Seongsan Ilchulbong

Part Of The UNESCO World Heritage Site Jeju Volcanic Island And Lava Tubes (2007); Natural Monument · Seogwipo, Jeju

A great tuff cone rising about 180 metres straight out of the sea at the eastern tip of Jeju, joined to the island by a narrow neck of land and sand. It was formed a few thousand years ago when magma met seawater in a shallow-sea eruption, and the waves have since cut its sides into sheer cliffs and a ring of jagged rock ribs, so that from the air it looks like a crown or a fortress on the water. A stone stairway climbs the green western slope to the crater rim in roughly 20 to 30 minutes, and from the top the crater opens as a huge grassy bowl about 600 metres across, with views back over Seongsan town, Udo island and the long coast. Known in English as Sunrise Peak, it has been Jeju's traditional place to watch the first light of the day, and of the year, since long before tourism. It is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava Tubes, inscribed in 2007, and a Natural Monument. At its foot the haenyeo, Jeju's women divers, give demonstrations and sell the catch, and the Udo ferry leaves from the port nearby.

284-12 Ilchul-ro, Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo, Jeju, 63643, South Korea

NO OPENING TIME HERE WAS CHECKED. The typical pattern: the cone opens before dawn in the sunrise season, about an hour before sunrise, and around 7 am otherwise, closing at roughly 7 to 8 pm in summer and earlier in winter, with last entry about an hour before closing. The site has closed on one fixed day each month, often the first Monday, for rest; check it. The haenyeo demonstration runs at set times, usually early afternoon. Traps: reaching the gate at sunrise time instead of opening time; a monthly closing day; the haenyeo show cancelled in rough seas; the last Udo ferry gone; typhoons closing the peak; the New Year crowds.

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