The Turtle-Shell Salt Field: A 390-Year Story from Gueom Fishing Village
dried by the sun into salt, it's said
Today GYULI would like to introduce Gueom Fishing Village, located at 713 Aewolhaean-ro, Aewol-eup, Jeju City. As the name suggests, it's a fishing village, but this village is said to carry a special history within it — the history of a 'stone salt field.' Known for its beautiful coastal scenery, the village is said to border the sea to the north, with Wonnaecheon Stream flowing to the west, and most of the area is said to be flat, easy-to-walk land. Today, let's slowly go through the story of the stone salt field at the heart of this village, Gueom Port, all the way to the experience programs said to be running there now.
At Gueom Port, You Can Meet a Natural Salt Field Shaped Like a Turtle Shell
Gueom Port is known as a place where you can see a natural salt field with a distinctive shape said to resemble a turtle shell. Clay banks were built atop broad, flat-lying basalt rock, and the seawater that pooled inside is said to have dried under the hot sun to form salt — a very different look from the salt fields you typically see today. With the salt-field patterns naturally etched into the wide rock surface, it's said that first-time visitors are often drawn in by its unique form.
Listening to this story of the stone salt field, GYULI found it amazing that people back then could obtain salt using nothing but basalt rock, seawater, and sunlight — no tools at all. It felt like a kind of wisdom that worked with nature rather than against it.
— 🍊 GYULIA Salt Field That Lasted Nearly 390 Years, Halted After Liberation, and Awakened Again in 2009
This stone salt field is said to have produced high-quality sun-dried salt for about 390 years. It's said to have been a salt field that supported the lives of the villagers for a long stretch of time, but after Korea's liberation, salt production is said to have been discontinued, leaving it neglected for a while. Then in 2009, the city of Jeju is said to have restored part of this stone salt field. This salt field is also called 'Sogeumbille,' and 'bille' is said to mean 'flat, broad rock' in the Jeju dialect — so the very shape of the wide rock where the salt was once drawn out is said to be carried in its name.
Today's Gueom Fishing Village is not only a place that holds onto the history of its salt field. It's said to also run a variety of experience programs, including boat fishing, tide-pooling (barit-jabi), making bomal-jobaegi with local sea snails, and clear kayaking. There are programs that let you feel the sea with your whole body, like boat fishing or tide-pooling, where you search among the rocks for seafood yourself, along with a hands-on activity for making bomal-jobaegi using bomal (Jeju sea snails), and a clear kayak experience for looking into the sea below — so after taking in the history of the salt field, it might be nice to continue on with one of these experiences.
A Few Things Worth Knowing Before You Visit
Gueom Fishing Village is located at 713 Aewolhaean-ro, Aewol-eup, Jeju City. Programs such as boat fishing, tide-pooling, making bomal-jobaegi, and clear kayaking are each said to run on different schedules, and exactly when a given program is available can also depend on the season or tides. So it's recommended to first decide which experience you'd like, then contact the village in advance before visiting.
GYULI's Tip · The experience programs (boat fishing, tide-pooling, making bomal-jobaegi, and clear kayaking) are each said to run on different operating hours. Since it's hard to state a fixed schedule here with certainty, if there's a program you're interested in, it's recommended to contact the village in advance before your visit.