By Choi Yearn-hong
Olle means a narrow road to the center of the village. The road to the highway from the center of the village is the Olle. It is now the top attraction on Jeju Island. Olle has a new meaning for Jeju people and tourists visiting the island.
Olle has a poetic sound meaning. It means ``Are you coming?'' This is, of course, my own interpretation. "Yes, I am coming!" Jeju is always an attractive island to visit.
Climbing Mt. Halla and playing golf at one of the finest golf courses in the world are my past pastime of Jeju Island. Now, the new Olle trails are a fantastic addition to Jeju.
It is a long trail around the island along the coastline which also contains oreum, or hills, near the sea and inland. The island has more than 370 oreum. It would take a month or so if I use weekends to walk the Olle trails.
I am visiting Jeju. I have not yet taken all the Olle trails. I have taken Olle Trail 7 and 8, and Udo Olle. From my short experiences, I can tell Olle is the jewel of the tourism industry on Jeju.
My brother-in-law in Seoul suggested that I take the Olle trails. He and his wife had already visited a couple of trails. He recommended Olle Trail 7 and 8.
There is a consensus that Olle Trail 7 and 8 are the best, because they are along the coastline from Seogwipo to Moseulpo and Moseulpo to Mt. Sanbang. Travellers can see Oedolgae (Lone Rock), in the sea, a short distance from the trail. They can see cliffs and dark volcanic rocks with white waves.
Inland, they can see tangerine trees and vegetable gardens. They can also see waterfalls and creek water heading to the sea. The ground water is the principal source of water for drinking water and farming.
The water comes out of the ground before hitting the sea. Water parsley and other vegetable gardens are freshly green in the sea wind. I have seen many tourists on the trail. They all enjoy walking. Some are local people, and many are visitors.
Olle Trail 7 is a long course. Part of it is not recommended for the old and the young, because a couple of miles of rough rocks. Olle 7 is a 17 kilometer course. It may be too long for some. However, walkers can stop between the start and end point.
I stopped by Beophwan, around the midpoint of the course. It is a small village. The women divers’ association run a restaurant near the midpoint. The menu showed abalone soup and sea urchin soup. My companion and I ordered the two different soups. They were delicious.
I recommend that restaurant to trekkers. The soup gave me energy for my trek. It was in the village center with a beautiful sculpture of sea-diving woman. It was beautiful artwork. I have never seen such a beautiful sea-diving woman in any fancy gallery in Seoul or anywhere else.
The sea-diving women from Jeju Island are world famous. Japanese sea-diving women were originally from Jeju and moved to Japan a long time ago. Jeju women used to run the family financially. Their beloved men, many Jeju fishermen, did not return to the home port from their long voyage.
During the Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), only 25 percent to 30 percent of the fishing boats returned after their long voyages to the distant sea. Jeju had many women, many winds, and many volcanic rocks. The sea was rough and cruel in the olden days.
There was no weather forecasting. No one warned of the stormy sea. Jeju weather is changeable. Unpredictable weather could lure the Jeju fishermen to the distant sea in the olden days. That was why Ieodo was the place of utopia for the fishermen who could not return home.
From my relatively long stay in Jeju this autumn, I came to learn more about Jeju people's sorrow and sadness from the sea. I could learn the art of trekking from the Olle trails. Why do the Jeju people pronounce sea in Korean as badang, not bada?
Badang means the sea in the front yard of their house. Madang is the front yard of the Korean house. Badang is the front yard of the Jeju people. The language in Jeju is somewhat different from that outside the island.
Last weekend, I visited Udo, the largest island next to Jeju Island, in the Jeju Sea. That was my second trip to Udo. On my first trip to Udo two years ago, I did not know Olle. I still walked the trails. Olle is not all brand new trails. It consists of new and old paths.
The best Udo Olle is the scenic view of the Seongsan Peak, Mt. Halla and many oreum. The island has more than 370 oreum. They are mild hills, like the royal tombs of the ancient Silla kingdom.
Tourists will love Udo as a pristine island producing seaweed and peanuts, two key products along with reeds on the coast and inland.
I am going to take another Olle trek next weekend. This is my new, joyful life on the island.
Choi Yearn-hong is a poet and writer. He is also a senior research scholar at the Society of Ieodo Research.