If you are looking for a weekend getaway, which will provide warm weather, beautiful beaches, scenic volcanic rocks, stunning waterfalls, a dolphin show, and relaxation then look no further and visit Cheju-Do Island. Cheju-Do Island also known as Nature's Paradise in the North Pacific, is Korea's largest island, which came into existence 700 to 1,200 thousand years ago when lava spewed from a sub-sea volcano and surfaced above the waters. Then 100 to 300 thousand years ago, another volcanic event occurred and formed Mount Halla, South Korea's highest mountain located in the center of Cheju-Do Island standing at 1,950 meters above sea level. A final volcanic eruption took place approximately 25 thousand years ago and created the Crater Lake, Baengnokdam at the summit of the mountain. Cheju-Do's natural environment was preserved as best as possible. The fantastically shaped rocks decorating the seashore, the hundreds of Oreums (secondary volcano's), and the rarest species of flowers around Baengnokdam lake at the summit of Mount Halla are all treasures waiting to be discovered by the Islands thousands of visitors each year.
On a recent visit to Nature's Paradise in the North Pacific I got a chance to see what Cheju-Do Island had to offer. The trip started with a one hour flight from Pusan to Cheju-Do Island, when arriving at the airport we were greeted by a representative from the MWR Cheju-Do recreation facility then transported to the Cheju-Do Army Recreation Center. When we reached the recreation facility we were warmly welcomed by a MWR employee, who informed us of the daily tours he offered, provided us with colorful brochures of the Island's attractions, and gave us a tour of the MWR Recreation Facility, all before showing us where we would be staying for the next two nights. The Cheju-Do Army recreation center has many things to offer to include, a gym with indoor swimming pool, a library, a computer room with internet access, a small theater, a recreation room with pool tables and table tennis, a snack bar, a shopette, and even a small club for your nighttime enjoyment, which we all decided to take full advantage of our night on the island.