4 Indoor Places in Jeju for a Rainy Day — Museums, an Art Museum and an Aerospace Museum

If you're looking for indoor places to visit in Jeju on a rainy day, consider museums and art museums where you can meet Jeju's history, nature, art and aerospace in indoor exhibition halls. In this post, we've picked 4 places, from Jeju National Museum to Jeju Folklore & Natural History Museum, Jeju Museum of Art and Jeju Aerospace Museum, and summarized their exhibition spaces and highlights.

All four also have outdoor exhibition spaces or gardens, so on a rainy day, plan your visit around the indoor exhibition halls.

Jeju National Museum — Jeju's History from Tamna to Joseon in One Place

Jeju National Museum is located south of Sarabong Park, overlooking Jeju Port. Opened in 2001, it is an archaeology and history museum that exhibits, preserves and researches Jeju's history and cultural heritage. Here you can get a condensed look at the unique history and culture of Jeju Island, a major hub of cultural exchange in Northeast Asia linking the Korean Peninsula, China and Japan.

Before you enter the permanent exhibition galleries, a stained-glass installation that reinterprets the legend of Jeju's creation is set into the ceiling of the Central Hall. Around the island in the stained glass, the stories of the Samseong myth about the founding of Tamna, Baengnokdam and Samdado unfold.

The permanent exhibition consists of "Island, Jeju," "Prehistoric Jeju," "Development and Change of Island Villages," "The Island Kingdom of Tamna," "Jeju in the Goryeo Dynasty," "Jeju in the Joseon Dynasty," "People of Jeju Island" and "Donated Cultural Heritage."

The Immersive Space on basement level 1 uses digital technology to present films about Jeju's history, culture and nature. The Children's Museum is a hands-on space for children that introduces, under the theme "Hi there Jeju," the stories of Jeju people who have lived against the backdrop of Jeju's mountains, fields and sea, so it's worth a stop if you're traveling with children. There is also an outdoor exhibition area, so on a rainy day, focus on the indoor exhibition halls.

Jeju Folklore & Natural History Museum — From Whale Skeletons to Thatched Houses

Jeju Folklore & Natural History Museum is a space for taking a deep look at the traditional culture and natural environment that Jeju people have preserved over many years. As you enter the lobby, a fin whale skeleton specimen (12.6 m long), found near Biyangdo Island in December 2019, greets visitors. The inner part of the lobby is the "Museum Lounge," a space for culture and rest, where traditional Jeju woodcrafts and everyday tools such as onggi earthenware and gudeok baskets are displayed in large showcases.

The Natural History Exhibition Hall is divided into the Geology Hall and the Terrestrial Ecology Hall. The Geology Hall introduces how the volcanic island of Jeju was formed and displays various volcanic ejecta and lava cave formations.

The First Folklore Exhibition Hall introduces the life cycle and the food, clothing and housing culture of Jeju people, with the teu raft and a fishing boat, representative fishing heritage, placed in the center of the hall. Here you can also see a thatched house restored with traditional materials and techniques. The Folklore Exhibition Hall, which recreates Jeju's traditions and customs, is likely to be all the more interesting for first-time visitors to Jeju.

The Modern and Contemporary Life History Exhibition Hall recreates old spaces such as general stores, tailor shops, tearooms and theaters that stood around Chilseong-ro in the 1960s–80s. In the Jeju Sea Exhibition Hall, you can see whale skeleton specimens, including a Bryde's whale (13 m long) found in Hagwi-ri, Aewol-eup, Jeju-si in 2004, as well as an Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin and a finless porpoise. The Central Garden, the Rock Exhibition Area and the Stone Artifact Exhibition Area are outdoor exhibition areas, so on a rainy day it's better to start with the indoor exhibition halls.

Jeju Museum of Art — Special Exhibitions in a Museum That Seems to Float on Water

Jeju Museum of Art stands low amid the nature of Jeju's mountainous inland area. Like Jeju standing on the sea, it was designed to look as if it floats on water, and the reflection in the water around the museum holds the museum along with Jeju's sky and trees.

The museum steadily continues to hold exhibitions that capture the lives, culture and art of Jeju people. There are special exhibition galleries on the first and second floors, and a Citizens' Gallery on the first floor. It suits those who want to enjoy architecture and exhibitions together.

Exhibitions change from period to period, so check the museum's website for current exhibitions before your visit. The reflecting pond surrounding the museum, the outdoor garden at the back and the outdoor exhibition area on the second floor are outdoor spaces, so on a rainy day it's better to focus on the indoor exhibition galleries.

Jeju Aerospace Museum — 26 Real Aircraft You Can See Indoors

In the Air Hall of the Aviation Hall on the first floor of Jeju Aerospace Museum, you can see 26 real aircraft indoors, from planes deployed in combat during the Korean War to the Phantom fighter jets that guarded Korea's skies until recent years. At "How Things Fly," an educational hands-on space created in cooperation with the Smithsonian in the United States, you can learn about aviation technology while experiencing various principles of flight.

The Space Hall on the second floor presents the history of Eastern and Western astronomy, the frontlines of space development, the solar system and galaxies, black holes and the mystery of the universe's formation over 13.8 billion years. In the Theme Hall on the same floor, there are Polaris, which screens 5D films on a panoramic screen spreading 360 degrees; Canopus, a dome theater that shows stories of the sky, space and constellations on its hemispherical ceiling; and Procyon, where you can create your own alien, among others.

There is also a Children's Experience Zone, a space-themed playground for young children, so it suits trips with kids too. Since 13 real aircraft are also displayed in the outdoor exhibition area designed with a runway motif, focus on the indoor halls on days with heavy rain.

Before You Go

Here are the addresses of each place.

• Jeju National Museum: 제주특별자치도 제주시 일주동로 17
• Jeju Folklore & Natural History Museum: 제주특별자치도 제주시 삼성로 40
• Jeju Museum of Art: 제주특별자치도 제주시 1100로 2894-78
• Jeju Aerospace Museum: 제주특별자치도 서귀포시 안덕면 항공우주로 83

Please check information that may change, such as opening hours and conditions of use, as well as current exhibitions, once more with the Jeju Tourism Organization and each facility before your visit.

If you're choosing which indoor exhibits to see each day by checking the rain forecast, arrange your transportation with Friends Rent-a-Car in advance so you can change your destination easily.