South Korea islands. Jeju, Udo, Marado - October

Ever since I first set eyes upon the Pacific islands, I have always liked them for no reason, whether it was Japanese islands, Korean, Hawaiian, or even Russian.

Jeju is a small Korean island surrounded by smaller islands. Some people still live there. Though these islands are not popular among tourists from other countries, Koreans love them.

Jeju is infamous for its stone idols made of hardened lava. There are so many of them that even some time ago, Korea started to gift them to other countries. For example, you can find these in the Park of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg, Russia.

These guys:

I have already been to Jeju before, so this time I decided to spend a couple of days on the nearby islands of U-do and Mara-do. Even though we call it "Udo", recently, I found out that "do" means "island" in Korean, so the island name is just "U".

That's what the ferry to U-do looks like. If you plan to go there, check the weather forecast before going to the pier! They cancel it often, even if the weather is not very severe.

The entrance to U-do:

Scenery:

I struggled to find much information about what U-do is specifically famous for, aside from its small-scale garlic and peanut production.

Koreans truly appreciate relaxation. Even during the 20-minute ferry ride to U-do, there are designated rest areas where people can remove their shoes and recline on soft mats that line the room.

Mara-do, another small island, marks the southernmost point of South Korea. A leisurely one-hour stroll is sufficient to explore its entirety.

One of the landmarks is the egg-shaped church: