maemuldo 매문도

212.2 meters

6km loop

📍trailhead

All summer long I kept seeing pictures of Maemuldo popping up on my instagram. It was dubbed the “Holy Land” of Backpackers and the pictures certainly made it seem that way. In some photos I had seen, it looked more like the grounds of a mini music festival with tons of tents packed onto the small grassy lot of an old school yard. Wanting to avoid the crowds, my friend Debbie and I set out on a Sunday morning in September for a backpacking trip. Less than a week later, I came back with Andrew and our friend, Adam for another hike around this pretty island.

Sidenote: Pictures in this blogpost are from both visits in the autumn of 2020.

Firstly, to get to Maemuldo you have two options. One is to take a ferry from the Tongyeong Ferry Terminal which stops at Bijindo along the way. The other option is taking a ferry from the Jeogu Ferry Port right here in Geoje. Prices and times will vary depending upon when you visit so be sure to check beforehand for the ferry schedule. Updated information can be found by calling the tourist hotline: 1330.

Once we boarded the ferry from Geoje, it only took 30 minutes to arrive on Maemuldo. This was such a pretty ferry ride that really showed off the sea surrounding Geoje. Be sure to buy your shrimp chips at the port for some seagull feeding if you want to take part in typical Korean ferry festivities!

As we filed off the ferry, the local mart owner stood outside to direct the campers to the mart to pay their fee. It was only 15,000 each for us to place our tents in the field. If you plan on camping on Maemuldo, a reservation isn’t needed; it’s first come - first serve. Debbie and I arrived on an insanely windy day, so there weren’t many other campers around so we were able to get “front row”.

The mart where we paid for the camping, also has a basic selection of drinks (beer, water, etc.) as well as other snacks (chips, ramyeon, etc.), and things like toilet paper. So if you’re camping and worried about added weight to carry, know that you can get some basics there. Of course, you can expect slightly higher “island prices”.

As for the campground amenities, there are bathrooms (bring your own toilet paper), and a room for washing dishes that also has trash, food waste, and recycling disposal.

Both the start of the trail and the campground are up the hill behind the old school. It’s less than a 200 meter walk through the small village.

Once set up, we were eager to get started on our hike. The trail sign says it’s a 5.4km loop, but it’s actually closer to 6km from start to finish at the school campground.

The trail starts in front of the campground overlooking the small cove. You can walk up the hill to the left as well, but we saved this for after the hike.

You’ll have a little climb as you walk through the grassy trail heading for the open wooden platform that you can spot on the hill up ahead. Even though you haven’t come very far, it’s a great area to relax that shows off some nice views back at the school, as well as the trail ahead.

Continue along the trail heading toward the peak. There are plenty of nice spots along the way to stop for more photos.

After rounding the bend, you’ll be able to see the peak ahead. You’ll have to climb down first, though.

Once in the valley there will be a fork in the trail. Continue to the left to reach the peak. The trail will wrap around to the rear of the peak followed by a switchback trail. Before nearing the top, there will be a sign pointing to Eoyudo Viewing Point. Be sure not to miss this section as you won’t be returning this way.

Head back to the sign for the viewing point and continue up the hill. The sign says it’s 0.6km to Janggunbong (Peak), but it felt much closer. At the peak there is an art sculpture of a horse and what appears to be an alien-like man that you are supposed to climb up on for pics. Of course, there is also a summit stone and a great view that shows the rest of the island and Somaemuldo (island) which is a stone’s throw away.

From here, continue along the trail behind the summit stone. The rest of the hike is quite easy-going and has some nice views of Somaemuldo towards the end of the island.

After reaching the south-western point of the island, the trail will start to wrap back around to the western side heading back to the starting village. You’ll have to walk through another village before arriving back at the first village. Keep your eyes open for the cute cows after the bamboo path!

During both visits to Maemuldo, we took a walk up over the field to the left of the campground after the main hike. Debbie and I were lucky to have seen several goats during our stroll.

At this point, beers were in order during both visits!

It was so windy during Debbie's and my stay, but we managed to do some cooking before calling it a night.

I really had such a great time during both visits and am thankful for having had such wonderful company.