Thursday, August 21, 2014

Jeju Island, a world natural heritage

Jeju Island, a world natural heritage​
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 Jeju, the largest island in Korea, is located in the southern sea of the Korean Peninsula. Mt. Hallasan, the highest mountain in South Korea, is located in the right middle of thel island. There are approximately 365 parasitic volcanos, so called "Orm", and many beautiful beaches with crystal clear waters and fine white sand.​ Jeju was designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2002 and is carefully protected from human activity.
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​ Jeju is already one of the world-famous tourist destination. Jeju, visited by 7.58 million tourists in 2010, topped Hawaii where 7.08 million people visited in the same year. Touring type seems to be changing from group touring to individual sightseeing. Almost half of tourists whom I met in Mt. Hallasan while I climbed "Witsae Orm" in this spring seemed to be foreign tourists, especially Chinese tourists. A lot of family visitors with children could be found.​
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 More details can be found at the official information site, http://www.hijeju.or.kr/english/jejuinfo/jeju.html.
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​<Location of Jeju Island>


<Tour Map of Jeju Island>​


<Mount Hallasan>
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"Mt. Hallasan is the central peak of Jeju Island, a shelfal shield volcano constructed on the continental shelf of the Yellow Sea. Rising 1950 m above sea level, Mt. Hallasan is the highest peak in South Korea and is the symbol of Jeju Island. Mt. Hallasan boasts peculiar volcanic landscape, produced by the crater lake Baeknokdam at the summit, the precipitous rocky cliffs of the Yeongsilgiam, and about forty volcanic cones. Mt. Hallasan was designated as a natural monument and a national park in 1966 and in 1970, respectively. It was also designated as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 2002 and is carefully protected from human activity."

 
 
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​<Seongsan Ilchulbong (Sunrise Peak)>​

"Seongsan Ilchulbong, also called ‘Sunrise Peak’, is an archetypal tuff cone formed by hydrovolcanic eruptions upon a shallow seabed about 5 thousand years ago. The 182 m-high tuff cone, dominating the eastern seaboard of Jeju Island like a gigantic ancient castle, not only preserves its bowl-like crater but also provides excellent sea-cliff exposures of diverse internal structures. These features have great geologic values in that they provide a basis for interpreting eruptive and depositional processes of hydromagmatic volcanoes worldwide in addition to the past volcanic activity of the tuff cone."


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​​<Beautiful Beaches>



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