Seven jewels of Jeju Island
By Park Si-soo
JEJU ISLAND ㅡ This volcanic island is full of unique yet scenic natural beauties that have the potential to become global tourism assets.
The value of this southern resort island has been recognized, having been awarded a triple crown as a UNESCO-designated biosphere reserve in 2002, a World Natural Heritage in 2007 and a Global Geopark in 2010. Capitalizing on the designations, this island is looking for an opportunity to bolster its global profile.
Jeju Special Self-Governing Province believes a fresh impetus will come from global voting for the selection of the New7Wonders of Nature, which runs through November.
At present, 28 natural wonders around the world are vying for the crown in the vote administered by the New7Wonders Foundation, a Swiss-based NGO.
The National Committee for Jeju New7Wonders of Nature, chaired by former Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, is leading the promotional campaign. Tourism experts believe Jeju’s designation as a natural wonder would provide greater leverage in attracting more foreign tourists to the country’s largest island and bolstering the national image overseas.
It will also provide a great impetus to the 2010-2012 Visit Korea campaign, a state-run push to enter the list of top-20 tourism hubs and attract 10 million inbound tourists each year. The voting for the new seven natural wonders will run through Nov. 11. Those who want to vote for Jeju can do so online at www.new7wonders.com or by making a phone call to 1588-7715.
The Korea Times and tourism experts jointly selected seven must-visit tourist attractions in Jeju for travelers seeking to explore the true worth of the island.
1. Mt. Halla
Mt. Halla is the central peak of Jeju Island. Rising 1,950 meters above sea level, the mountain is the highest peak in South Korea and the symbol of the volcanic island. Mt. Halla boasts a peculiar volcanic landscape, produced by the crater lake Baeknokdam at the summit, the steep rocky cliffs, and forty volcanic cones.
The mountain is composed of numerous basaltic to trachytic lavas and a variety of volcaniclastic deposits. It was designated as a natural monument and a national park in 1966 and 1970, respectively. It was also named as a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2002.
2. Seongsan Ilchulbong tuff cone
Seongsan Ilchulbong, which means sunrise peak in Korean, is an archetypal tuff cone formed by hydro-volcanic eruptions upon a shallow seabed about 5,000 years ago. The 182-meter-high tuff cone not only preserves its bowl-shaped crater but also provides sea-cliff exposures of diverse internal structures. These features have great geological value in that that they provide a basis for interpreting eruptive and depositional processes of hydro-magmatic volcanoes worldwide in addition to the past volcanic activities of the tuff cone.
3. Manjang Cave
Manjang Cave stretches out as far as 7,416 meters, becoming one of the 15 longest caves in the world. The largest part of the tube is 23 meters in width and 30 meters in height. Geologists say the flow is basaltic lava, mostly composed of alkaline olivine basalt, the tube began to form about 300,000 years ago, reaching its present shape approximately 200,000 years ago. Inside the tube, diverse structures and numerous cave formations, commonly found in lava tubes, are found.
4. Cheonjiyeon Waterfall
Cheonjiyeon Waterfall is one of the representative tourist destinations on Jeju Island. A 20 meter-deep lake is formed where this 22-meter-high and 12-meter-wide waterfall cascades. A 1 kilometer-long valley is formed downstream that eventually reaches Seogwipo Port. The inhabiting giant mottled eels and other rare species and the formation of a sub-tropical forest in the valley are designated as a natural monument.
5. Columnar-jointed lava
Volcanic rocks formed by the cooling of hot lava commonly have cooling joints, which are typically expressed as vertical columnar jointing. The best exposures of columnar-jointed lava on Jeju Island are found along the coast of Daepodong. The joint systems in this area are mostly six-sided, but there are also some four-sided to seven-sided joints. In addition to the polygonal jointing in plan, the columnar-jointed lava of Daepodong shows well-developed colonnade and entablature in vertical section.
6. Sanbangsan
Sanbangsan is a gigantic lava dome located in the southwestern margin of Jeju Island, rising 395 meter above sea level.
The lava dome is one of the oldest rock formations on Jeju, being about 800,000 years old. Vertical columnar joints, about 2 meters in width and more than 100 meters in height, are well exposed on the southern cliff wall of the lava dome.
A lava dome results from the slow effusion of felsic, commonly very viscous lava from a volcanic vent. The viscosity of the lava prevents it from flowing far from the vent, causing it to solidify quickly and creating a circular dome-like shape.
7. Suweolbong
Suweolbong is a low-relief mount of pyroclastic deposit located at the western margin of Jeju Island. The maximum thickness of the deposit is about 70 meters. Present topographic contours of the mount together with a sedimentological study suggests that the mount represents the partly preserved rim beds of a tuff ring, whose vent lies several hundred meters seaward of the present shoreline.