Secret Forest
비밀의숲
A walk through cedar planted on private land west of Andol Oreum. It was the owner's ground until enough people found their way in that the path was opened; an entrance fee now pays for keeping it. The unpaved loop takes about half an hour and has eight marked spots to photograph, with a stand of hinoki cypress partway round. Closures are posted on the operator's Instagram rather than following a fixed calendar, which is worth checking before driving out here.
Language
Place information
- Korean name
- 비밀의숲
- Address
- 2173 Songdang-ri, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si, Jeju
- Opening hours
- 09:00–18:30
- Closed
- Not published by the operator
- Hours notes
- There are days it does not open and no calendar carries them: the publisher says only that rest days are announced on the operator's Instagram. It is private land the owner opened, and that account is the only place the closure is published.
Visiting rules
- PetsAllowed with conditions
- Animals may come in provided you bring a lead and waste bags.
- Visit Jeju — Secret Forest (address 2173 Songdang-ri, Gujwa-eup; the account of private land opened to visitors with an entrance fee charged for its upkeep; eight photo zones; an unpaved loop of about 30 minutes; the hinoki cypress section. Its visitor note reads that animals may come along if the owner brings a lead and waste bags, and that closing days are announced on Instagram; accessibility is marked 'difficult'.) ·
- AccessibilityAllowed with conditions
- Visit Jeju marks this site 'difficult' to reach. The forest loop is unpaved.
- Visit Jeju — Secret Forest (address 2173 Songdang-ri, Gujwa-eup; the account of private land opened to visitors with an entrance fee charged for its upkeep; eight photo zones; an unpaved loop of about 30 minutes; the hinoki cypress section. Its visitor note reads that animals may come along if the owner brings a lead and waste bags, and that closing days are announced on Instagram; accessibility is marked 'difficult'.) ·
Nearby
Geomunoreum
The volcanic cone that made the caves on this side of the island: lava from here ran about 14 km to the coast and left the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System behind it. In front of the cone a collapse trench runs about 2 km long, 80 to 150 m wide and 15 to 30 m deep, where cave roofs fell in. There are three routes of different lengths, two of which may only be walked with a guide. Eleven departures a day, fifty people each, and booking closes at 17:00 the day before.
Bijarim Forest
Two loops split at a crossroads inside the wood. Course A is about 2.2 km of level volcanic-cinder path, 40 minutes to an hour, and takes a pushchair or wheelchair with help on the slopes; course B includes rough stone and does not. Dogs are not admitted, which separates this from most Jeju walks.
Manjanggul Lava Tube
A lava tube about 7.4 km long whose main passage runs 18 m wide and 23 m high. Roof collapses left three entrances; visitors may use only the second, and may walk 1 km in from it. At the end of that kilometre stands a lava column about 7.6 m high, said to be the largest known anywhere, and that column is also where you turn round. The operator files this cave as partly open — the other caves inscribed with it are closed to the public altogether.
Gommak Sikdang
A raw-fish and sea-urchin noodle house on the Dongbok-ri coast road east of Hamdeok; Gommak is the village's old name.
Stories about this place
- Four places on Jeju's east side, and who decides how far in you get
Manjanggul is 7.4 km long and 1 km of it is open; Geomunoreum has three routes and you pick one when you book; the Secret Forest is a loop a landowner opened; and at Seopjikoji nobody has set an extent at all. All four are places you park and walk into — what differs is who decides how far you walk.
Nearby Food
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- Three places on Jeju's west side where the posted time is not an opening time
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Where these facts come from
- Visit Jeju — Secret Forest (address 2173 Songdang-ri, Gujwa-eup; the account of private land opened to visitors with an entrance fee charged for its upkeep; eight photo zones; an unpaved loop of about 30 minutes; the hinoki cypress section. Its visitor note reads that animals may come along if the owner brings a lead and waste bags, and that closing days are announced on Instagram; accessibility is marked 'difficult'.) ·
- OpenStreetMap — the 비밀의숲 wood, reverse-geocoding to Songdang-ri, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si, matching the address Visit Jeju publishes. Andol Oreum itself is a separate peak about 400 m north and is not what this record points at. ·