26 May 2025
travel lifeLast month I lived in a town called Hwabuk Il-dong (화북일동) in Jeju Korea. It’s situated just outside of the main city of Jeju and I’ve absolutely fallen in love with it.
Jeju is the largest island off the southern coast of South Korea. Its volcanic origins means that the island is surrounded by black volcanic rocks, crystal clear water, and stunning views all around.
The island itself is pretty well-connected to the mainland and has a vibrant amount of people residing on it, with the main city, Jeju-si, having about 500,000 people.
Hwabuk is just outside Jeju-si and is a little port town. It’s quiet, but not dead; connected, but not overflowing. It had everything we needed and then some.
We woke up most mornings, walked to our local yoga studio with views overlooking the harbor — the sunset views were the best. We chatted with the yoga teacher before and after each class over tea, just to chat. Quickly becoming friends.
We also had our local coffee shop that we quickly became regulars at, chatting with the owner, learning that she too does yoga at the same place. We became friends with her too after a few weeks.
What surprised me the most is that each of these places were run by people who have fostered a community around their business. It’s not just transactional, although they’re not doing bad, they invite their patrons to linger for the possibility that there are more people who are looking for the same.
The coffee shop, for instance, offered runners a 10% discount on coffee, and so it became a place runners come and hang out — but even more than that, it was a place she curated. Offering water to runners and dogs on hot days, letting patrons bring little chairs to hang out outside of the shop on breezy days with cherry blossoms flowers falling down. It was a pocket of life, among many we found in Hwabuk.
When we weren’t doing yoga or getting coffee, we were walking. Walking a lot. Jeju has this trail called the Olle trail, which goes all around the island. We were on course 18, which is one of the prettier courses, going up mountains, along coastlines, and through black rock beaches. We’ve discovered about ourselves that access to such walking paths were indispensable for us. That as much as we enjoyed a city, access to nature and the ability to stretch our legs provides the breath of life that keeps us coming back for more.
I’ve vowed to myself that I’ll live there in the future, looking at land to buy and potentially build a house, although that may be idealistic of me.
Hwabuk has a special place in my heart and I cannot wait to return.