Hwanhaejangseong Coastal Wall

Hwanhaejangseong is a defensive wall of black basalt built along the coast of Jeju Island. Work began in 1270 to keep out the Sambyeolcho rebels, it was repaired again and again until the late Joseon period, and a Joseon-era account called it "the Great Wall of Tamna". Today it survives in scattered stretches around the island, and the longest one runs along the shore of Onpyeong-ri in Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo.

A wall built by two enemies

In 1270, the Sambyeolcho, a rebel force holding out against the Mongols and the Goryeo court from their base on Jindo, prepared to cross to Jeju. The court sent General Go Yeorim and others to the island, where soldiers and local people were put to work building a wall along the shore. In November of the same year the Sambyeolcho landed anyway and defeated the government troops, then kept extending the wall themselves against a counterattack. The same rampart was built in turn by two sides fighting each other.

After the Sambyeolcho fell in 1273, the wall stayed in use as a defence against Japanese pirates. In 1845 a British warship spent more than a month surveying the waters off Udo, the alarmed governor of Jeju mobilised his troops, and that winter islanders were called out to rebuild the wall. Most of what you see today is thought to date from this repair. The name "Hwanhaejangseong" first appears in a record from 1918 and only became common after that.

It looks like a field wall, but it is a fortification

The wall is made of the same basalt you see everywhere on Jeju, and the islanders who built it used the techniques they knew from their field walls. At first glance it can pass for an ordinary stone wall by the sea, but it stands around 3 m high and averages about 2 m thick. In places there is a double wall with the seaward side built higher, and some stretches still have a parapet with openings for bows or guns.

The wall is said to have once wrapped around a large part of the island, but much of it was torn down when coastal roads were built from the 1970s onwards. In 1998, ten surviving stretches with a combined length of about 5.1 km were designated a Jeju provincial monument.

Where to see it

• Onpyeong section (Seongsan-eup, Seogwipo): At about 2,120 m, this is by far the longest stretch. It runs from the Hadong shore of Onpyeong-ri to the edge of Sinsan-ri, and the road beside it is even called Hwanhaejangseong-ro.
• Sinsan section: About 600 m survive just south of Onpyeong.
• Byeoldo, Goneul-dong and Samyang (Hwabuk and Samyang, Jeju City): The stretches closest to central Jeju City. The Byeoldo section, a double wall with inner and outer faces, is the longest here at about 640 m.
• Aewol, Bukchon, Dongbok, Haengwon and Handong: Short stretches of 150 to 360 m along the north coast.

Tripto tips

• Best way to see it: Jeju Olle Route 3-B starts at Onpyeong Port and follows the shore to the Sinsan section, which is the easiest way to walk along the wall.
• Time needed: 30 minutes to an hour for the Onpyeong section alone, half a day if you combine it with the Olle trail.
• Access: The wall sits in the open on the shoreline, so there are no opening hours or tickets.
• Be careful: Do not climb onto the wall or pull out stones to build little cairns, as this has caused real damage. On windy days the coastal rocks get slippery.
• Nearby: Seopjikoji and Seongsan Ilchulbong lie a short way north of Onpyeong.