The Northeast Coast: Hamdeok, Gimnyeong, and Woljeong

Right now I'm on the sand at Woljeong, watching the water do the thing it only seems to do on this stretch of Jeju — shift from clear to jade to deep cobalt in the space of a few metres, wherever the seafloor drops away. I came out this morning to snorkel and ended up walking most of the day instead. That's the honest summary of Jeju's northeast coast: three beaches close enough to string together on foot, each one a slightly different version of the same idea.

Most people meet these beaches one at a time, by car, for the length of a coffee. It's worth slowing down. Hamdeok, Gimnyeong, and Woljeong sit along a single ribbon of the north-east shore, joined by black basalt walls, wind turbines, and two stages of the Jeju Olle Trail. Taken together, they make more sense than any of them does alone.

Hamdeok, the arrival

Hamdeok is where most visitors land first, and it earns the crowd. The bay curves into shallow, almost tropical water — a pale emerald over white sand that stays waist-deep a long way out, which is exactly why families settle in here for the day. Behind the beach rises Seowoobong, a low volcanic cone with a short path to the top and a clean view back over the whole bay. It's the most built-up of the three: cafes, guesthouses, convenience stores, easy to reach and easy to stay in.

If you only want one beach and you want it comfortable, Hamdeok is the answer. But it's also the busiest, and on a hot afternoon in August the sand disappears under umbrellas. My advice is to treat it as a starting point rather than a destination — swim, climb Seowoobong, then keep moving east.

Gimnyeong, the water

Gimnyeong is the quiet one, and the best kept. It has the same white sand and black rock, the same line of wind turbines turning slowly offshore, but far fewer people — and, by local reckoning, the clearest water anywhere on the island. That reputation is the reason to come. On a calm morning you can wade in off the rocks at the edge of the bay and see straight to the bottom, small fish holding station over the sand, the light coming through in bands.

This is where I'd point anyone who wants to snorkel. The rocky margins on either side of the main beach hold more life than the open sand, and the water clarity does the rest. Go early, before the wind picks up in the afternoon — Jeju's northeast coast is genuinely windy, which is why the turbines are here in the first place, and an easy morning sea turns choppy by two o'clock.

Gimnyeong is also the hinge of this whole coast. It's where Olle Route 19 ends and Route 20 begins, which makes it the natural pivot point if you're walking rather than driving.

Woljeong, where I am

Woljeong is the famous one now — a row of cafes and design shops looking straight out at the water, the kind of place that fills weekend feeds. That's not a reason to skip it, but it's not the reason to come either. Sit with your back to the shops and Woljeong is simply a beautiful beach: cobalt water, pale sand, the same turbines on the horizon as Gimnyeong. Come on a weekday, or early, and the crowd thins to almost nothing.

The snorkelling here is decent when the sea is flat, though Gimnyeong has the edge on clarity. What Woljeong does best is close the day. The light in the late afternoon, the water going from turquoise to indigo, a walk along the sand once the day-trippers have gone — this is a good place to stop.

The walk that ties them together

Here's what the guidebooks tend to leave out: you can walk this entire coast, beach to beach, on the Jeju Olle Trail, and it's one of the most rewarding ways to see the north-east.

Route 19 (Jocheon to Gimnyeong) runs roughly 19 kilometres along the coast, past coastal roads, old sea-diver statues, and the Hamdeok Beach area, before finishing near Gimnyeong. It's rated easy to moderate and takes most walkers four and a half to five hours — an unhurried day with a swim at Hamdeok in the middle.

Route 20 (Gimnyeong to Hado) picks up where 19 leaves off, running about 18 kilometres past both Gimnyeong Beach and Woljeong Beach on its way to the Haenyeo (sea-diver) Museum. It's a gentler, flatter walk, three and a half to four hours, and it links the two quietest beaches directly.

You don't have to walk the whole thing. The most satisfying short version is the coastal stretch from Gimnyeong to Woljeong on Route 20 — an hour or two on foot, water on your right the entire way, ending at a beach you can swim from. Do that, and you understand this coast in a way you never will from a car park.

Practical notes

When to go. July and August give you the warmest water and the fullest beaches; a heat advisory sits over the island then, so start early. May, June, September, and October are the sweet spot — warm enough to swim, quiet enough to enjoy it, and much kinder for walking.

Getting there. All three beaches lie on the north-east coast, around forty minutes by car from Jeju City and the airport. Public buses do reach them, but slowly and with gaps, and the Olle trailheads in particular are awkward to link up on transit. If your plan is to walk one stretch and swim at the end of it, sorting out your transport in advance saves the day from turning into a bus-timetable exercise.

Snorkelling, safely. The clarity here is real, but so is the wind and the current. Swim inside the marked areas, go in the morning while the sea is calm, and check the flags — Jeju's designated beaches run a lifeguard season in summer, and it's worth staying within it. The rocky edges at Gimnyeong are the reward; they're also where the water moves, so keep an eye on it.

Three beaches, one coast, and a trail that turns them into a single walk. Hamdeok to arrive, Gimnyeong for the water, Woljeong to end the day — and the best of it in the quiet stretch between.