Jeju Island Winter Guide
Yakcheonsa Temple
We started our morning at a Buddhist temple called Yakcheonsa Temple. This is the first temple we have visited in Jeju, and once we arrived we questioned why we didn’t visit earlier. The property is very large and there is so much to explore. I’ve lived in Korea for many years, but I have never seen a temple like this. It is constructed in the original Korean style, but is much larger than normal temples in East Asia. At the time we visited, a massive snow storm was coming down from Hallasan, covering the temple in a beautiful white coat as the morning sun burst through the clouds.
The main hall has four floors. Each is decorated very differently and is dripping in detail. The staff working at the temple were very helpful, friendly, and quite talkative with us. This temple even offers temple stay, and I think this would be the perfect place to try the experience.
The main hall was completed in 1996, meaning the modern buildings are all quite new. According to several sources on the internet, Yakcheonsa is “the largest temple in Asia”. We have been to many temples in Asia, and I can promise you it is not the largest by any measure. At the time it was built, it was “the largest single Buddhist worship hall in East Asia”, but not even that is true anymore. Regardless of its rather audacious claim, it is an incredibly nice worship hall. We were craning our necks to see the ceiling, and it had a sense of vastness I’ve never experienced in Korea before. This is definitely a spot worth checking out if you’re on the south side of Jeju.
Osulloc Tea Museum
Every time I visit Jeju it is a tradition to visit Osulloc Tea Museum. We always get our favorite set, which has an Udo peanut shake, green tea ice cream, and a tangerine cake with icecream. We like to go out to the tea fields and take pictures, but this was our first time visiting in winter together. This time, the tea fields looked slightly different as it was covered in snow. Usually the fields are packed with people but when we visited it was only us. What a lucky day! The snow really enhances the color of all the tea leaves, and it felt extra special.
Osulloc Matcha Noodle Bar
Even though we’ve visited Osulloc many times, we’ve only ever gotten ice cream. In 2025, they opened a matcha noodle bar that we had to try. I was super eager as it was a collaboration with a famous Michelin star chef in Korea, Kim Doyoon. As you walk in you can see them making the noodles fresh, which really got us excited. They offer 3 kinds of noodles dishes: warm matcha noodles, cold matcha noodles, and bibim matcha noodles. We were already cold so we decided to get both of the warm options.
I’ve had green tea noodles before, but I wasn’t able to taste a strong flavor of green tea. These noodles had a much stronger matcha taste, but it wasn’t at all overwhelming. The warm noodles had a thin meat broth and pork shank. Overall, it wasn’t a strong flavor, but was very hardy and wholesome. But the bibim noodles… these were truly on another level. The taste of the bibim seasoning was very strong, and the noodles were slightly oily, giving it an incredible texture. I always love to eat fresh noodles, and the extra matcha flavor had me screaming. Even if you’ve been before, I definitely recommend coming to Osulloc to try the bibim noodles.
Camellia Forest
You may think winter in Jeju is dead, but even in the cold this island is full of color. Jeju is home to camellias, a flowering bush from East Asia that blooms in the winter. We came to a famous place to view the flowers, Camellia Forest in the south of the Island. This large park on the mountainside has winding paths with massive bushes full of flowers and the cutest coffee shop. It felt like a dream seeing the bright pink color pop out through the heavy snow that was falling at the time.
There is not much to do here besides looking at the camellias and visit the cafe, but that’s okay because it is so beautiful. Every turn felt like a K-drama, and we spent a lot more time than we expected. It was so beautiful as there are so many interesting paths and places to take pictures. Lots of families and couples were getting their photos taken by professionals so we knew we were in the right place. The forest is located high up the mountain, so the snow was absolutely stacking on top of us. All we could do is laugh as we really experienced Jeju winter.
Shimteo Farm Stay
Jeju Island is famous for winter citrus and farms are located all over the island. There are various types of citrus through out the year, and December is tangerine season. When I first went to Jeju in the winter, I got to experience picking tangerines fresh off the tree. It was very good memory for me and I wanted Michael to experience it. Because many places are on holiday around New Year’s, I had to pick a farm on the spot. We went to Shimteo Farm Stay, which has a flat fee for admission you pay for the tangerines by kilo. The staff were very friendly and had so much energy, so the vibes were good.
We collected our baskets, gloves, and shears at the front and headed to the farm. The front is a photo zone so those tangerines couldn’t be picked but anything in the back and sides could be picked. The staff showed us how to look for the smaller tangerines as they tend to be sweeter, and to cut at an angle from the top. While we were picking tangerines it was snowing, and the experience felt like magic straight out of a Hallmark movie.
Although we got wet from the snow, it was so much fun. We picked about a basket each and the price was very affordable. As soon as we got to the car, we tried our freshly picked tangerines and it was just as I remembered. It was so sweet and cold because of the weather, the perfect winter snack.
Jeju Camellia Arboretum
After visiting Camellia Forest we wanted to try one more famous place to see camellias, Jeju Camellia Arboretum. On the surface it is the same as Camelia Forest, but they are quite different. Here, the bushes are less dense with flowers, but they tower two or three times higher into the sky. With winding paths going on for much longer, it felt like a hedge maze at times. The arboretum offers a wide space to look at camellias and there are also some different colors that bloom here too.
I wouldn’t recommend visiting both places to see the camellias as there are many similarities. it’s hard for me to pick which location is better, as they both offer different styles for photography. Regardless of which one you visit, you won’t regret it as they are so beautiful during the winter season.
Wonang Falls
Wonang Falls is a hidden waterfall in the hills of Jeju. We’ve visited several of the largest waterfalls in Jeju before, but Wonang Falls was new to us. From the parking lots it’s about a 10-15 minute walk to reach to the falls. The path is moderate, just be careful when going down the stairs, as it’s incredibly steep. When we arrived at Wonang Falls the water was a light shade of blue and very clear. I felt like I was in the movie Frozen as the rocks were covered in dark green moss and the snow was lightly falling, I was waiting for the trolls to appear.
It feels different from the other major waterfalls in Jeju because of the landscape as it is hidden in the forest, and it’s not quite as large. In the summer you can swim in the pool which sounds amazing, but in the winter swimming is not allowed. Still, it’s an amazing place to soak up the beautiful winter vibes of Jeju.
Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market
One thing Michael and I love to experience while travelling is night markets. We’ve travelled to Jeju various times and usually go to Dongmun in Jeju City. But we wanted to experience something new, and tried out Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market. This is the second largest market on the island, and is very popular for tourists. After fighting to drive through massive crowds to get to the parking lot, we made our way into the hectic streets. As in many Korean markets, Maeil Olle Market offers plenty of souvenirs, food stalls, restaurants, and more.
We decided to try some of the most popular dishes at the market. All of them had massive lines compared to other shops so they were definitely crowd favorites. The first thing we got was black pork buns. Jeju is famous for its black pork, and many items at the market have black pork in them. I love a good pork bun, and there’s nothing to complain about here. It was savory, crispy, juicy, and a great way to start our culinary exploration.
Just next to the pork bun place is black pork cutlet rolls. These are basically kimbap rolls, but instead of having healthy veggies, it’s packed with delicious pork and is deep fried. I was actually expecting it to taste a bit stronger, but it wasn’t as flavor packed as I thought. Dongmun Market has a different pork roll we love, so this was probably the least interesting thing we ate.
Lastly, we got fruit mochi. This is sliced fruit stuffed inside chewy mochi. This shop sells many different types of mochi and Korean style rice cakes, but the fruit is the most famous. I have never had these before, but it was surprisingly good. Although, Michael noted that the juicy fruit had a weird texture contrast with the chewy mochi. We waited in line for a long time, so I’m glad they were delicious. They also gave us a free pack of songpyeon, which was also delicious and kind of them.
Slab Coffee
Slab Coffee is a specialty coffee shop located near Hyeopjae Beach. It’s on the second floor of the building offering a great view with their wide windows of the sea. We didn’t get to see the view because we arrived at night, but thankfully, the night time only enhanced the vibe. This smaller shop feels like a bar as it’s open late compared to most cafes in the area. The dim lighting and calm mood made it a great place to chill.
While the cafe is decorated minimally, there are some standout features like amazing mugs and massive illuminated sign. I got an excellent iced honey pear tea. It was so delicious with a light fruity taste. Michael really loves hand drip coffee, and while Slab Coffee doesn’t roast their own beans, they offer a wide variety from a renown roaster in Seoul.
Matilda
To wind down for the night, we continued to explore Jeju’s bar scene. The previous night we went to Myoham, a cocktail bar with cats in Jeju City. We wanted to explore the more remote countryside bars, so we checked out Matilda. This is an LP bar with every record you could possibly imagine and an incredible stereo system. While you are ordering, the staff gives a slip to request a song. Since we could only request one song, it took us a while to choose. I really wanted to listen to an older Korean song but I couldn’t remember the name, so I chose “Kill Bill” by Sza, and Michael chose the classic Frank Sinatra song “My Way”. The dark ambience and the chill vibes really set the tone. We sipped our drinks and vibed to the DJ’s amazing playlist to end the night.
Final Thoughts
Though Jeju is a popular summer destination, there is so much to do in winter as well. I was so happy to see the snow creating a winter wonderland. With so much do to year round, it’s no wonder Jeju is such a popular destination, even in winter.