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Jeju City is the capital of Jeju Province and the largest city on Jeju Island, home to about 485,000 people on the island's north coast. Since 2006 it has also taken in the former Bukjeju County, with towns such as Hallim and Jocheon, and its airport is the gateway for the more than ten million people who visit Jeju each year.
Legend says the three founders of the Tamna kingdom rose from the ground at Samseonghyeol, in what is now the city centre. Under Joseon the governors of Jeju ruled from the Mokgwana offices beside the Gwandeokjeong pavilion of 1448, and the city has grown fast since the 1970s, and the newer district of Shin Jeju rose up the hill from the airport.
Today Jeju International Airport links the city to Seoul on the world's busiest air route. Visitors walk the old centre and Dongmun Market, watch the sea break on Yongduam Rock, swim at Hamdeok and Iho Tewoo beaches and explore the gardens and lava caves of Hallim Park.
Gwandeokjeong in Samdo 2-dong, Jeju City, is one of the oldest buildings on the island, a pavilion raised in 1448 by the governor Sin Suk-cheong to train soldiers. Its open hall of five by four bays keeps the long, low eaves typical of Jeju, and it is a Treasure of Korea in the old town.
Jeju Mokgwana is the office complex where the Joseon governors of Jeju ruled the island, beside Gwandeokjeong in the old town. Wiped out under Japanese rule, it was found again in digs from 1991 to 1998, made a Historic Site in 1993 and rebuilt with some 50,000 roof tiles given by Jeju citizens.
Samseonghyeol in downtown Jeju City is a shrine around three holes in the ground from which, in legend, the demigods Go, Yang and Bu emerged to found the kingdom of Tamna. They later married three princesses who came by sea in a wooden chest, bringing cattle and the seeds of five grains.
Jeju 4.3 Peace Park in Bonggae-dong is a memorial park and museum for the victims of the Jeju uprising of 1948 and 1949. Pledged by President Kim Dae-jung in 1999 and begun on 3 April 2003, it opened on 28 March 2008, and a memorial service for the dead is held here every year on 3 April.
Yongduam, the Dragon Head Rock, is a 10-metre lava rock on the shore of Yongdam-dong near the Yongyeon pool, shaped like the head of a dragon rising from the sea. Legend says a dragon stole a jade bead from the god of Hallasan, was shot by his arrow as it rose to heaven and turned to stone.
Iho Tewoo Beach on the coast of Jeju City takes its name from the village of Iho beside it and from the teu, a traditional fishing raft once used in the area. Each year the beach hosts the Iho Tewoo Festival, named for the same raft, with a programme of events and games for visitors.
Hamdeok Beach, also called Hamdeok Seoubong Beach, lies in Hamdeok village in Jocheon and is known for its white sand, earning the name Korea's Maldives. In 2025 it drew 703,064 visitors, more than half of all beachgoers on Jeju, and the small volcanic cone of Seoubong rises beside it.
Hallim Park in Hallim, Jeju City, was founded in 1971 by local man Song Bong-gyu, who turned barren land into gardens of 112,397 square metres in nine themed areas. It holds the lava caves of Hyeopjae and Ssangyong, both Natural Monuments, and greenhouses where plants bloom all through the year.
Jeju National Museum opened on 15 June 2001 in Jeju City after eight years of building that cost 38.6 billion won. It is devoted to the archaeology and history of Jeju, with a special focus on the ancient kingdom of Tamna and on the maritime culture of an island long shaped by the sea.
Jeju Stone Park in Jocheon opened on 3 June 2006 and spans 327 hectares, telling the island's story through stone. It holds the Jeju Stone Museum, a garden of Jeju myths, a traditional folk village and 500 stone piles for the generals of legend, and hosts a Seolmundae Halmang Festival each May.
Kimnyoung Maze Park, between the lava caves of Manjanggul and Gimnyeongsagul in Jeju City, is a hedge maze that opened in 1987 as the first maze park in South Korea. It was funded by Frederic Dustin, an American professor at Jeju National University, and he kept a colony of cats in its grounds.
Dongmun Market is the largest and oldest traditional market on Jeju, set up after the end of Japanese rule and rebuilt on its present site after a fire in March 1954. Known for fresh seafood, it sells street food, hallabong oranges and souvenirs, and a night market of food trucks runs behind it.
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