Traveling to Jeju by Ferry

View of Wando from our hostel rooftop

Getting to Jeju Island last minute on a holiday weekend in Korea is no easy feat. With Jeju Island being a cherished and relaxing vacation spot for many domestic and international travelers, its no surprise that during long weekends the island fills with people.

I know that many Koreans make flight and hotel reservations long in advance when there is a known holiday approaching, however as a foreigner living in Korea my plans are almost always spur of the moment. By the time my friend and I decided to go flight tickets were pricey and not ideal. To save some money and have another unique experience, we decided to take the ferry instead. A coworker of my friend helped us buy the tickets online using the Korean website, and we were all set to travel from Wando - Jeju by boat.

It was still quite the chore taking the ferry, as neither of us lived in Wando. We met there the night before and stayed in a motel, but our bus times were very spread apart. Since I was coming from Naju, even though I left later at night I arrived much sooner than my friend. It is about a 2.5 hour bus ride from Naju to Wando, but it is just over 5 hours from Seoul.

I can assume I looked a bit shady loitering around the dark, locked up, and vacant bus terminal at 10:30 at night while I waited for my friend's bus to arrive. Since it's a small town, the terminals close early in the evening. I got a few occasional strange glances as people did appear, watching as I paced the bus arrival platform.

Anyway this is about the ferry trip, so I will focus on that specifically.

Finding the ferry was quite simple, since it was HUGE. I've taken ferries to islands back home before, but taking a ferry across the ocean, even for a small stretch of it, is still loads different. Since people could bring their cars along, it seemed like a majority of the people boarding had vehicles to load as well. We entered the terminal with only a text confirming our ticket purchase. We walked up to the ticket counter, showed them the message and they printed our tickets after checking our passports. Then it was just a short wait, line, and two ticket checks before we were able to board the boat.

We boarded on the main deck that held all the vehicles and then went through a small door and up an escalator to where the passenger rooms were. The fact that I used an escalator on a boat in the ocean was very pleasing to me. It made me feel fancy for some reason.

Once we boarded we had no clue were we were supposed to go, until an attendant informed us we could sit in any second class room. I will say now that riding the ferry was very enjoyable, but very Korean style. Our trip was only three hours since we left from Wando, so second class was okay, but any longer and it may have been smart to spring for a first class room with a bed and table. The second class rooms are just that... wide open, carpeted rooms. There are no seats, just a rack for your shoes (no shoes in the room) and a few hard foam-like blocks to rest your head upon scattered about.

You choose a place (best ones are against a wall so you can lean against something) and just chill there until the ferry arrives in Jeju. The boat was quite full, so the rooms were filled with people ranging from elementary age to young adult to elderly just laying around, chatting, or sharing food. (On our return trip one family even shared their hallabongs with us!) There is also no WiFi available, so unless you have a hotspot you are pretty much confined to whatever movie is showing on the one out-dated TV in the room. Luckily for us the TV was on an English movie channel the entire time. I really enjoyed the community atmosphere of the rooms. I feel like it is very similar to the overnight Korean spas, everyone just mingling together.

My favorite part about the ferry though was the back deck, where you could go to see the view of the ocean. The wind can get pretty strong in places, so my hair was an absolute mess, but the view and sound of the water was worth it. We spent a lot of time on the back deck taking photos and enjoying the wind.

However with the good comes some disappointment too. It is the ocean, and while beautiful, it is also polluted. The amount of trash I saw floating past as we made our way disheartened me. Mostly it was water bottles, I think I counted over a dozen total, but we saw lots of lumber as well and even some pieces of fishing net and ... a paint can. I wished so badly that there was some way I could've gotten all the junk out of the water. It soured my mood a bit.

Then there was also the matter of the boat itself. While my friend and I were counting the bottles floating in the water I noticed this yellowish brown haze in the sky and the more I looked the worse it seemed. At first I thought maybe it was just very visible air pollution or yellow dust, or perhaps a fire had started on a ship somewhere else, but then I realized it was a smoke trail coming from our ferry. It was a very dirty looking smoke, and it had a less than pleasing smell. The pollution was a bit of a turn off from our excitement, so we went back inside at that point.

Overall the ride was short but a good experience and one I am glad to have had. I could really experience Korean culture on the ferry in a way I'd never get to on a ferry back home in Michigan. Plus, it is the first time I have ever been on a boat in the ocean, which is also pretty exciting for me.

Here are some short clips of the whole process of taking the ferry!

I'll leave with one last photo... these three girls who, like me, were clearly making memories they would remember for years to come. :)