Nobel Prize-winning writer J. M. G. Le Clezio wrote an article about his experience on the island back in 2009, and one cannot deny that his observations are far from rose-tinted. It is a place as beautiful as it is bitter. Le Clezio poetically reconstructs a mental picture of the island, even for those who have never been. The lull of the sea as it crashes against the beach. The sweet taste of persimmons and tangerines against sun kissed lips. The knowledge that on this tiny island, Hamel’s thirteen year long imprisonment began, against his will.

Le Clezio writes that islands inherently have a sense of melancholy to them, no matter the scenery or the people that inhabit the island in question. However, Jeju is a remarkable island, with a rich culture and traditions that have been acknowledged by UNESCO. Its climate has shaped its nature into something wholly unique, with cherry blossom trees decorating the mountainside during spring. Its history has ensured that livestock, such as black pork, has become a selling point for tourists, both domestic and international.

This year, the calendar proudly displays 2022. It marks thirteen years since Le Clezio’s article. It is the same length as Hamel’s imprisonment. In the meantime, the world has survived a pandemic. The shape of island life has begun to shift alongside rapid development. In the face of it all, Mt. Halla still stands tall, covered in autumn leaves, and unbothered by the changes that have happened throughout the rest of the world.

Jeju may come across as removed from the mainland, with its own customs and language, but it is far from a melancholic place. On Jeju, life is not about rushing to work, surviving on microwave food, or the constant pressure of maintaining an online presence. Here, there is the sway of palm trees in the wind, the buzz of a myriad of bugs, and people who take comfort in helping one another. It is not a melancholic existence. It is timeless. That, more than the nature and the thrashing sea surrounding it, is what makes Jeju so unique.