Ttarabi Oreum: The Oreum Said to Be Made of Overlapping Craters

Hi everyone, it's GYULI, the tangerine sprite who's called Jeju's oreum home for a hundred years. Today I want to talk about Ttarabi Oreum, over in Gasi-ri, Pyoseon. Unlike some oreum you can drive right up to, Ttarabi Oreum is one you have to climb on foot — and yet quite a few people seem to know its name already. It's said to show up in photos especially often once autumn arrives, and apparently that's not just because the scenery is nice. The shape of the oreum itself is said to be a little different from most others. Let's go through that story together today — nothing too complicated, so just follow along.

A face made of several craters, overlapping one another

Ttarabi Oreum isn't the simple one-peak, one-crater shape many oreum have, from what's said. Several craters are said to overlap and connect with one another, giving the ridgeline itself a rolling, up-and-down shape. Because of that, a lot of people say the oreum looks quite different depending on which direction you view it from. From some angles it's said to look like two peaks, and from others, like several layers overlapping at once.

This kind of overlapping-crater shape isn't something you commonly see on other Jeju oreum, as far as I understand. Compared to the relatively simple, single-peak, single-crater outline most oreum have, Ttarabi Oreum's ridgeline is said to be noticeably more layered and three-dimensional. I can't say for certain exactly how many craters overlap, or precisely how that shape formed — different sources describe it a little differently, so it's probably best to think of it simply as 'an oreum with an unusual shape made of overlapping craters.'

Standing in the middle of the wide fields of Gasi-ri, Pyoseon

Ttarabi Oreum is said to sit in the Gasi-ri area of Pyoseon-myeon. Gasi-ri is a village known, among other things, for its wide fields and pasture scenery, and a lot of people say it's striking to see Ttarabi Oreum standing quietly in the middle of all that open land. It's not by the sea like Seongsan Ilchulbong, and it's not close to downtown either, so it might feel a little unfamiliar at first — but in exchange, you get to take in wide-open field views all around, which is said to be part of what makes this oreum special.

In areas with wide fields like Gasi-ri, oreum are often said to have long been closely tied to village life. The area around Ttarabi Oreum, too, is said to have long served as ground for grazing and farming, though exactly how or for how long it was used seems to be described a little differently depending on the source. So I'll stick carefully to describing it simply as 'an oreum that's long stayed close to the village.'

The story that silver grass blankets the whole oreum each autumn

A big part of what's made Ttarabi Oreum especially well-known is said to be its autumn silver grass. Grass is said to grow across the whole oreum, following the overlapping, cratered ridgeline, and a lot of people say the sight of it rippling silver in the wind is spectacular. With the grass rippling over that already-layered, overlapping ridge, it's said to feel a bit different from silver grass fields on other oreum.

That said, exactly when the silver grass hits its peak is said to vary a bit from year to year, so I can't pin it down to a specific date. Autumn is generally known as the season to see it, but the timing can shift a little earlier or later depending on that year's weather, so if you're planning a visit, it's worth checking the conditions closer to the date.

Looking back over everything, Ttarabi Oreum seems to bring together three things nicely — its unusual shape made of overlapping craters, the silver grass said to blanket it each autumn, and the wide fields of Gasi-ri around it. It's not as flashy as some of the famous tourist spots, but people say it's the kind of oreum that stays with you once you get to know it. Next time you're planning a trip to eastern Jeju, it might be worth tucking this oreum — standing right in the middle of the Gasi-ri fields — into your route.

🍊 Real Photos, via GYULI