Living at my own pace, exploring a wide world.

Dear reader,

These days, Jeju Island seems to have become a must-visit for travelers coming to Korea. After Seoul, it’s where everyone heads next. But when I hear my foreign friends talk about their Jeju trips, something often feels missing. They climbed Seongsan Ilchulbong, stopped by a famous café, ate black pork, and flew home. All good things, but I wouldn’t say they truly met Jeju. The island’s real charm hides in the spaces between the famous spots, along the roads you pass by in a rental car without ever stopping.

So today, let me introduce what I believe is the best way to really meet Jeju: the Olle Trail (올레길).

So, what is the Olle Trail?

“Olle” is a word from the Jeju dialect. It means the narrow alley that leads from the main road to the front yard of a house. True to its name, the Olle Trail is a long-distance walking route stitched together from exactly those kinds of paths: village lanes, coastal walks, forest trails, and footpaths between farm fields. The first course opened in 2007, and today 27 courses totaling about 437 kilometers wrap all the way around the island.

The trail was created by a journalist from Jeju who had walked the Camino de Santiago in Spain. She came home thinking, “I wish my island had a path like that.” What started from that thought became the origin of Korea’s walking-travel culture. In fact, the Olle Trail is often called “the Camino of Korea.”

Walking it is simple. Blue and orange ribbons mark the way, along with small signposts shaped like a Jeju pony, called “ganse.” Follow the arrows and you’ll almost never get lost. Each course averages around 15 kilometers, which takes about 4 to 5 hours, so one course per day is the standard rhythm. You can also pick up an Olle passport and collect stamps along the way. Walk all 27 courses and you’ll earn an official completion certificate and a medal.

Last winter, I walked the trail for ten days

This February, I spent ten days walking the Olle Trail. And I’ll be honest with you: even as a Korean, I found a Jeju I had never seen before.

It wasn’t the Jeju of tourist attractions. It was the Jeju where people actually live. Farm roads winding between black stone walls, quiet farming villages, fishing harbors where haenyeo (Jeju’s famous free-diving women) come out of the water after their morning dives. Course after course, I walked through scenery I would never have known existed. It was a Jeju you simply cannot reach by car. The path would follow the sea, then slip into a forest, come out into the middle of farmland, and lead back into the alleys of a small village. For ten days straight, I kept catching myself surprised that Jeju was this rich of an island.

Who should walk it

If you love nature, or if you love traveling slowly, please walk the Olle Trail. This is not the kind of trip where you collect photos in front of famous backdrops. It’s a trip where you cross an island at the speed of your own two feet. You don’t need to walk the whole thing either. Set aside just one day of your itinerary for a single course, and you’ll meet a Jeju that no rental car trip can show you.

If Jeju is on your travel plans, pack a pair of walking shoes. The island’s true face is waiting on the trail.

See you in the next letter.

From Seoul, whigoori