[One Day Walk] Dense Cedar and Pine Forests on Jeju Suaak Trail

Donnaeko Trail ~ Iseungak, 11.5 km Section

Editor's NoteJeju Island has various forest trails. The Hallasan Dullegil is literally a trail that circles around Hallasan Mountain. Along the way, you can find forest trees and grass, as well as rocks, oreums (volcanic cones), streams, and ranches. It not only offers beautiful scenery but also embodies the culture and history of Jeju. We introduce the pleasant Hallasan Dullegil for walking.

Suak-gil is the 5th section of the Hallasan Dullegil, referring to the 11.5 km stretch between Donneko Trailhead and Iseungak. Also known as ‘Muroreum,’ Suak is located near the 5·16 Road that crosses Hallasan. Due to road development, the pine cones of Suak were harvested for use as a base material, causing severe damage, but later cedar and pine trees were planted. Bori Oreum and Iseungi Oreum are also distributed in the area.

If you use the bus, you can get off at the Hallasan Dullegil (5·16 Road) Suak-gil entrance/exit or at the Chung Hon Cemetery.

Starting from the Donneko Trail Information Center and walking a little, you will see the remains of a charcoal kiln, which was a place where charcoal was made in the past. Walk about 5.9 km for approximately 2 hours while observing pine and Mongolian oak trees. You will encounter the Sanjeong Crater.

The Sanjeong Crater is a trace of a large-scale volcanic crater. It contains a wetland inside the crater, which was hidden due to the surrounding terrain slope and was later discovered. The volcanic body was located on the southeastern slope of Hallasan’s highlands, but most traces of the volcanic body have disappeared, and only the crater remains today. One of the biggest characteristics of Hallasan’s volcanic activity is that a large amount of lava flowed out from the summit, resulting in many basalt lava plains called ‘bille’ throughout Jeju.

After walking about 40 minutes from Sanjeong Crater, you will arrive at the Suak Information Center. Suak is a conical volcanic body with dense forests of Japanese red pine and cedar. Across the road to the north of Suak is the natural monument-designated wild habitat of the Sinrye-ri royal cherry trees. In the middle of Suak-gil lies the Sinrye Stream, which originates southeast of Sara Oreum on Hallasan and joins west of Bori Oreum. It flows through the Suak Bridge and Suak Valley on the 5·16 Road and then into Sinrye-ri.

Now, let’s walk toward Iseungak. It is 3.8 km and takes about 1 hour and 50 minutes. As you head toward Iseungak, you can see several stone walls piled up nearby, called ‘Gubundam,’ which were built during the Japanese colonial period to separate national land from private land. This was a measure to prevent potential land ownership disputes between the Japanese authorities and residents, and it is said that stones were transported from Sinrye-ri village and built directly by the villagers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.