Hyeongjeseom: The Two Islets Floating Side by Side Below Sanbangsan
off the coast of Sanbangsan
Hi everyone, it's GYULI, the tangerine sprite who's called Jeju's oreum home for a hundred years. Following up on the Sanbangsan story I told you a while back, today I want to talk about the two small islands said to float in the sea off Sanbangsan and Yongmeori Coast — Hyeongjeseom. In the Sanbangsan piece, I focused on Sanbangsan itself, where a mountain, a temple, and a coastal landform all come together in one place. Today I want to talk separately about Hyeongjeseom, the islets you're said to spot when you turn your gaze from Sanbangsan and Yongmeori Coast out toward the sea. Even though they're said to be small, uninhabited islets where no one lives, they're apparently quite well known among people who love photography. Let's slowly go through why.
Two Islands Floating Side by Side — Hence, Hyeongjeseom
As the name suggests, Hyeongjeseom is said to be not one island but two small islands sitting side by side. Two islands of slightly different size are said to float close together, and because they look like an older and younger sibling standing next to each other, that's reportedly how the name came about — hyeongje means "siblings" in Korean. Since they're said to be uninhabited islets rather than islands people live on, Hyeongjeseom is talked about less as a place you sail out to and walk around, like Udo or Marado, and more as a subject you view from the mainland. So maybe it's fair to say Hyeongjeseom isn't an island you approach up close, but one whose charm is completed only when viewed from a distance.
When you look at where Hyeongjeseom is actually mentioned, it's usually spots on the mainland that face the islets head-on — the coast near Sanbangsan, the area around Yongmeori Coast, and the Sagye-ri shoreline. Depending on where you're standing, the two islands are said to sometimes appear to overlap and sometimes appear clearly separated. So among people who enjoy photography, there's apparently some fun in moving around to different shooting spots just for Hyeongjeseom alone, hunting for the composition that feels just right.
Not an Island You Approach, but One You View From Afar
When people talk about Sanbangsan or Yongmeori Coast, spaces you can actually walk into — like the temple inside or the coastal trail — tend to come up alongside them. Hyeongjeseom, though, is said to be a bit different. Since both islets are uninhabited and there's no word of any official trail for exploring them, the way people are said to encounter Hyeongjeseom is mostly by viewing it from a mainland beach or walking path. If anything, that's said to be part of what makes Hyeongjeseom special. It's not an island you pick apart up close, but one where you take in the whole silhouette floating on the sea from a comfortable distance. That's reportedly why Hyeongjeseom so often shows up as a backdrop in photos, or as one piece of a wider scene.
Being an island you view from a distance isn't a shortcoming — if anything, that distance is said to be exactly what lets the two islands come into view side by side, all at once.
— 🍊 GYULIWhy the Silhouette Is Said to Be Especially Beautiful at Sunset
One word that seems to come up without fail whenever Hyeongjeseom is mentioned is sunset. As the sun slowly sinks, the sky and sea are said to turn red, and the two islands of Hyeongjeseom are said to gradually settle into a deepening silhouette. Many accounts say that while they look like small, faintly green islands in daylight, once the sunset colors spread, they turn into sharply outlined black shadows. With that silhouette reportedly reflecting on the water and overlapping with the sunset colors in the sky, it's easy to see why it's so often introduced as a photo spot.
That said, the exact time the sun sets and the angle from which Hyeongjeseom looks its best are said to shift with the season and the weather, so it's hard to pin down a specific time here. Even from the same spot, the sunset colors reportedly differ between a cloudy day and a clear one, and the direction of the sunset is said to shift slightly with the season, so if you want to capture a proper sunset photo of Hyeongjeseom, it's probably best to allow plenty of time and settle into your spot.
Looking at it this way, Hyeongjeseom feels less like a place you walk into and explore corner by corner, the way you might Sanbangsan or Yongmeori Coast, and more like an island whose story is only completed when you stand nearby and quietly look out at it. After you've made your way around Sanbangsan and Yongmeori Coast, turning your gaze slightly out to sea to take in Hyeongjeseom's paired silhouette might make that day's trip through western Jeju feel that much fuller.
GYULI's Tip · Hyeongjeseom is said to be uninhabited, with no separate trail for walking onto the islets themselves, so it's usually introduced as a place to view from the coast near Sanbangsan or Yongmeori Coast. If you want a sunset photo, it's worth checking that day's sunset time and weather ahead and giving yourself plenty of time to find your spot.