VISIT JEJU

Please be aware that pets are not permitted in this area.

Yongmeori Coast is located where the slopes of Sanbangsan Mountain extend toward the shoreline. The name “Yongmeori” means “Dragon Head,” because the shape is said to resemble the head of a dragon diving into the sea. The coast consists of layers of sandstone built up into cliffs over tens of millions of years, subsequently sculpted by the waves into the striking shapes seen today. The waves have eroded the rock to form indentations resembling secret chambers; these, and other marks left by the sea on the cliffs, viscerally convey the majesty and inconceivable historical scale of nature. The spectacular cliffs stretch for 30–50 meters in a winding formation, and have been used as a filming location for multiple commercials and movies. 

At the front of the cliffs sits a narrow but flat platform created by the waves, which now serves as a walking trail circling Yongmeori Coast. The loop only takes about 30 minutes to complete, but access is prohibited for safety purposes during periods of inclement weather or high tide, so please confirm in advance via Seogwipo’s public tourism Instagram account (@6sot_official), which posts available hours for the trail daily based on the tides and weather. Haenyeo (female divers) often set up stalls to sell fresh seafood along the sandstone cliffs.

Nearby sits the Hamel Monument, commemorating a Dutchman named Hamel who was stranded here in a shipwreck. Hamel was detained in Joseon (the kingdom on the Korean Peninsula at the time) for 13 years before finally returning to the Netherlands, where he brought knowledge of the kingdom to Western society. The monument was jointly established in 1980 by the Korea International Culture Association and the Embassy of the Netherlands in Korea.

Yongmeori Coast is also the subject of a famous legend, as follows.

It is said that Yongmeori was imbued with a special energy, creating the potential for a king who would rule the world to be born on Jeju Island. Upon learning of this, Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of the Qin Dynasty, sent a geomancer named Ho Jong-dan to Jeju to prevent this king’s birth. Ho Jong-dan went to Jeju and surveyed the terrain starting from Jongdal-ri in Gujwa-eup. Finding for himself the omens pointing towards the rise of a new king, he began cutting off “energy points” in an effort to avert it. When he reached Yongmeori, he first severed the dragon’s tail that extended into the sea, then climbed onto its back to strike again. Just as he was about to cut off the dragon’s head, red blood began to gush forth, a great roar was heard from Sanbangsan Mountain, and a fierce thunderstorm raged for several days. This is said to represent the mountains and the sea weeping in sorrow at the thwarting of the king’s rise in Jeju.