo Intercity Bus Terminal, 
Take a Direct Bus (Dongilju bus bound for Seongsan) and get off at Seongsalliipgu bus stop (Travel time: 2 hr 30 min) 

At Seongsalliipgu bus stop, you will see Seongsan Ilchulbong Peak. Walk to the peak (about 1km). 

For more information you can visit here!


Please tell me you will go there soon if you have yet to!