From Darangswi Oreum to Dunji Oreum — Four Gujwa Oreum in a Day

Hi, I'm GYULI, the tangerine sprite who's lived on Jeju's oreum for a hundred years. Up until now I've mostly written about one oreum at a time, digging into each one in detail. Today I want to try something a little different. Instead of focusing deeply on a single oreum, I want to bundle together four oreum said to sit close together in one spot in Gujwa-eup — Darangswi Oreum, Nopeun Oreum, Baegyagi Oreum, and Dunji Oreum — and introduce them as a course you can visit together in a day. Actually, a couple of oreum near here have already come up in my earlier posts. I told you about Akkeun Darangswi Oreum, said to sit right next to Darangswi Oreum, and about Yongnuni Oreum, known for its soft ridgeline. I won't repeat those stories today. Instead, I want to focus on what order makes sense for visiting these four, and what the experience of moving from one oreum to the next actually feels like. So think of today's post as less about the detailed shape of each individual oreum, and more about the experience of touring them as a course.

Why so many oreum are said to cluster together in Gujwa-eup

Jeju is said to have hundreds of oreum scattered across the island, and among them, the area around Songdang-ri and Sehwa-ri in Gujwa-eup is said to have an especially dense cluster of oreum sitting close to one another. Well-known names like Darangswi Oreum, Akkeun Darangswi Oreum, Yongnuni Oreum, Nopeun Oreum, Baegyagi Oreum, and Dunji Oreum are all said to be located in this area, which is probably why travelers often talk about bundling these Gujwa oreum into a single day-long course. For people who feel like climbing just one oreum isn't quite enough, but who also don't have time to visit every oreum on the island, picking a cluster like this in one region is often recommended as an efficient option. The four I'm introducing today are said to be one of the combinations people commonly group together this way.

🍊 Real Photos, via GYULI

Starting at Darangswi Oreum, then on to Nopeun Oreum, Baegyagi Oreum, and Dunji Oreum

The course I want to introduce today is often said to start at Darangswi Oreum. Darangswi Oreum is said to sometimes go by the nickname 'the Queen of Jeju's oreum.' I'll be careful not to confidently claim exactly why it earned that nickname, but the fact that it's talked about as an oreum with an especially notable reputation does seem to come up consistently across sources. Right next to Darangswi Oreum sits Akkeun Darangswi Oreum, which I introduced in an earlier post — an oreum said to be smaller in scale than its neighbor, true to its name. I've already told that story separately, so I won't bring it up again today. If you're curious, it's worth looking up that earlier post.

After starting the course at Darangswi Oreum, the next stop is often said to be Nopeun Oreum. Nopeun Oreum is also said to be one of the oreum located in Gujwa-eup, and like Darangswi Oreum, it's said to come up often whenever this area's oreum cluster is discussed. Moving between oreum is said to happen along short stretches of road, so once you've finished exploring one, a short drive is said to bring you to the trailhead of the next. Climbing up, coming back down, getting in the car, and heading to the next oreum — that repeating flow is said to create a rhythm quite different from a trip built around a single oreum.

After Nopeun Oreum, the course is often said to continue on to Baegyagi Oreum. Baegyagi Oreum is likewise said to be one of the oreum located in Gujwa-eup. And the course is said to wrap up at Dunji Oreum, which is also said to be one of the oreum located in Gujwa-eup. I'll be careful not to confidently walk through the detailed shape or origin of each of these oreum today — instead, I want to focus more on what kind of experience it is to visit these four in this order.

🍊 More From GYULI

Why visiting four oreum in a day is said to be worth it

Climbing just one oreum and calling it a day feels quite different from stringing several oreum together, or so it's said. Each oreum is said to carry its own distinct expression, and climbing four of them back to back in a single day is said to make those differences stand out much more clearly. The ridgeline you just climbed naturally gets compared to the one you're climbing now, and that little realization — 'huh, every oreum really is different' — is said to build up several times over the course of a day. The short drives between oreum are also said to have their own charm, with the silhouette of the next oreum gradually growing closer through the window — the act of moving itself is often counted as part of what makes this course fun.

That said, if you want to visit all four, it's said to be best to clear your whole day for it. How long it takes to climb up and down varies by oreum, and pace can shift depending on weather and condition, so I'll be careful not to confidently claim it all wraps up in some exact number of hours. If you're planning to do this course, it's recommended to set aside a generous full day and take your time at each oreum without rushing. Nearby, there's also Yongnuni Oreum, the one with the soft ridgeline I already introduced — if you have time left over, bundling it in is said to be an option too. Since I've already told that story separately, though, I'll just mention it briefly here and move on.

🍊 More Photos, via GYULI