Jeju's Sunrise Peak (Seongsan Ilchubong) - Day 12 in South Korea

We woke up quite early for a jam-packed exploration I have planned for our second day in Jeju. We visited the Dragon Rock, Jusangjeolli Cliff, Teddy Bear Museum and The Seaes Resort for the first part of our stay here and it was pretty tiring so we dozed off after we got home. I told our driver to meet us up at Weoljeongni by 4:30 AM, and yes, he was on the dot, well, all Koreans are! Now maybe you are wondering why we were up this time? This is because we wanted to see the sunrise at Seongsan Ilchubong, also commonly known as "Sunrise Peak".

Seongsan Ilchubong is one of Jeju's many tourist sites that is UNESCO World Natural Heritage monument. It is said to have risen from under the sea due to a volcanic eruption about thousand of years ago, forming a tuff cone in the eastern side of the island. It is over 180 meter high and has preserved a noted crater which is a subject to lots of pictures, not only because of it shape, but also because this is a great spot for taking sunrise photos.

Morning cloudy view at Seongsan Ilchubong

Our driver, Mr. Ko Seung Ku drove silently to Seongsan Ilchubong. It was very early and I still wanted more minuteshours of sleep. Once we reached our destination, he told us that he'd wait in the car until we get back. It was 5:30 AM when we arrived and there are signs near the entrance on what time the sun will approximately "show up" depending on which month and season. It was said that the sunrise is 6:30 AM for that date so we took our time going up as we still had an hour.

Eastern Jeju before daybreak

It was a very very relaxed hike. The climb up would take only 30-40 minutes depending on how easily you tire, it was stress-free and people who are not fond of this activity would still enjoy it as this place offers amazing views of the towns in Jeju.

Upon getting to the crater, I prepped my camera and tripod getting ready to take photographs. I have noticed that during this time, there are still no other foreign tourists in sight, but more of Korean locals. It's a good thing also that we were early as it was not that crowded, I've seen the pictures of the people who have climbed here on late mornings and afternoon, and yup, too much people you can't help but to add them on your pictures.

The cloudy cloudy clouds, Mr. Sun, where art thou?

It was almost quarter to seven and Mr. Sun is still not showing up! It looked like I am taking pictures of clouds! I heard some Koreans express their disappointment too, and they headed down earlier. I was not giving up though, I still had some hope in me.

A portion of the crater around Sunrise Peak

By 7:30 AM, I finally decided it was time to go. This was the closest I could get to that memorable sunrise picture at Jeju! There was no one to blame though of course. I just then decided to have some snapshots of the crater itself. Good thing there were also some photographers beside me (that I had to instruct how to use Canon, as they were Nikon users, and speaking in Korean, gawwwd! Nose bleed again and again, too much technical jargons!)

All I can see were dark clouds and I was praying that it won't rain! I don't need anymore of those bummers, we've been rained on a couple of times already and our itinerary ruined. Note to self: must have back-up plan during this situations. Anyway, took more images of the landscape around Seongsan Ilchubong.

Viewing deck

I was also told that you could spot haenyo divers here but did not get to see any again today.

No haenyo divers unfortunately

So windy!

I thought that Soengsan Ilchubong was a superb spot to observe one of South Korea's magnificent sceneries, with sunrise or no sunrise. The place was extremely pleasing and booming with calming atmosphere that has made me positive the entire day. It's like strolling in a peaceful garden. Just make sure you come here in the morning so that the sun's heat is not that rough yet. Admission to Seongsan Ilchubong is 2,000 Won for adults and 1,000 for teenagers and children.

Seongsan Ilchubong - Sunrise Peak

Can you wake up early to catch a sunrise too? If not, just motivate yourself on what you can experience once you did. Even though the sun was a bit shy to us, the trip here was not a complete waste. Let me know what you though on the comment box below. :)

Follow my footsteps in South Korea!

Day 1: Gangwon-do Chuncheon and Nami Island	Day 2: Gangwon-do Mt.Seorak (Seoraksan)	Day 3: Gyeonggi-do Yongin and Food Tour	Day 4: Gyeonggi-do Suwon: Hwaseong Fortress, Korean Folk Village	Day 5: Gyeonggi-do Everland	Day 6: Gyeongju Food Tour	Day 7: Gyeongju Seokguram Grotto Bulguksa Temple Cheomseongdae and Anapji Pond
Day 8: Busan Railway Train in Korea	Day 9: Busan Igidae Coast Busan Fireworks Festival	Day 10: Busan Haedong Yonggungsa Temple Flying with Jeju Air	Day 11: Jeju (E) Food Tour- Altang Dragon Rock Jusangjeolli Cliff Teddy Bear Museum The Seaes Resort	Day 12: Jeju (W) Sunrise Peak Seopjikoji Trick Art Folk Village Sangamburi Crater, Mt.Halla Manjanggul Cave, Maze Park Jjimjilbang	Day 13: Seoul Flying with T'way Airlines Couchsurfing in Korea	Day 14: Seoul Palaces and Bukchon Village
Day 15&16: Seoul Myeongdong and Ewha University N Seoul Tower	Booking Flights via T'way Airlines	Travel Report for South Korea 16 days travel itinerary and tips