TravelListJeju

Four Places to Visit in Eastern Jeju: Hours, Entry and What to Check

What four very different east Jeju places are like — a lava tube, a volcanic cone you must book, a cedar forest and a coastal headland — who each one suits, and what to book or check before you set off.

Published Sep 10, 2026Updated Sep 24, 20269 min read

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The crater of Geomunoreum seen from its summit on a clear day, forested slopes dishing inward.

If you are deciding where to park and walk on Jeju's east side, Manjanggul, Geomunoreum, the Secret Forest and Seopjikoji are worth weighing against each other. One is a lava tube, one a volcanic cone, one a cedar forest path and one a headland, and each asks for different preparation.

The biggest difference is how much planning each needs. Geomunoreum has to be booked the day before; Manjanggul needs the right shoes and a light for a dark cave; the Secret Forest posts its rest days on Instagram, so look before you drive out; and at Seopjikoji the main decisions are which car park to use and when the light goes.

Pick by what you want from the day

To walk inside a cave: Manjanggul
Only 1 km in from the second entrance is open, and you return the same way. High heels, pets and food are not allowed in.
To walk a volcano properly: Geomunoreum
The three routes run from about 1.8 km to about 10 km, and you book by phone or online by the day before.
For a short forest walk and photos: the Secret Forest
A cedar path west of Andol Oreum. Rest days are posted on the operator's Instagram, and there is no car park.
To walk by the sea at your own pace: Seopjikoji
The visitor note lists year-round opening and parking charges, but no opening or closing times. Plan to walk it in daylight.

What to sort out before you go

Place	Do beforehand	What tends to go wrong
Manjanggul	Torch and trainers; a raincoat and warm layer if it is wet	No high heels, pets or food inside
Geomunoreum	Book by 17:00 the day before	Closed completely in bad weather, booking or not
Secret Forest	Check the operator's Instagram for rest days	No car park; cars are left along the lane
Seopjikoji	Compare the two car parks	No opening or closing times published

Manjanggul: a 1 km lava tube walk, out and back

Manjanggul is a lava tube about 7.4 km long, with a main passage up to 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 the open section stands a lava column about 7.6 m high, said to be the largest known anywhere, and that is where you turn back along the same passage. The other caves inscribed with it as World Heritage are closed to the public, so if you want to walk inside a lava tube, this is the one to choose.

Manjanggul admission

Adult(ages 25 to 65)	₩4,000
Youth(youth and soldiers, ages 13 to 24)	₩2,000
Child(children aged 7 to 12)	₩2,000
Group (10 or more) · Group(groups of 10 or more, adult)	₩3,000
Group (10 or more) · Group(groups of 10 or more, youth and soldiers)	₩1,500
Group (10 or more) · Group(groups of 10 or more, children)	₩1,500

Source: Jeju World Heritage Office — Manjanggul (partly open). About 7.4 km long; the main passage 18 m wide and 23 m high; roof collapse left three entrances, of which the public may use the second, and 1 km may be walked; the lava column at the end of the open section, about 7.6 m, is said to be the largest known. Closed the first Wednesday of each month. Admission 4,000 won adult (3,000 group), 2,000 youth/soldier (1,500), 2,000 child (1,500), groups from 10. Enquiries 064-710-7903. Parking free, 60 large and 75 small bays, 135 total. Guides 09:00-16:00, free, signed up on site. Bring a torch and trainers, plus a raincoat and warm jacket in the wet; no high heels, no pets, no food brought in. · Sep 25, 2026

Parking is free, with 135 bays. The official page lists no advance booking procedure.

Check viewing hours on the official page

The World Heritage Office's page for Manjanggul gives the closing day, fares and parking, but no viewing hours. Guided walks meet at the ticket office between 09:00 and 16:00; they last an hour, cost nothing, and you sign up on the spot. If you want a guide, arrive within those hours; if you plan to go very early or late in the day, check the official page first.

It is dark inside and the floor is wet. Bring a torch and trainers, and a raincoat and warm layer on rainy days. High heels, pets and food brought in are not allowed.

Geomunoreum: book the day before, and choose your route when you do

Geomunoreum is the volcanic cone that made Manjanggul and the other lava tubes on this side of Jeju. Lava from here ran about 14 km to the coast, forming the Geomunoreum Lava Tube System, and in front of the cone a collapse trench, where cave roofs fell in, runs about 2 km long, 80 to 150 m wide and 15 to 30 m deep.

There are three routes, and they differ a lot in length and time.

Summit course — about 1.8 km, 1 hour. You can walk it without a guide.
Crater course — about 5.5 km, 2 hours 30. A guide goes with you.
Full course — about 10 km, 3 hours 30. Ask how it is guided when you book.

The guide-service page calls that third, 3-hour-30 route the ridge course, and gives the guides' meeting point as the visitor centre entrance. It is the same route under a different name, so do not let the two labels confuse you when booking.

Because you decide between a quick summit walk and a long guided loop at the moment you book, Geomunoreum suits travellers who can settle their plans the day before. Choose one of the long routes and there will be little room for many other stops that day.

Geomunoreum departure times

Every day	09:00every 30 min11 a daylast entry 14:00
World Heritage guide service · Every day	09:00–17:00

These are not opening and closing times but the span of departures, and that 14:00 slot is the last one you can join. Fifty people per departure. When you come out depends on which route you took, and the operator states that as a duration rather than a time. In bad weather the site closes completely.

Source: Jeju World Heritage Office — Geomunoreum. Walks depart 09:00-14:00 every thirty minutes, eleven a day, fifty people per departure; closed every Tuesday as a rest day for the site, and on Seollal and Chuseok themselves; closed completely in bad weather. Booking by phone or online until 17:00 the day before. Admission 2,000 won adult (1,600 group), 1,000 youth/soldier (800), 1,000 child (800); groups from 10, with a separate list of exemptions. Three routes: the summit course (unaccompanied, about 1.8 km, 1 hour), the crater course (with a guide, about 5.5 km, 2 hours 30), and the full course (about 10 km, 3 hours 30). The collapse trench is about 2 km long, 80-150 m wide and 15-30 m deep. · Sep 25, 2026 · Jeju World Heritage Office — heritage guide service. The Geomunoreum guide runs 09:00-17:00, meets at the visitor centre entrance, and is given as 1 hour for the summit course, 2 hours 30 for the crater course and 3 hours 30 for the ridge course. Note: the third route is called the full course on the Geomunoreum page and the ridge course here. · Sep 10, 2026

These are departure slots, not opening and closing times. Walks leave every 30 minutes from 09:00 to 14:00, eleven a day, with up to fifty people each. If the slot you want fills up you will have to take another, so book as soon as your day is settled.

Booking closes at 17:00 the day before

Book by phone or online, no later than 17:00 on the day before your walk. Every Tuesday is a rest day for the site, and there are no walks on Seollal or Chuseok themselves. In bad weather the site closes completely, so check the forecast and any notice before you set out.

Geomunoreum admission

Adult	₩2,000The same table lists exemptions: under-6s and over-65s, Jeju residents, national merit holders, disabled visitors, basic-livelihood recipients, and 4·3 victims and their families, among others.
Youth(youth and soldiers)	₩1,000
Child(children)	₩1,000
Group (10 or more) · Group(groups of 10 or more, adult)	₩1,600
Group (10 or more) · Group(groups of 10 or more, youth and soldiers)	₩800
Group (10 or more) · Group(groups of 10 or more, children)	₩800

Beneath the fare table, under-6s and over-65s, Jeju residents, national merit holders, disabled visitors, basic-livelihood recipients, and victims of the 4·3 incident and their families, among others, are listed as exempt from admission. If that includes you, ask at the ticket office.

The Secret Forest: a short cedar walk

The Secret Forest is a cedar path west of Andol Oreum, with tickets sold from a mint-coloured truck at the entrance. The unpaved loop takes about half an hour, with eight marked photo spots and a stand of hinoki cypress partway round.

It suits anyone who wants a short walk with a camera. Unlike Manjanggul, it lets you bring a pet, provided you have a lead and waste bags. Visit Jeju rates access here as difficult, so think twice if someone in your group has limited mobility.

The Secret Forest, walking hours

Every day	09:00–18:30

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. That account is the only place the closure is published.

Source: Visit Jeju — Secret Forest (address 2173 Songdang-ri, Gujwa-eup; tickets sold from a mint-coloured jeep and truck at the entrance; 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'.) · Sep 9, 2026

Check Instagram for rest days

Visit Jeju says the forest can be walked every day from 09:00 to 18:30, then adds that rest days are announced on the operator's Instagram. No fixed closing day is given, so look at the account on the day you go.

There is no car park: cars are left along the lane at the entrance, and tickets are sold from a mint-green truck at the gate. The path is unpaved, so wear shoes you can walk in comfortably.

Seopjikoji: a headland you can walk as far as you like

Seopjikoji is a headland running out to sea from the coast of Seongsan-eup in Seogwipo. Koji is the Jeju word for a cape. Hills of red scoria give way to rock cliffs, and on the grassland stands Hyeopjayeondae, a Joseon-era stone beacon about 4 m high and 9 m to a side, designated a Jeju provincial monument. Seongsan Ilchulbong sits in the background for much of the walk.

Visit Jeju's visitor note gives only year-round opening and the parking charges: no opening or closing time, and no set route. A quick look at the view is as reasonable as walking out to the tip, which makes it easy to fit into a loose day. But open all year describes closing days, not round-the-clock access, so go while it is light.

Seopjikoji parking

Seopjikoji car park, standard small vehicle	₩1,0001,000 won for the first 30 minutes, then 500 won per 15 minutes, capped at 3,000 won a day.

Source: Visit Jeju — Seopjikoji (address 262 Seopjikoji-ro, Seongsan-eup; the two published readings of Seopji and the meaning of koji; Sinyang beach, the rape flowers, the grassland, the sea cliffs and Seondolbawi; the scoria at Bulgeun Oreum; the beacon mound at about 4 m high with sides of about 9 m, designated a Jeju Provincial Monument; Seongsan Ilchulbong as the backdrop; the visitor note giving year-round opening and the Seopjikoji car park tariff). The page states no admission fee of any kind. · Sep 9, 2026

There are two car parks. The Seopjikoji car park charges a standard small vehicle 1,000 won for the first 30 minutes, then 500 won per 15 minutes, up to 3,000 won a day; the Phoenix Island car park is 5,000 won a day. Even on a long visit, the Seopjikoji car park will not charge more than 3,000 won for the day.

Combining several in one day

All four are on Jeju's east side, but they are not bunched together. In straight lines measured from map coordinates, Geomunoreum is about 3.4 km from the Secret Forest and about 9.7 km from Manjanggul, and Manjanggul is about 19 km from Seopjikoji. Road distances and driving times will be longer, so check them in a map app.

Start with the Geomunoreum booking. Geomunoreum closes every Tuesday and Manjanggul on the first Wednesday of the month, so rule those days out first. Then fit the Secret Forest around its Instagram notice and Seopjikoji around the daylight. For a timed route that pairs Geomunoreum and Manjanggul with Bijarim and Seongsan Ilchulbong, see one day in eastern Jeju.