Hado Beach

In Hado-ri, Gujwa-eup, on Jeju's east coast, Hado Beach is a wide sweep of sand right beside the Haemaji coastal road. The water is shallow and calm, glowing a clear jade green, and Udo island looks close enough to touch across the strait. It is far quieter than Jeju's famous beaches, which makes it a good place to stop on a drive along the eastern coast road.

What kind of beach is it?

Hado Beach lies at the back of a curving bay, so the water is shallow and sheltered. At low tide sandbars and black basalt appear, and at high tide the shallow sea floods in across a wide area, so the scene changes several times a day. With small waves it suits snorkelling, kayaking and paddle boats, and people also come to fish or camp. It is not an officially designated swimming beach, though, so remember that there are times and stretches without lifeguards.

Hado is a village of haenyeo, Jeju's women free divers, and along the shore you will find bulteok, the low stone shelters where they warm themselves by a fire before and after diving. The sea off the beach is their workplace, so never take shellfish or seaweed. West of the village, the Jeju Haenyeo Museum tells the story of their life and tools.

Nearby

• Byeolbangjin: the stone walls of a Joseon-era military garrison, now a Jeju Special Self-Governing Province monument. You can walk along the walls and look over Hado village and the sea.
• Hado-ri migratory bird site: a wetland close to the beach where, as the name suggests, migratory birds stop to rest.
• Tokkiseom crinum lily habitat: Tokkiseom, a small islet off Hado, is where white crinum lilies grow wild, and it is protected as a Natural Monument.
• Jeju Olle Route 21: this trail of about 10 km, from the Haenyeo Museum past Byeolbangjin, Tokkiseom, Hado Beach and Jimibong to Jongdal, runs along the beach.
• Jimibong: the volcanic cone south-east of the beach. From the top you can see Udo and Seongsan Ilchulbong together.

Linking the east-coast beaches

Hado Beach sits roughly halfway along the Haemaji coastal road, which follows the sea from Gimnyeong to Jongdal-ri. Stop in turn at Gimnyeong Beach and Sehwa Beach to the west and the Jongdal shore to the east, and you will notice that even on the same stretch of coast each beach has its own sand and water colour. Olle Route 20 runs from Gimnyeong to Hado, and Route 21 picks up from here to Jongdal.

Tripto tips

• Visitor information: open at all times, every day. You can park close to the beach.
• Swimming safety: as an undesignated beach, it is not always staffed by lifeguards. Check the weather and sea conditions before going in, and keep children in the shallows.
• Facilities: showers and water sports programmes depend on the season and local conditions.
• Camping: camp or sleep in your car only where it is permitted, and follow the cooking rules.
• Getting there: bus 201, which follows the coast between Jeju City and Seongsan, passes through Hado-ri. The address is 1973 Haemajihaean-ro, Gujwa-eup, Jeju-si.
• Time needed: 30 minutes to 1 hour for a walk and photos, half a day if you add Byeolbangjin and Jimibong.
• When to go: June–September for swimming. In the quieter spring and autumn months it suits a coastal drive or a walk on the Olle trail.