Love Land Museum & Other Things to do on South Korea’s Jeju Island

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I woke at about 0530 and spent the next 6 hours twisting my newly washed hair. Our flight left at 1500, and we hadn’t been to the airport before, nor had we scoped out the actual time it would take us to navigate the subway system. I had four sections to finish when I gave in to Steven’s concerns about missing the flight. My hair would have to wait; I still had to pack. I threw a few things in my suitcase, grabbed my sweater and sunglasses, and closed the door behind me. We were going on our first trip since moving to South Korea. I’m told Jeju Island is Love Land– so let’s get this party started.

Table of Contents

1. Flying to Jeju
2. Where to stay
3. What Makes Jeju Island Special
4. Centerstage– my hair
5. Settling into the hotel
6. Things to do in Jeju
7. The Beach
8. The Botanical Gardens
9. Love Land and Coastal drive
10. Downtown

Flying to Jeju Island

Sure, we knew what stop to get off at. It had a little airplane logo under the words Dondaegue, duh. But that was because we rode that train all the time. However, neither of us knew anything past that, and if you know us, we have the unfortunate tendency to push the limits regarding flights.

We had been in Korea for almost a month and were still in housing, and it was a long four-day weekend. That little room would make anyone stir crazy. It was time to see other people and explore our newly adopted country—not the same people we saw at the Hilltop, where we ate four times a week, or even the people we ran into at the Commissary, PX, or the post office day in and day out because it’s a small community. So we decided to fly to Jeju Island.

We needed to see new people. I liked, um…, love my husband, but the feeling was mutual. We needed to get out of there for a few days. I can say that without fear or hesitation. We’ve been married for 20 years, and neither of us is going anywhere.

Where we stayed

So we booked a 45-minute flight to the island of Jeju, just off the southern coast of Korea. This trip takes you back to a more traditional Korea.

We stayed at Shilla Stay Jeju. It was located downtown, away from the pricey beach resorts, and we loved staying there. The staff was polite but unhelpful regarding restaurants and bars and not exactly English-friendly. The beds and bathrooms were excellent. The breakfast costs way too much.

That night, we decided to visit the bar on the 12th floor, but it was closed for a private party. Knowing that in advance would have been nice so we could have made other arrangements. Parking and WIFI are free. Aveda products are in the bathrooms and huge windows. The view from the rooftop is fantastic. Wine/ beer tasting is all-inclusive for ￦30,000. They had an excellent selection. I will stay here again.

There are few international chain hotels and even fewer chain restaurants; most locals are either in tourism or live off the land. As a tourist destination, English isn’t guaranteed in the restaurants, hotels, or many main attractions. We had to navigate with a Korean map. I translated with the help of Google Translate, and when we realized our new GPS hadn’t been updated, we ended up navigating with a Korean language GPS from SIXT (all you need is your Korean and stateside DL) as well. I’d probably still be in Jeju if it weren’t for Steven. I couldn’t even find tampons. Yeah, that’s random, but it’s the truth.

What Makes Jeju Island Special

Jeju is a volcanic island, sometimes called the “Hawaii” of Korea. I’m not so sure I’d go that far, having visited Hawaii, but it’s a nice break from the mainland. Generally, anything that claims to be something of something else is, at best, just a compliment.

We strolled out the back gate to the subway entrance less than two blocks away. It was hot, and I felt the beads of sweat running down my back as we stepped onto the down escalator into the cooler, but not cold, tiled subway tunnels beneath the busy street. We didn’t have to wait long and found a seat in the busy car. I felt a chill as the air conditioning and my sweaty back collided.

I was also acutely aware that I had four rather giant puffballs on top of my head and wished I had thrown on a hat—one transfer to Dondaegu station, no escalator, just stairs, and a lot of them. Steven grabbed my bag, and we hiked up the stairs. We followed the signs to a taxi stand just outside of the station for the 5-minute ride to the airport. The driver didn’t appear to know much English until Steven handed him 5,000 Won and told him to keep the change. Then it was “thank you very much” and goodbye, have a nice day”.

Centerstage: My Hair

I was right. It didn’t take that long to get to the airport. Before we checked it, I took my hair gel and comb out of my bag and found my way to the bathroom to finish my twist. Little did I know that I would have an audience for the next 30 minutes. One after another stopped and came in close to admire and inspect my hair-twisting efforts. Both women and children seemed mesmerized.

Thankfully, no one asked to touch my hair, but many told me it was so beautiful, and a few even asked me if their hair could be twisted. A few of them came in so close that I had little room to lift my arms above my head. I was relieved to finish.

The show was over, so please return to your seats.

Settling into the Hotel

The hotel was charming. We stayed at a downtown hotel instead of one of the expensive hotels near the beaches. We decided to rent a car to visit the beaches, and I’m glad we did.

It had a panoramic rooftop garden and unlimited wine tasting during the weekend. Our room had a wonderful view of downtown, the entrance to the market across the street, and a front-row seat to the glorious sunrise every morning. It was brand new, built only three months ago, and the price was right.

However, I wish the staff spoke better English. It felt like torture every single time I spoke to them. Steven gave up altogether. I had to remind myself that we were in their country, and everyone spoke better English than I spoke Korean, which did little to help me find the answers to my questions.

Here’s a good place to mention that Google Maps do not work in Korea. It will show you where you are, but it will not navigate to where you want to be. The alternate app is Waze Social GPS, which I tried to use a few times, but I wouldn’t say I like it. I’m told you have to be very specific for it to work. If I could be that specific, I probably wouldn’t need a GPS. Every other GPS is in Korean, and it is useless to me.

Things to Do on Jeju Island

I did a little research and found a few activities for the four-day trip. We would go to the Spirited Garden, a botanical garden, visit Hyeopjae Beach drive along the coastline to enjoy the rugged lava formations, go to Love Land (a museum and statue park dedicated to sex), check out a couple of barbecue places I heard Jeju was famous for and photograph three of the beautiful Waterfalls: Jeongbang, Cheonjiyeon, Cheongjeyeon.

With no kids (woohoo) I didn’t have to research parks, zoos, or playgrounds… but they have all that crap there too for those that need it. Tons of it. The roads on the island are good. The speed limit is slow… too slow. And the GPS we bought a few days before was set to the particular liking of the previous owner, who apparently liked to be informed every time you went 1 mile over the speed limit, every upcoming crosswalk, speed bump, and camel crossing. I’m exaggerating about the last thing, but it beeped incessantly until we figured out how to mute it.

The Beach

Have you ever been to a beach where the sand was covered entirely by mesh and practically no one got in the water with a swimsuit? I have… now. From the parking lot, right up to the water’s edge almost, was covered by a thick mesh staked into the ground semi-permanently. We walked around the beach, posing for selfies and admiring the clear blue-green waters of the razor-sharp lava rock.

I dipped my toes in the warm water and watched the people with nets. Most of them fully clothed, wearing wide-brimmed hats, pants rolled up their knees or thighs. Not exactly your typical beachwear.

In fact, the only ones I saw in swimsuits were the Westerners sunbathing on their beach towels. The Koreans don’t suntan. I’d learn later that they, speaking generally, actually avoid direct sunlight. I can relate; I don’t “purposefully” tan either.

No More Botanical Gardens

After lunch, we visited a couple of waterfalls, a botanical garden, and a huge crater. I will never, ever suggest we visit another botanical garden TOGETHER again. He mitched and moaned about how expensive it was and who wanted to see a bunch of flowers.

They have flowers on the side of the road. He didn’t stop until we reached the koi pond. I bought him some fish food, and he fed the fish and quieted down. I would have bought him ice cream next, but feeding the fish seemed to do the trick. Damn it, I thought I left the kids back in the States.

The waterfalls were a hike and a half and we visited three during our time on Jeju Island. The last was the most dramatic. It fell several stories, the only waterfall in Asia that emptied directly into the ocean.

Day 2… Love Land and Coastal Drive

It’s hard to explain a place like Love Land. It’s part theme park, part museum, part interactive, but mostly part tacky. We loved it. There are so many pictures I took at Love Land I would love to post but don’t because it borders on pornographic. It’s something you have to see for yourself. Let’s say there was an abundance of phallic symbols, boobs, and sexual innuendo.

Everything in the park has sexual themes. The doorknobs in the bathrooms are boobs or penises. There are large sculptures dedicated to fornicating, larger-than-life male and female body parts, and exhibits on lust, love, and goodness know what else. And like all good theme parks, there’s a gift store where you can buy candy panties, sex toys of all shapes and sizes, artwork, books, and sculptures. The park is full of large wooden peni. It would be hard, no pun intended, to find a suitable place for it in my small apartment.

Day 3… Our Last Full Day on the Island

We decided to explore downtown Jeju City. The seafood is delicious, but we opted for Indian food for lunch and pizza for dinner. We returned to the hotel and spent the rest of the evening at the rooftop bar, taking advantage of the unlimited wine. Sometimes, it’s good that we have limits, I’m just saying. The flight back to Daegu was uneventful. We surfaced from the airport into the sweltering heat of what my friend calls Daufrica. Get it, Daegu + Africa. You would have thought it would have been much hotter on the island, but it wasn’t. I enjoyed Jeju even though it wasn’t high on my initial bucket list. It’s a good getaway destination for both families and couples.

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