Viking Gems of China and Japan Day 19 – Jeju Island, South Korea, Primping and Pork Belly
Today, we docked on Jeju Island, South Korea, our 92nd United Nations member state and 110th country overall.

We had an optimistic weather forecast with temps in the low 70s and only a 10% chance of rain. That turned out to be accurate, and it was a beautiful day.
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The Sun, making itself known over the island |
Jeju Island sits off the southwest corner of South Korea. It is a volcanic island known for its clean air and semi-tropical climate. There are plenty of hotels, beaches, and waterfalls, so it is a popular tourist destination. It is famous for the haenyeo, the legendary female free divers who reach depths of 60 feet or more, diving for sea delicacies up to three minutes at a time without supplemental oxygen.

Our tour had two parts today. First, we stopped at a clothing rental store where they rent out traditional Korean attire, or hanbok, for special events, weddings, and so on. It is like a tux or wedding dress rental shop in the United States. We toured a set of traditional Korean buildings in the middle of the city while dressed up in formal Korean attire. Then, we had lunch at a Korean restaurant.
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The hanbok rental store |
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Arlona, getting all traditional |
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Me doing my best King impression |
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Arlona, all blinged-up |
We were off to the traditional Korean settlement in town. Gwandeokjeong Pavilion was established in 1448 and is one of the oldest buildings in Jeju.
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One of the many stone sculptures that can be found around the island |
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Our fancy group |
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Sculptures to honor the agricultural history here |
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The ceiling painting inside the structures was beautiful |
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Hey - we're hat buddies |
After we toured the pavilion, we returned the duds and headed to lunch.
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We think this translates to Black Pig - the picture at the top of the sign seems to support that |
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The full name was Neulbom Heukdwaeji |
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Each group of four diners had its own table with a cooking area and side dishes |
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They brought out a bucket of red-hot coals and put a cooking grate on top |
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On went the fresh pork belly |
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After that was cooked, she slapped on more - we tossed on garlic |
They had sides like cabbage slaw, two kinds of kimchi, soy bean paste, tofu, sesame oil, and more. It was a fun experience, and the pork belly was quite tasty.
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Returning to the port |
As we returned to the port, one thing stood out to us. As we toured China, nearly every building we drove past had a Chinese flag hanging from it. It was impressive how many flags we saw. Here, in South Korea, we saw exactly one South Korean flag, and I didn't get a chance to get a photo of it.
Our onboard time was 3:30, so it was a short day on Jeju Island. As we were boarding, someone was talking about how bad the internet service has been. Apparently, the Yi Dun was listening and said, "Hold my beer", because the internet was completely dead. It remained dead until nearly 8:00. Internet access definitely isn't a strong suit on this ship.
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Our departure gateway |
The tugs arrived just after 3:30 to hook up and guide us away from the pier.
Our sail out was smooth. We started our way northeast toward our next port, Hiroshima, Japan.
Viking had a BBQ dinner served tonight in the Pool Grill. Brisket, ribs, sausage, and more were available. That's one thing that Viking does much better than Seabourn - offer local specialties when visiting different geographies.
When we returned to our room, we were surprised to find some pieces of laundry waiting for us on the bed. The reason we were surprised is that we didn't send any laundry out. The slip attached had the last name, "Winkler" - not exactly close to "Kolb". But, they did write room number 3086 on the slip. So, there is someone named "Winkler" on the ship with no idea what room they are sleeping in. Wow.
We gave the laundry to our cabin steward and made sure that our room wasn't charged for doing Winkler's laundry.
Once the internet was available again, I was able to finish today's entry and prepare for tomorrow. We don't dock until 3:15 tomorrow afternoon, so tomorrow is essentially a sea day. Viking dropped off immigration paperwork in the room, so we filled it out and will have to go through Japanese immigration tomorrow. We'll decide tomorrow whether we will just get immigration done and return to the ship, or go into town and wander for a bit. We'll be in Hiroshima overnight, plus we have been there before, so it isn't a big deal for us.
Speaking of ports, we were notified of an itinerary change today. Our overnight stop in Osaka was canceled for operational reasons. It was replaced with an overnight stop in Kobe. It was essentially a non-issue as Osaka and Kobe are very close to each other, and all Viking excursions are available from either port. If folks booked their own tours in Osaka, then they will have an issue. Folks with Viking excursions won't be impacted at all. Surprisingly, Viking credited everyone with $150 per person in non-refundable onboard credit as compensation for the change. While we're happy with that, it sure doesn't seem necessary. Still, we won't refuse it.
We streamed today's port talk on Hiroshima on the TV in our room tonight and called it an early evening. We return to Japan tomorrow afternoon.
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