Yongmeori Coast in Jeju: The Coastal Walk I’d Happily Do Again

Everything in this article comes from my own experience in Jeju, and all photos were taken by me along the way.

At First, I Didn’t Really Get It

I first properly learned about Yongmeori Coast while planning our Jeju itinerary.

I saw the name, looked it up, and found photos of a coastline that seemed different from the usual Jeju scenery.

So I added it to the plan.

At the time, I had no idea that access could depend on the tide and weather. I thought it was the kind of tourist attraction where you simply showed up and went inside.

Looking back, we were lucky.

The tide was out when we visited, and we were able to walk the coastal path from beginning to end.

The funny thing is that the beginning wasn’t especially impressive.

You start on a man-made stone path, and my first reaction was basically:

“Oh. Okay.”

I couldn’t really tell where the Yongmeori Coast I had seen in the photos was supposed to be.

Then we walked farther and reached a point where the path made a big left turn.

That was when I understood.

Then the Cliffs Appeared

As soon as I came around the corner, long layers of rock opened up in front of me.

That is still the first thing I remember about Yongmeori Coast.

Not the sea.

Not the photos.

Not even the ridiculous number of wharf roaches that appeared later.

The cliffs.

I had never seen rock layers like that in person before.

I’ve always liked science, so geological layers and volcanic landscapes automatically get my attention. Even if I see one strange line running through a rock, I’m the kind of person who stops to look at it.

I didn’t actually understand the geology in front of me. At the time, I vaguely assumed the layers had something to do with lava cooling and hardening.

Mostly, I just kept looking at them and wondering:

“How did this end up looking like this?”

That was enough for me.

The Walk Got Better the Farther We Went

Near the entrance, Yongmeori Coast clearly feels like a tourist attraction.

There’s a proper path, and you know exactly where you’re supposed to walk.

Farther in, that feeling starts to disappear.

Eventually, I felt like I was walking directly through the coastline, with a cliff on one side and the sea right beside me on the other.

The ground was flatter than I expected. I didn’t have to climb over rocks or carefully plan every step.

There were spots where seawater had been left behind by the tide, but I don’t remember the route being especially slippery when we visited.

The sea was very close, though.

There were sections where I remember thinking:

“If the water came in a little farther, this would be underwater.”

Once you’ve walked the route, it’s easy to understand why the tide matters so much.

I especially liked standing near the rocks and watching waves hit them and break into white spray.

And the scenery kept changing.

We’d walk for a while, find another shape in the cliffs, stop for photos, and then keep going until the view changed again.

It wasn’t the kind of attraction where you stand at one viewpoint, take a photo, and leave.

The walking itself was the experience.

Then We Met the Wharf Roach Army

There were quite a few people at Yongmeori Coast.

We had entered fairly early, though, and apparently that came with a special bonus.

Wharf roaches.

So many wharf roaches.

Starting around the section where the cliffs really begin, they seemed to have taken over the rocks.

Every time we stepped forward, they scattered to both sides.

One step.

Split.

Another step.

Split again.

My first comparison was Moses parting the Red Sea.

Then I realized there was a better one.

If you’ve played StarCraft, imagine filling the entire 200-supply limit with Zerglings and moving them all at once.

That was the ground in front of me.

I felt like Kerrigan.

I thought it was amazing.

My wife did not.

I was looking up at the cliffs saying:

“Wow, look at that.”

She was staring straight at the ground and screaming.

We were walking through exactly the same place while looking at completely different scenery.

I even filmed the wharf roaches because I found the way they moved so entertaining.

Later, I tried to play the video at home to tease my wife.

It barely worked.

The video took forever to load and kept stuttering.

I have absolutely no evidence that the number of bugs had anything to do with my computer struggling.

I had already reached my conclusion anyway:

“See? Even the computer can’t handle them.”

Luckily, Other Visitors Cleared the Way

The wharf roaches didn’t stay that bad for the entire walk.

We kept stopping to take photos, so people who had entered after us gradually passed us.

They walked ahead.

The wharf roaches scattered for them first.

From my wife’s point of view, those people were basically clearing the path.

After that, she was finally able to look around a little more.

She was still terrified of the bugs, but even she admitted that the landscape itself was interesting.

Also, thanks to our shoe-related incident at Socheonji and Jeongbang Falls the day before, she was wearing sneakers this time.

Excellent timing.

Wear Sneakers

I wouldn’t describe Yongmeori Coast as a difficult walk based on my visit.

The route was fairly flat, and I didn’t find it especially slippery.

I still wouldn’t wear sandals.

You’re walking directly over natural coastal terrain, with uneven rock and the sea very close beside you. Sneakers make much more sense.

I’d also be cautious about bringing very young children who like to run around. There were places where I would have wanted to keep a child very close.

For older family members, I’d judge it based on how comfortable they are walking on uneven natural ground.

This isn’t a mountain hike.

But it isn’t a paved park either.

I Would Have Paid More

I remember the admission fee being surprisingly cheap.

I think it was around 2,000 won per person, although I don’t remember the exact amount.

What I remember much more clearly is my reaction.

At Jeongbang Falls, I had wondered why I had to pay money just to look at nature.

Yongmeori Coast was the opposite.

I remember thinking:

I wouldn’t even mind paying 10,000 won for this.

I liked it that much.

If I had to rank the three natural attractions from that part of the trip, I wouldn’t have to think very hard:

Yongmeori Coast >>>>>>>> Jeongbang Falls > Socheonji

Yes, the gap really is about that big for me.

Would I Go Back?

Yes.

Socheonji was worth seeing once.

Jeongbang Falls was impressive.

Yongmeori Coast is the one I would actually choose to visit again.

I’d also recommend it to most first-time visitors to Jeju, especially if you like nature, unusual rock formations, geology, or photography.

If you enjoy looking at a landscape and wondering how it ended up that way, there is plenty to stare at here.

And if you absolutely hate bugs?

I recommend it to you too.

Why?

Everyone deserves a chance to overcome their fears at least once. 😂

To be fair, I have no idea whether everyone gets the wharf-roach army we saw.

Maybe we entered early enough to be the first people disturbing the ones that had been sitting on the rocks all night.

If we had gone later, someone else might have scattered them before we arrived.

Which, personally, I think would have been a shame.

But the bugs still aren’t the first thing I remember when I think about Yongmeori Coast.

It’s that left turn.

The ordinary path suddenly disappearing behind me.

And those long layers of rock opening up ahead.

If I go back, I want to walk around that corner and see them again.

Then I’ll keep going until I’m close enough to the sea to watch the waves break white against the rocks.

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