Jeju island is full of great attractions. If you’re a food lover, however, you can’t go wrong with a visit to Dongmun traditional market…’
On our recent trip to Seoul, we flew over to the South Korean island of Jeju for a few days to see what it had to offer. We hopped on the local city bus tour ended up spending a happy few hours at Dongmun traditional market. Dongmun is Jeju’s oldest permanent market. It’s filled with vendors selling fruit, veg, meat, street food, clothing, and countless other items.
There’s also a specialist fish market on site, with large tanks filled with live crustaceans and more dried and flattened octopus and fish than I’ve ever seen. The market is a riot of colour, and there’s an orange glow all over from the tonnes of Jeju tangerines being sold.
The island is famous for the fruit and the fresh juice that’s made from them. Both are must-try items when visiting the Dongmun Market. South Korea’s government recently airlifted multiple tonnes of the fruit as a gift to North Korea. This was in return for a delivery of mushrooms from Kim Jong Un.
I stood for a while just watching local people cooking dumplings and deep frying rice cakes. The traders are so adept and skilled, watching them do their thing was fascinating.
The market is open from 8am until 9pm and can be reached easily on the 332 city bus. It is also a listed stop on the Jeju City Bus Tour.
After indulging at Dongmun traditional market, you can visit Jungyang shopping mall, which is just a short walk from the site. It’s definitely worth checking out if you’re in the market for some stylish Korean fashion items. If not, you can grab some food and refreshments from the market and enjoy them in the park square just opposite the main entrance.
Have you visited Dongmun Traditional Market on Jeju Island?
Suz xx
