Living Information

Jejudo or Jeju Island is often called the Hawaii of Korea. The southern island has long been loved for its nature and culture, exotic to mainland Koreans.

With its subtropical climate, Jejudo, located around 150 kilometers south of the Korean Peninsula's southwestern tip, has long been one of the most popular honeymoon destinations and leisure spots for Korean and foreign tourists.

To cater for its many domestic and international visitors, the island has built a vast number of resort facilities, and it is true that the island is a perfect place to unwind and engage in leisure activities.

But Jejudo has more to offer than beautiful scenery and a sea breeze. The island has a huge range of unique museums to cater for every interest.

From a museum dedicated to green tea to one devoted to fossils, the island boasts of diversely themed museums.

The Haenyeo Museum

Haenyeo is the term for female divers who collect shells and seaweed from the ocean floor without underwater breathing apparatus. While driving along Jejudo's coastline, you might have come across one of them swimming amongst the black rocks. The job of the haenyeo is very rare and is seen only in Korea, Japan and Russia. The Haenyeo Museum was established to introduce Jejudo's unique culture of female divers. The museum presents their life and history, with an exhibition of their shellfish-collecting implements such as goggles and fishing spears. Photos of haenyeo and their activities are on display to provide an accurate picture of their lives.


Teddy Bear Museum

Established in the Jungmun Resort Complex in 2001, the Jeju Teddy Bear Museum is the world's largest of its kind. Visitors can see teddies produced in more than 30 countries over the last 100 years and some of the world's most famous and plush bears. In addition to the indoor exhibition, there are souvenir shops, a cafe and a beautiful outdoor park called “Spring of Love”.




Green Tea Museum O'Sulloc

The Green Tea Museum O'Sulloc is located amid an endless expanse of tea fields. O'Sulloc is an exhibition hall for a wide variety of teas as well as tea-drinking culture. It offers details on the chronology of Korea's tea culture, the production process and a selection of teas to try. Priceless teacups from Asia and Europe are particularly eye-catching. The viewing terraces on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the museum provide a bird's eye view on the whole of the Tea Garden. You can also sample snacks made from green tea -- green tea cakes, green tea cookies, and green tea ice cream that taste as good as they look.

Jeju Folk Village Museum

Jeju Folk Village Museum is the island's main tourist attraction where customs of the old days can be explored. With about 120 houses and other structures, the museum has recreated scenes of village life in the 1800s. Among them are Mountain Village, Hill-Country Village, Fishing Village and Shamanism Village. 



Museum of African Arts

You may think Jejudo is one of the most unlikely places to have a museum exclusively devoted to the African arts. Nonetheless, the museum presents an impressive collection, representing art from many different parts of Africa. It features a variety of wooden, stone and clay tools and weapons and a large number of masks, including some really awesome ones from the people of Côte d'Ivoire.

Chocolate Museum

Located in the Daejeong Agricultural and Industrial Complex, this is the only chocolate museum in Asia. Built from volcanic rock unique to Jejudo, the European-style museum building looks like an old exotic castle, creating a cozy and romantic mood. The Chocolate Museum shows the history of chocolate and gives visitors a chance to taste a wide variety of chocolate in diverse shapes and flavors.



Jeju Fossil Museum

This is the latest themed museum to open in Jejudo. More than 3,800 fossils collected from across the world are on display, sorted by period, classification, and characteristics. Among them, about 700 pieces change every month. Standard fossils representing respective periods and even dinosaur eggs will let you learn about the history of life on earth.



By Han Aran