VISIT JEJU

Home to many haenyeo, the Hado Fishing Village Experience Town is located at Haemajihaean-ro, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si. If you’d to know more about Jeju seaside culture, visit the Gujwa Hado fishing village. At the village entrance, there’s a wooden sign bearing the name of the Hado Fishing Village. Right next to it is the Fishing Village Experience Information Center that is a picturesque sight when paired with the low stone wall. This is a paid experience center designated by the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and entering without tickets is not permitted. Visitors can also enjoy wondam, which is catching the fish that washed up to the sea during the rising tide by building walls along the shore. They can also try bulteok (cooking fresh seafood and tasting it right at the spot) and bamboo string fishing on seashore rocks. That’s not all?Hado Fishing Village also offers a variety of activities such as a snorkeling experience, haenyeo’s dive experience, sea kayaking, kayak fishing, tri-pedal boat designed for 3 people, and paddleboard surfing.

Gujwa Hado Fishing Village operates a website, which allows visitors to see what kinds of fishing village experiences are offered. Pre-booking via the website or phone is recommended since some activities require prior reservation. Make sure to pack gloves to protect your hands, shoes to protect your feet from slippery floors, and some hats and sunscreen. Visitors to Hado fishing village can boil seafood caught right away after the haenyeo experience and taste it on the spot. Enjoy your summer in the Hado fishing village full of experiences that children and adults alike can enjoy.

The Jeju Olle Route no. 5 runs from Namwon port to the Soesokkak Estuary. The Namwon Wimi 2-ri fishing village located on this route is known for its rich top shells, marsh snails, and sea staghorns. Going along the statue of a haenyeo diving and under a bridge, the first thing visitors encounter are thumbnail-sized top shells. Bareutjabi is allowed here. Looking under rocks where the tide has left, one can easily see top shells clinging in between rocks. These tiny top shells are valued ingredients for the local specialty, top shell porridge. Although it used to be a common food ingredient collected and eaten directly from the beach in the past, nowadays it has become a rather valuable Jeju local cuisine specialty used at gourmet restaurants. “Bomal” is the Jeju word for top shell. Due to its small size, it is frequently used in porridge or Kalguksu (Korean noodle soup).

Marsh snails gather everywhere, so make sure to take a handful and put it in a bucket. After all, nothing compares to the refreshing taste of marsh snail soup!  Less known is the sea staghorn, which is an antler-shaped sort of seaweed.

Usually, sea staghorns grow in spots where there is less influence from the tide. Their thin forms might remind you of seaweeds dried up in the sun. Since sea staghorns are mainly used to flavor Kimchi, they are perfect for making Water Kimchi with cabbage. They can also be seasoned and eaten like vegetables. The fishing community in Wimi 2-ri, Namwon is so rich with sea staghorns that you could spend all afternoon collecting them. If you’re tired from all the bareutjabi during the day, you can quickly cook some delicious soup to refresh yourself. Just wash the sea staghorns in cold water, pour them into the pot, and boil for a simple, refreshing soup! Get through the heat of the summer night with a hot soup full of local Jeju seafood you caught in Wimi 2-ri fishing village!

A beautiful tourist experience village on the Olle Route, the Gangjeong Village is located on the Olleh Route no. 7, which is famous for its scenic beauty among the Jeju Olle trails. This route runs through the Oedolgae, Beophwan port and Gangjeong port, which makes it a must-see attraction for tourists visiting Jeju Island. Gangjeong Village is a farming-and-fishing-community compound residential area incorporating state-of-the-art Jeju World Cup Stadium and the new city area. It is also a favorite place for summer vacationers and hobby fishermen with its rich citrus production, fishing business, and tourism. Bareutjabi is not allowed in the town port, so those who wish to try it must walk from the Gangjeong port along the Olle route to the Wolryung port. A bareutjabi spot is right at the end of the road. Bareutjabi is the Jeju local word for collecting seafood with one’s bare hands. In the Gangjeong fishing village, visitors can go out to the mudflats at low water and experience fishing with their bare hands. You can also collect top shells, marsh snails and turban shells. Since there are various fish species found in the area, many people enjoy fishing on the rocks.

You’ll find barnacles on every basalt, the famously delicious Jeju murex, the fascinatingly rich top shells, and maybe even the octopus swimming in shallow water if you’re lucky. Get ready to enjoy the rich variety of bareutjabi at Gangjeong. Beware of the slippery basalt at low water, make sure to pack some rubber gloves and boots, and enjoy the green summer of Jeju with all your senses! Also, don’t forget to take aa walk along the Olle Route no. 7, which offers a beautiful view of the clear sea of Jeju. When in Gangjeong Village, you shouldn’t miss it.

The Sagye-ri fishing village is located in the southwestern part of Andeok-myeon, Seogwipo. The village is located along the 2.7-kilometer coastline, and has views of the Sanbangsan Mountain to the east as well as Hyeongjeseom Island, Songaksan, Gapado Island, and Marado Island to the south. Here you can enjoy natural sightseeing, such as Yongmeori Coast and Hamel Merchant Marine Memorial Hall, as well as a variety of marine activities, such as bareutjabi, boat fishing, teu experience, yellowfish fishing on boat, scuba diving and sniggling. In this town with so much to see, you can also enjoy a special moment of collecting your own seafood and tasting them on the spot. In addition to sightseeing, the Sagye-ri fishing village is famous for its clean seafood such as fresh turban shells, abalones, red sea cucumbers, and hijikias.

The fishing village experience program is run from July to August, and it’s only available on days when no fishing operations by haenyeo are scheduled. Pre-booking is required for the haenyeo experience. Schedules might also be canceled or changed depending on the weather, so make sure to double-check after booking. After the bareutjabi experience, enjoy the haenyeo meal, which is cooked using fresh seafood collected by haenyeo from the village, and check the tourist attractions nearby. Located nearby is Hyeongjeseom Island and the filming site for the TV series <Life Is Beautiful>. This site is popular as a tourist destination for families as it offers a close-up view of the actual set of the series. As a participating town of the “Visit the Beautiful Fishing Villages 2011” initiative, the town fishery of Sagye fishing village runs a fishing village experience program. Visitors can walk the 10 Olle Routes and sample fresh seafood such as red sea cucumbers and turban shells, all hand-collected by haenyeo. Feel the joy of tasting fresh seafood while looking out at the beautiful scenery of Seogwipo sea.

Bareutjabi?a gift from the sea, caught with your bare hands. Those who want to experience bareutjabi near Jeju Airport should focus on Hamdeok Fishing Village. This place is located on the Hamdeok Beach, which boasts an exotic scenery, which is why it is nicknamed the “Maldives of Korea.” Hamdeok with its high palm trees and deep blue sea, is not far from Jeju City and runs frequent city buses. This makes it a popular place for not only tourists but also local Jeju residents.  Located below Seowoobong Oreum, this fishing spot has been opened for the general public by the local fishing community and offers top shells, crabs, turban shells, hijikias, and seaweeds to collect. However, as in other fishing villages, seafood can only be collected with your bare hands. It is prohibited to enter the area with specialized equipment such as fishing equipment and swimming goggles. Also, most local fisheries including Hamdeok Fishing Village only allow to collect up to 1 kg?don’t get too greedy, and just put as much as you need for dinner in the basket!

Hamdeok Fishing Village boasts two major attractions. One, you can catch fresh seafood by bareutjabi, and two, you can enjoy swimming at the Hamdeok Beach in an atmosphere full of good vibes. The water at Hamdeok Beach is so shallow that even if you walk quite a bit into the sea, the sea level will reach about the height of an adult’s waist. This makes it a perfect place for swimming with children. Fall in love with the charms of a midsummer bareutjabi at Hamdeok Fishing Village, which opened its gates to share the joy of bareutjabi with visitors to Jeju Island.