From Jeongmul Oreum to Biyangbong, GYULI Rounds the Hallim Oreum Course

Hi, I'm GYULI, the tangerine sprite who's lived on Jeju's oreum for a hundred years. A while back I told you about Geumoreum in Geumak-ri, Hallim-eup, and separately about Biyangdo Island across the sea from Hyeopjae. Geumoreum, said to fill with water at its summit after rain, and Biyangdo, the volcanic island you have to cross by boat — I bet a lot of you remember both. As it turns out, Geumak-ri in Hallim-eup is also home to several other oreum whose names are known, aside from those two. Today I want to link them — Jeongmul Oreum, Doneori Oreum, Mundoji Oreum, and Mang Oreum, plus Biyangbong Peak on Biyangdo Island — into a single day's course, five stops in all. For reference, I won't be repeating the Geumoreum or Biyangdo stories today. Biyangbong is a peak on Biyangdo, but today I'll only touch on it briefly from the angle of climbing it, rather than the island itself. And rather than confidently digging into each oreum's exact height, when it formed, or any legends tied to it, I want to focus more on the course itself — the experience of walking and moving between all five.

Five Oreum, All Said to Sit Near Geumak-ri, Hallim-eup

Hallim-eup lies on the western side of Jeju City, and several oreum with known names are said to be found around Geumak-ri in particular. Jeongmul Oreum is known as one of the oreum in the Geumak-ri area whose name comes up often, while Doneori Oreum is said to sit close to Jeongmul Oreum. Mundoji Oreum is also a known oreum within the same Geumak-ri area, and Mang Oreum carries a name that hints it may once have served as a lookout point of some kind. That said, I'll be careful not to pin down each oreum's exact administrative boundary, height, or formation period, so today I'll just introduce them as 'oreum with these names, said to sit close together.' Just naming the four in a row should give you a sense of how densely oreum are clustered in this neighborhood.

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Linking Oreum Into a Course, Rather Than Climbing Just One

Climbing a single oreum and linking several together are said to feel quite different. If you move from Jeongmul Oreum to Doneori Oreum, then on through Mundoji Oreum and Mang Oreum, you're said to notice each oreum's character shift a little over the course of a single day. Some are said to have gentle ridgelines that make for an easy climb, while others are said to feel different underfoot, with denser brush along the trail. Of course, actual trail conditions and difficulty can vary by season and upkeep, so I won't flatly claim one oreum is easier or harder than another here — but linking several together is said, in account after account, to make you feel just how much character can differ between oreum even within the same western stretch of Jeju. Jeongmul, Doneori, Mundoji, and Mang Oreum are all said to be reachable by car on the mainland, one after another, which is said to be part of the course's appeal — you can link all four in a day without agonizing too much over order or route.

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Biyangbong Is a Different Story — a Peak You Reach Only by Boat

That said, I want to flag that Biyangbong is a different kind of stop from the other four. It's said to be a peak on Biyangdo, the small island floating off the Hyeopjae coast. I covered Biyangdo on its own before, and that piece leaned more on the geology — the island said to be the most recently formed of Jeju's volcanic islands. Today I won't bring that up again, and will only touch on Biyangbong from the angle of climbing it. Jeongmul, Doneori, Mundoji, and Mang Oreum are all said to be reachable by car on the Hallim mainland, one after another, but Biyangbong is a peak you can only climb after first taking a boat from the Hyeopjae pier over to Biyangdo. So if you're linking all five stops into a single day, the route works out to covering the four mainland oreum first, then timing a crossing to Biyangdo and climbing Biyangbong last.

The climb up Biyangbong itself is said to be fairly short, given how small the island is, and near the summit you're said to be able to see both the sea off Hyeopjae and the Hallim mainland at once. Because it's the peak you climb last, after a boat crossing that follows four mainland oreum, some accounts describe Biyangbong as a slightly special way to close out the course — climbing a peak inside an island. That said, sailings aren't said to run frequently throughout the day, and service is said to be cancelled outright on days with strong wind or high waves, so if you're planning to include Biyangbong, it makes sense to check the boat schedule and that day's weather first, then build the rest of your oreum itinerary around it.

Putting it all together, the Hallim Oreum Course feels less like a trip built around a single destination and more like a journey for feeling the shape of western Jeju's terrain with your own legs, moving from oreum to oreum. If Geumoreum, which I introduced before, is remembered for two clear draws — its sunset and the pond said to appear at its summit — this course's five stops feel more like they're defined by being clustered close enough to link together, closing out with a boat crossing to climb Biyangbong. If you don't have much time, picking just one or two of the mainland oreum is a fine option, and saving Biyangbong for a day when you can spare more time might be the better move.

🍊 More Photos, via GYULI