Unique Things You Can Do on Jeju Island: Paragliding, Horse Racing, Poker, and More

South Korea's Jeju Island has become a popular tourist destination for travelers worldwide. Most recently, the Jeju Tourism Organization found that Jeju Island's tourism from foreign visitors has surged by 119%, in contrast to the 2.9% decline recorded for local visitors. Some of the reasons for this include expanded airline routes and seaways, allowing more international travelers to visit the island.

Thanks to the surge in foreign tourism, the overall number of visitors to Jeju Island in 2024 jumped by 4.5% from the previous year, reaching 10.6 million. To help meet this demand, luxury hotels and tourism companies on the island continue to invest in improving their offerings. As a result, many Jeju tourism entities saw significant sales growth after the influx of foreign visitors.

Jeju Dream Tower, a resort complex featuring the Grand Hyatt hotel and a foreigner-only casino operated by Korean tourism developer Lotte Tour, reported third-quarter sales of $98 million and second-quarter sales exceeding $73.2 million. In August 2024, the hotel reported that more than 70% of its 1,600 suites were booked by foreign guests. The hotel's casino has also experienced a boom, welcoming over 100,000 visitors in a quarter for the first time since its launch in 2021.

Today, travelers from around the world visit Jeju Island for various purposes, whether it’s to explore the island's famed white sandy beaches, hiking the famed Hallasan Mountain, or witnessing the lava tubes of Manjanggul Cave. Still, there's more to Jeju than its beaches and food. In this post, we'll be sharing unique things you can do on the island:

Paragliding Jeju's skies

‍If you're a thrill seeker, this one's for you, even if it isn't as fast-paced as a skydive. Paragliding is a surprisingly popular activity around Jeju Island, with various designated points scattered around the island. This includes the famous Hallasan Mountain, which is also South Korea's highest peak. The view from the sky is said to resemble lush, green quilts.

One of the most popular spots for paragliders on the island is Geum Oreum. Also known as Wangmae, Geum Oreum is a rare volcanic cone with a small road leading up to its peak, forming a convenient path for paragliders to navigate. For beginners, there are opportunities for flying in tandem with an instructor. Some paragliding companies also offer instructors that speak English to cater to interested foreign tourists.

Looking into horse racing

‍If paragliding over Jeju's scenery isn't your cup of tea, you can also check out Jeju's horse racing scene. Horse racing and betting is a popular pastime in South Korea, overseen by the Korea Racing Authority. Recently, to help bolster Korea's horse racing industry, the Korea Racing Authority announced it has signed a "joint action agreement for providing a stable activity environment for retired jockeys." The agreement is aimed at supporting jockeys after retirement.

In Jeju, one of the best horse racing destinations is the LetsRun Park Jeju, which was built to promote horse racing and the preservation of the Korean native pony. LetsRun Park Jeju is a fun destination for adults and families, with a grandstand area accommodating 6,393 people. If you're looking for more experiences beyond watching the races, you can explore the horse zoological garden.

Joining high-stakes poker tournaments

‍Another popular pastime in Jeju is poker, which is facilitated by several hotel casinos on the island. As of this writing, casino gambling isn't legal for South Korean citizens. This is where Jeju Island's foreigner-only casinos come in, making the island a beachy haven for poker enthusiasts. In 2024, the Landing Casino at Jeju hosted the WPT® Korea as part of the Jeju Poker Festival, the third WPT Korea event in three years. Recently, Jeju played host to a high-stakes poker event called the High Stakes Adventure: South Korea.

Hosted by American online poker site ACR Poker, the High Stakes Adventure: South Korea guaranteed two exclusive packages during ACR Poker's Main Satellite. In 2024, the High Stakes Adventures event was held in Montenegro. Today, the site continues to hold high-stakes poker tournaments around the world, including its renowned $2 million Venom tournaments. Meanwhile, Jeju remains a top poker destination for pros around the world. The 2024 Jeju Poker Festival marked Asian poker history as it combined the World Poker Tour (WPT), Korea Poker Cup (KPC), and Red Dragon Poker Tour (RDPT) for high-stakes tables with prize pools of up to $1.9 million.

Exploring underwater views on a submarine

‍Back to thrill-seeking action, travelers who like water-based adventures will want to check out submarine opportunities throughout the island. One of the best underwater tours to take in Jeju is via the Seogwipo Submarine, which tours guests around Munseom Island — a habitat for soft coral reefs. Guests will be taken around various underwater attractions at different depth levels, including an artificial sunken treasure ship. The Seogwipo sub, called the Jiah, can accommodate 67 passengers and is dubbed the world's first digital submarine.

The Jiah is powered by an electric battery, ensuring a safe and environmentally conscious adventure. If you're especially interested in submarines, the Jiah is actually an update to the Mark series submarines from Finnish company Mobimar, known for its range of "tourist submarines with no compromises." The Jiah is actually one of the latest Mark V models to be upgraded with new electrical systems back in 2015.

Learning about Jeju's women divers

‍Finally, one of the most unique and defining points about Jeju Island is its culture of female divers known as haenyeo. In 2016, Jeju's haenyeo were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Jeju's haenyeo community includes women in their 80s who go diving under the sea to gather shellfish like abalone or sea urchins. What sets the haenyeo apart, of course, is that they do so without using oxygen masks.

If you're interested in learning about Jeju's haenyeo culture, you can visit the Jeju Haenyeo Museum. The museum exhibits the history of the island's haenyeo culture, dating back to ancient times. All the exhibits in the museums were donated by haenyeo themselves. In the museum, visitors can also find a replica of a haenyeo's house with detailed replications and exhibitions of their food culture, upbringing, and semi-agricultural and semi-fishing culture.