Comfort food from Jeju for those times when you're feeling... orange.
Most ATMs on Jeju do not accept foreign ATM/Debit cards for cash withdrawls; most of the few that do are located in the city of Jeju. So get all the cash you can at the airport, especially if you are not staying in Jeju City.
In Seogwipo, there's a BK Star bank, East of Jeunghang Rotary which accepts foreign cards. Also, it seems that most Family Mart which have an ATM inside work with foreign cards too.
One Jeju specialty is brown colored clothing. These have been dyed via juice from the persimmon fruit, which is the traditional way of dying clothing.
The iconic stone statues, usually in pairs, are called grandfather statues and are for protection. Many places sell small stone replicas of them made of Jeju basalt (volcanic stone). If aircraft weight restrictions are a concern, check the back of the statue for vugs (cavities) as it's entirely possible to find the odd one as light as a feather.
Citrus fruit (hallabong and mandarines). The specialty citrus of Jeju is the hallabong (dekopon in Japanese) something akin to an oversized tangerine which has a very distinctive plump bulge on its top. Its fame comes from its sweet taste and peelability. Do not be at all surprised if, when arriving back on the mainland, your bag pops into the baggage claim tucked between crate after crate after crate of hallabong imported by small business resellers. Although less famed, mandarines are also a major Jeju product.
Jeju hallabong chocolate. These come in varieties. The first is a plain flat chocolate with a layer of hallabong flavor sandwiched in the middle. The second however is shaped like a little grandfather statue and is primarily the "flavor" component of the first with a tiny slither of chocolate on the back. The latter tend to be a little less flavorsome (ironically) but are cute enough to make nice gifts. If hallabongs aren't your thing, fear not, for they also come in mandarine, kiwi, green tea and purple cactus fruit (somewhat a mixed berry flavor) varieties. There are crunch chocolates too, less unique but very tasty.
Jeju kamgyul(citrus) wine. Similar to Japanese sake but with a fresh citrus finish. At only 5000 won for an entire 750mL bottle though, honestly, you can't complain even if it isn't quite your thing.
Green tea. Although perhaps not as famed as Boseong, the entire Western end tip of the island is littered with tea plantations.
Ganse dolls. A souvenir of the Olle hiking coastal trails, they are cute little (15 cm) plush ponies on phonestraps handmade out of used clothing (and thus individually unique) by the women of Jeju. Profits go to developing and maintiang the island's hiking trails and they're available from tourist information centres and many budget accomodations. 15,000 won.
Shop at Jeju Folk Arts Complex. This place is practically a big gift shop of beautiful traditional art. Prices of items at the Jeju Folk Arts Complex are cheaper than those you find elsewhere.
Souvienier shops, craft stores and fruit stands exist almost everywhere on the island, but if you are looking for more mundane daily goods, your best bet is to head into Jeju City or Seogwipoi which have the usual array of Korean conveniences including some Lottes and an unusually high proportion of E-marts (both of which also contain large souvenier shops).
The Most Frequently Asked Travel Questions about Jeju
Where To Stay & Best Hotels in Jeju - updated Apr 2024
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Jeju Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.
