Roar of the Dragon

Yongduam "Dragon's Head Rock"

We arrived on Chejudo after a quick flight from Seoul. As we landed we could see the gorgeous Northern Coast of this island and the sprawl of Cheju City. We immediately headed to Yongduam.


The basalt rock which juts from the sea appears to be Dragon's Head with his mouth agape. We climbed down toward the bottom of the formation. Of course, this sight was so interesting it just needed a letterbox. I climbed high atop the jagged basalt volcanic rocks and scouted out a place where I could sit and carve a stamp--in full view of the Dragon's Head. The surf started to pick up and the waves crashed loudly along the jagged volcanic rocky tide pools.

To the left of my perch I could see the haenyon women preparing their catch of the day--scraping bones and scales from the seafood they brought to shore. These women are famous in Chejudo. They appeared to be in their 50s, 60s & 70s and each morning dive to depths around 10m and catch all sorts of seafood--from abalone, to conch, sea cucumbers, kelp, etc. The incredible thing is that they dive--unasisted by SCUBA! I have dabbled in SCUBA over the years and find this amazing--as I already have to equalize my ears before 10m depth!

While walking down to the Dragon's Head, we passed a kiosk that specialized in cactus flower taffy. We sampled a piece and found the taste uniquely good. It was slightly sweet and a soft, chewy texture but not teeth-defying. We opted to take home a box. Then on our return trip back to the parking lot, we walked past several Chejudo orange stands. We sampled a small mandarin orange and it was incredible! We decided to purchase two bags of these tempting oranges as a snack for our trip.

We eventually found a hidey-hole for our Dragon's Head letterbox so future letterboxers can enjoy this beautiful spot, too