A Seongsan Seaside Trip — Seongsan Ilchulbong, Seopjikoji and Sinyang Seopji Beach

If you are planning a trip along the Seongsan seaside, Seongsan Ilchulbong, rising high above the sea, Seopjikoji, where superb coastal scenery unfolds against the backdrop of Seongsan Ilchulbong, and Sinyang Seopji Beach, tucked inside the tip of the Seopjikoji cape, are worth looking at together. From landforms made by volcanoes to the sea and autumn silver grass, you can see them one after another along one stretch of coast.

Seongsan Ilchulbong — A Hydrovolcanic Cone Rising High Above the Sea

Seongsan Ilchulbong is a hydrovolcanic cone rising high above the sea, and it is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage site and a natural monument. Unlike Jeju's other oreums, it is a tuff cone formed by hydrovolcanic activity in which magma erupted in shallow sea. Volcanic ash created when hot magma met seawater and exploded piled up layer by layer to form today's landform, and the sediment layers on the coastal side were worn away by waves and currents over a long time into steep cliffs.

At first it was a volcanic island separate from Jeju's main island, but as sand and gravel built up around it, it is now connected to the land. At the summit there is a crater about 600 m in diameter, and silver grass and various other plants grow inside it.

It was named "Seongsan" (城山, castle mountain) because the rocky peaks around the crater look like a giant fortress, and "Ilchulbong" (日出峰, sunrise peak) because the sunrise seen from the summit is spectacular. Since long ago, the sunrise here has been counted as "Seongsan Ilchul," one of the Ten Scenic Views of Yeongju. From the summit you can look down at a glance over the wide crater, Udo Island, and the villages and sea of the Seongsan area.

In 2007, together with the Hallasan Natural Reserve and the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Natural Heritage list as a component of "Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes." Traces of military facilities built by the Japanese army during the Japanese colonial period remain around Seongsan Ilchulbong, and the Teojinmok area between Seongsan Ilchulbong and Jeju's main island is also a place that holds the history of Jeju 4·3. It suits travelers who want to look at Jeju's modern history along with the natural scenery.

Seopjikoji — Superb Coastal Scenery Against the Backdrop of Seongsan Ilchulbong

Seopjikoji stretches far out toward the sea from Jeju's eastern coast, and its coastal scenery, unfolding against the backdrop of Seongsan Ilchulbong, is beautiful. You can see a landscape where the white sand of Sinyang Beach, wide grasslands, coastal cliffs and Seondol Rock come together, and it is introduced as a place where you can enjoy canola flowers in spring and silver grass in autumn.

"Koji" is a Jeju-dialect word meaning a cape jutting out toward the sea. Around Bulgeun Oreum, red volcanic debris called "songi" in the Jeju language is exposed, and together with the unusual rocks of the coast it forms a distinctive volcanic coastal landscape.

On the wide grassland remains the Hyeopja Yeondae, a beacon platform that relayed urgent news with fire and smoke during the Joseon Dynasty. It is a stone beacon platform about 4 m high, with sides about 9 m long, relatively well preserved in its original form and designated a monument of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.

A legend is also told about Seondol Rock. The youngest son of the Dragon King saw a fairy who had come down from the sky to bathe and begged to marry her, and the Dragon King promised the marriage after one hundred days, but on the hundredth day strong winds and high waves kept the fairy from coming down. The youngest son, sunk in grief as he waited for the fairy, is said to have turned into a rock where he stood.

Sinyang Seopji Beach — A Half-Moon Sea Inside the Tip of the Seopjikoji Cape

Sinyang Seopji Beach is a beach you meet on the way to Seopjikoji, and it is also called Sinyang Beach. Because it sits inside the tip of the Seopjikoji cape, its shoreline forms a wide half-moon. Waves do not come straight in from the open sea, so the water tends to be calm, and from the opposite side of the beach you can also see a view where the sea, Seongsan Ilchulbong and canola flowers come together.

If you want to capture a calm sea with Seongsan Ilchulbong in view on your way to or from Seopjikoji, it is worth a short stop.

Before You Go

Here are the addresses of each place.

• Seongsan Ilchulbong: 제주특별자치도 서귀포시 성산읍 일출로 284-12
• Seopjikoji: 제주특별자치도 서귀포시 성산읍 섭지코지로 262
• Sinyang Seopji Beach: 제주특별자치도 서귀포시 성산읍 섭지코지로 88

Information that may change, such as opening hours and conditions of use, should be checked once more with the Jeju Tourism Organization before your visit.

If you would like to link the Seongsan seaside, from a peak made by a volcano to a cape of silver grass and a calm beach, in the order you prefer, get a car for the road ready with Friends Rent-a-Car.