Saebyeol Oreum

Drive along the Pyeonghwa-ro road across western Jeju and a rounded hill rising from the open fields catches your eye. Saebyeol Oreum in Bongseong-ri, Aewol, is a small volcanic cone whose slopes turn into a sea of silver grass in autumn, making it one of the most visited oreum in western Jeju. You can reach the top in 20 to 30 minutes, a big view for a short effort.

Name and landscape

"Saebyeol" means morning star; the oreum is said to stand alone like the dawn star in the sky. The name already appears as Hyoseongak in the Goryeosa, and later maps and gazetteers write it as Hyoseongak or Sinseongak, all apparently Chinese-character versions of the local name.

It is a compound volcano with a large horseshoe-shaped crater opening to the west and a smaller crater on the north side. Ridges radiate from the southern summit, each with its own peak, so five peaks are linked in a star-like pattern. The summit is about 519 m above sea level and the base about 2.7 km around. In the late Goryeo period it was a main battlefield when Choe Yeong's army fought the Mongol herders' rebellion on Jeju.

What to see

• Silver grass slopes: around October, eulalia covers the hill from the flat ground at the base to the summit. The lower slopes are level, so you can enjoy the grass without climbing.
• Summit view: from the top you see neighbouring cones such as Idalbong and the open fields, and on clear days Hallasan and the sea to the west.
• Sunset: with an open view to the west, many people come to watch the sun go down over the ridgeline.
• Jeju Fire Festival: a revival of bangae, the old practice of burning off last year's grass on pastures in late winter. Started in 1997, it has been held at Saebyeol Oreum around the first full moon of the lunar year since 2000, famous for the sight of the whole slope set alight.

The Fire Festival story

Bangae was a custom in Jeju's upland cattle and horse villages: in late winter and early spring, fields were set alight to clear old grass and pests. Such burning continued on many oreum and pastures until it was banned in the 1970s, and it was revived as a tourism festival in 1997. At first the festival moved between Napeup-ri in Aewol and Deokcheon-ri in Gujwa, before settling at Saebyeol Oreum in 2000. It was cancelled in 2011 because of foot-and-mouth disease and held online in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nearby

West of Saebyeol lies Idari Oreum (Idalbong), and to the southeast Dongmul Oreum and Gwemi Oreum. Linking several cones on foot gives you a fuller sense of the wide grasslands of western Jeju's uplands.

Tripto tips

• The climb: 20–30 minutes to the summit. Some sections are steep and the dirt path is covered with matting, so wear trainers. Going up one side and down the other takes about an hour in total.
• Fees and parking: free entry and free parking, open at all times.
• Fire Festival: plans were announced to reshape the festival from 2025 with less burning, for environmental reasons. Check official announcements each year for whether and how it is held.
• Weather: there is no shade at all and the wind is strong. Bring a hat and water in summer and a windbreaker in autumn and winter. It gets dark quickly after sunset, so leave enough time to come down.