Jeju Day-1 21Jun

Jeju Island, also known as the "Island of the Gods," is a popular vacation spot for Koreans and many Japanese. It remains one of the top honeymoon destinations for Korean newlyweds. The island's mixture of volcanic rock, frequent rains, and temperate climate, make it very similar to the Hawaiian Islands in the U.S.

The island contains the Natural World Heritage Site entitled Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes.

Upon arrival at Jeju airport, we went straight for some samgyetang 蔘鷄湯 (for lunch. ... It is basically a whole young chicken stuffed with glutinous rice and boiled in a broth of Korean ginseng, dried seeded jujube fruits, garlic, and ginger. Depending on the recipe, other medicinal herbs such as wolfberry (gugija), Codonopsis pilosula (dangsam), and Angelica sinensis (danggwi) may also be added. The dish's name literally means "ginseng chicken soup."

Samgyetang is traditionally served in the summer for its supposed nutrients, which replaces those lost through excessive sweating and physical exertion during the hot summers in Korea. Many Koreans enjoy it on three specific days in summer, "Chobok", "Jungbok" and "Malbok", which Koreans believe to be the hottest and most sultry of the year.

Like chicken soup, which is thought to help common sicknesses in the West, samgyetang is held in Korea to be not only a cure for physical ailments but a preventer of sickness.

Notice he light beer called "Hite" in the background and the usual accompaniments

This is the actual dish itself. This dish has medicinal properties and improve bloodflow and energy.

After lunch we checked in to Jeju Grand Hotel. Room is big and spacious.

However, be forewarned, hotels in Korea generally do not provide shampoo. Bring your own or use the soap bar to wash your hair.

Dinner was pork yakiniku, but not just any pork but a famous local Jeju 黒豚 (kurobuta) restaurant.

The food was really good, accompanied by Jeju local shoju... Here's the pic of the large portion of Kurobuta served for just 2 of us. The meat was really sweet, having been marinated in pear and pineapple juice and flavoured with tangerine skin.

And here's how you eat it. Wrap some meat, onions, sauce in Chinese salad leaf and shove the whole thing into your mounth and gobble it all up.

And of course, no meal is complete in Korea unless accompanied by some local Shoju. The Shoju we drank is called "Hallasan", name of the highest peak in South Korea, located on Jeju island. It is about 21% proof and is sweet and palatable.

After dinner, we went for some karaoke in the entertainment area. Here's a pic of the city at night. There are many restaurants, bars and cafes. Karaokes are usually in the basement, I wonder why...