3 Best Sights in Jeju-do, South Korea

A short ferry ride from the port of Moseulpo, Gapado is a relaxing piece of old Jeju. Home to fewer than 200 people, the remote island takes just one or two hours to fully circumnavigate. It's a lovely place, especially in spring, when much of the island is covered in fields of waist-high barley. Walk along volcanic stone-lined paths through seas of green-gold barley swaying in the ocean wind, taking in views of Jeju's Hallasan mountain in the distance. The island hosts an annual Barley Festival every April or early May. While you're on the island, check out the architecturally spectacular Gapado Artist in Residence (AiR), a gallery and creative space for Korean and international artists.

Eight miles off the coast of Jeju, this is the country's southernmost point. It's a tiny but stunning island, with steep cliffs, fantastical rock formations, lighthouses, and plenty of sea caves. You can comfortably stroll around the entire island in about an hour and a half. One scenic point is a tiny Catholic church shaped like an abalone shell. Have a bowl of jajangmyeon (Chinese noodles with black bean sauce), while you are here. Ferries leave every hour on the half hour from Moseulpo Port. The trip takes 30 minutes. Check weather conditions as the ferry closes for rough sea.

Just 15 minutes by ferry from the port of Seongsan, this small volcanic island used to be a hidden piece of bucolic old Jeju. In recent years, the hip crowd has discovered the place en masse, bringing trendy cafes, restaurants, and bed-and-breakfasts with them. Still, the island's patchwork of fields and pathways lined by volcanic stones walls remind visitors what Jeju was like before tourism transformed it forever. Fields of bright-yellow canola flowers light the island up in early spring; many charge small entry fees. The island also has hiking trails, bike paths, ATV and scooter rentals, scenic coastal cliffs and Seobin Beach, one of the finest white sand beaches in Jeju and East Asia's only beach made of rhodoliths (red algae nodules). On a culinary note, the island is renowned for its peanuts, which locals use to make ice cream, cheesecakes, beverages and other delicacies.