South Korea’s Beautiful Udo Island with Young Kids

My husband and I visited Udo Island with our two boys (international ages 4 and 2; or Korean ages 6 and 3) this past summer as part of our weekend on Jeju Island. This was all during COVID, so the plane ride over was strictly monitored and we wore face masks for a good portion of the trip. Luckily with so much outdoors, this trip was still very pleasant and it was easy to space out in most areas.

Jeju Island is often referred to as “The Hawaii of Korea,” but frankly that feels like a stretch goal.

Jeju IS surrounded by water, brimming with volcanic coastal features, and a whole lot different culturally than mainland S. Korea. We loved our time there.

Jeju island is located off the southwestern tip of South Korea.

You can get there by:

1) Boat (by driving/taking a train/bus to the southern tip and grabbing a ferry from there)

OR

2) Airplane. Most people in Seoul opt for the very affordable, hour-long flight.

Once you’re on Jeju, there’s plenty to keep you busy. It takes several hours in a car to get from one point of the island to the opposite end. We were staying in a charming, wonderful Airbnb near the northwestern coast of Jeju.

When we planned our itinerary in Jeju we knew we wanted to spend as much time near the water as possible. A boat ride of some kind would be bonus.

Several of the big tourist sights are found along the eastern coast of Jeju. That’s also where ferries take off for Udo: the island off an island off a peninsula 😉 Since we’d heard great things about Udo, we decided to spend half a day there while we were already out east.

South Korea Map courtesy of Gordon Johnson from Pixabay (I’ve added annotations, background, text).

Check-In & Boarding

There are two separate ports that lead you to slightly different areas of Udo island; we boarded at Seongsan Terminal. If that’s the terminal you choose, then you’ll first check in at this building pictured below. You’ll need to fill out paperwork, so have your passports or Korean IDs ready to go.

The boat itself isn’t huge, but there was plenty of space for such a short ride (just 15 minutes).

Certain indoor rest areas of the boat require you to take your shoes off, so just be aware of that.

PSA: The guard rails around the boat are very climbable and spaced out pretty widely, so watch your little ones closely!

Transportation Talk

So… Udo is not a walkable island. I mean, technically it is. There’s even an Olle Trail (walking path) that leads you all the way along the coast…but that would take a very, very, very long time. Get yourself some wheels.

If you have young kids, I’d highly recommend bringing your Jeju rental car onto the ferry.

There are a bunch of options for you to rent once you get to Udo, assuming you have an international driver’s permit or Korean driver’s license and proper identification.

Unfortunately, all of the Udo rental options only seat 2 people. I repeat, you (and another adult) will not be able to rent or fit your child or children on any of the adorable bikes, minicars, carts etc. They will look large enough in pictures, but learn from our mistakes! 😉

The only thing large enough for us and our two kids (even with us being willing to hold them on our laps in some cases) was renting an electric car…which was pretty expensive. It would’ve been much cheaper to just bring the original rental car. Safer, too- you’ll know that you have the carseat setup you’re most comfortable with.

There’s our electric car we had for the morning. I was really surprised that with all the types of wheels they had available none would fit even a group of 3! Maybe this is either a solitary or romantic destination??

Be aware that there are certain stipulations when bringing your rental car onto the island. Tourists may only bring your rental car if your party includes: elderly, pregnant women, families with children under 6, someone with a disability, OR if you have hotel accommodations on Udo.

Source: Little Holidays

Welcome to Cow Island

Udo Island is actually redundant; “U” (meaning cow) and “do” (island) are all you need to say- “Udo.” It’s named Udo because apparently the map of the area looks like a cow lying down. I don’t think I see it, but I like the name regardless.

The island is often referred to as a Miniature Jeju island: it offers all of the highlights of Jeju in a much smaller space. You can enjoy the coastal breeze, fresh seafood, cute cafes, and unique black/white sand beaches and volcanic rock formations.

We decided to make our way along the coast of the island in a huge loop and stop whenever we saw something that caught our eye. We were able to see some beautiful landscapes & try local food.

Gorgeous Natural Scenery at Geommeolle Beach

This is one of the most famous areas of Udo, and the pictures explain why! The black rocks at the bottom of the lighthouse-topped cliff are very unique. The water itself is a gorgeous turquoise. You can board a boat (pictured above on the right) that takes brave passengers on a quick trip around the cove…and also performs boat “donuts” (360’s) at breakneck speeds. It was fun to watch.

Right nearby there are several shops and restaurants to stop at. It’s one of the more established areas of Udo. This is where we had our Jimmy’s peanut ice cream (more on that soon).

Cliffside Hiking at Seok-Byeok

Seok-Byeok was one of the highlights of the trip for me. It felt like an Irish or Scottish Coast (many compare it to the Scottish highlands. I’ve only seen a small sliver of that part of the world, but find this a mostly fair…if a bit ambitious… comparison). The dark clouds made for quite a dramatic scene the day we toured.

The paved path made this hike very doable, even with young kids. Korea is known for keeping their nature manicured and well-maintained (perhaps over-maintaining as far as our preferences go, at times). Once you get towards the top, it’s a bit steeper. We struggled towards the end to get a good footing in our flat sandals and crocs!

I was glad for the cloudy, cooler weather once we got moving (read: sweating) on the hike. It wouldn’t have been nearly as pleasant on a hot, sunny day.

Try the Famous Local Foods

Peanuts & Peanut ice cream

Peanuts are grown & harvested right here on the island because of the fertile soil. Supposedly the peanuts grown on Udo are especially flavorful.

All over the island you can find peanut ice cream at little cafes. The styles vary; the first place we tried just had shaved peanuts over the creamy vanilla soft-serve, while the second (Jimmy’s, by Geommeolle Beach) included some whole peanuts as well.

Both were refreshing and delicious! Our boys loved peanut ice cream, too. (PSA: whole peanuts can be a choking hazard until int. age 4)

The Diving Abalone “Mermaids”

There are elderly local women that scuba dive in the water daily to harvest abalone and other seafood to sell. I didn’t get any real pictures, but we witnessed this from afar. It was amazing. I love how hard-working, adventurous, and self-sufficient elderly Korean women are. Read more about it here.

You can find tons of fresh abalone dishes on the island because of this phenomenon! There is a famous abalone rice porridge that’s sold at multiple locations on the island.

Wrapping Up our Tour of Udo Island

We’d already had our fill of abalone the night before in Jeju. So we stopped at a Korean restaurant right by all of the vehicle rentals– just before you board the ferry. The mandu (dumplings), kimchi, and noodles were all delicious and hit the spot.

With full bellies, we boarded back onto the ferry and made our way back to Jeju. We spent around 3 hours total on the island, and that was just about right.

Consensus of Udo Island:

I’d highly recommend making your way out to Udo Island if you are visiting Jeju Island. The kids loved the boat ride, time to explore outdoors & fresh, delicious food!

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