Where to Stay in Seogwipo, Jeju: Gudeok Guesthouse (Jeju Hiking Inn)

Looking for a place to stay is honestly one of the more difficult parts of planning a trip, and I can’t say it’s one of my favorite things to do. It can be fun, it’s just that… it can become tedious and tiring, especially when logistics come into play. But let me still give a quick shout-out to the roof that sheltered us when we were in Jeju: the Gudeok Guesthouse (because, as much as we want to, we can’t all be selected to stay at Hyori and Sang-soon’s Bed and Breakfast, now, can we?)

I have learned to simplify accommodations-hunting over the years into the 3 Ps: the Price, the Place (or Location) and the Pluses.

I cannot, and absolutely will not, justify paying hundreds of dollars per night for a place where I’d sleep at and tidy up in, since I’d most likely be out most of the day anyway. If it has a bed, a bath and a toilet, I’m good. Of course, there has to be a certain level of comfort that goes with it, but I’m not looking for any n-star kind of treatment, because that’s not how I roll.

Truth be told, I find hotels to be a tad impersonal, at times. I just do.

So how did Gudeok Guesthouse fare?

I made the reservation via Booking.com (which is a good site because they don’t charge you anything when you make the booking, yet, so you can cancel at any time prior to a date close to your booked dates, at no charge). The bean counter in me is at work, so it did not hurt that there were discount coupons on hand that brought the price down.

Suffice it to say that Gudeok Guesthouse fits the budget traveler’s, well, budget, without compromising the most basic comforts of a home away from home.

Location

Since we were due to arrive at Jeju past evening, there was that unwelcome difficulty of finding your accommodations in the dark. Good thing, though, that the airport bus from the Jeju International Airport runs a route that passes directly close to the Guesthouse.

So we got down on the designated bus stop, walked down the street a bit toting our luggage, then looked up and saw the bright blinking letters of JEJU HIKING INN (that’s the former name of Gudeok Guesthouse, be the way).

It goes without saying that, when it was time to leave, all we did was to walk back up that road (shown in the pic below) to the airport bus stop and wait for the Airport Shuttle that will take us directly to the airport (that’s 3 ‘airport’ mentions in one sentence; no, make it four.)

Gudeok Guesthouse is located in Seogwipo, close to the Seogwipo Port or harbor. It’s basically located where many other guesthouses and boutique hotels are. Supposedly, the swankier, bigger hotels and resort complexes are in the Jungmun area, which is several minutes away by bus/car from the harbor.

So yes, if you fancy a walk to the harbor, then you’re in the right place. In fact, one of the several official Olle Trails for those who want to do a walking tour of Jeju runs along this area.

Try walking around the neighborhood, (as we did, looking for a place to dine at) and you’re sure to find interesting things.

Like this Seogwipo Catholic Church, which was established June 10, 1900. That means Christianity (Catholicism, to be more exact) came here early on. Although I’m not entirely sure about how religions entered South Korea, really.

Our walking up streets and alleyways brought us to the Seogwipo Maeil Olle Market, which is said to be the largest market in Seogwipo. I certainly won’t argue with that, since we were walking around for a bit, and I don’t think we’ve fully explored its entirety.

The place is vast and maze-like, and sells everything from souvenirs to dried fish and fruits… your typical bustling market. It was an evening, too, when we went there, so the place was packed with stragglers (read: locals that came home from work and doing their shopping, locals looking for something to eat – as we were – and tourists that came to check things out – as we, incidentally, also were.)

The food stalls were very welcoming, indeed. And the vendors and storekeepers were very friendly, even if we couldn’t understand one another and communicated in halting Korean and mostly crude sign language.

Oh, this store had the images of the “2 Days 1 Night” cast (Season 2, if I’m not mistaken, since Joo Won was on one of them). They must’ve come here for filming one of the episodes.

The View

Gudeok Guesthouse has quite the view of the harbor and the surrounding block. Too bad, though, that part of it is obscured by the building right across the narrow street. It’s a relatively new boutique hotel, and a floor higher than Gudeok’s, which would have been the tallest building in that row of houses.

The best place to enjoy the view would be to hang out at the rooftop, which has its own coffee nook, if you prefer to have your breakfast up here instead of the shared kitchen on the first floor.

Guests who are up for some socializing may also share a barbecue experience up here, because it was set up for some socialization.

Taking into account the telescope set up, this is probably a good spot for some stargazing as well?

Amenities

The basic comforts of home, and then some. That’s what you’d get.

First off, I do want to thank the guesthouse owner and host, Mr. Kim, for waiting for us to arrive at 10pm. He could’ve closed the door at 9pm but he hung out and waited for us, welcomed us warmly, then even carried our luggage up to our room for us.

The breakfast and kitchen area were set up like that of a house for a large family, and it does turn out that way every morning, when guests go down to prepare their own breakfasts.

The kitchen is well-equipped so you can whip up a simple breakfast of toast, coffee, or french toast if you’re feeling fancy. Tea and coffee are overflowing, and if you feel like cooking up a more elaborate breakfast, all the tools are right there.

Personally, I was a bit caught up checking out the small trinkets and souvenirs lined up on the walls and shelves, presumably left behind by guests and collected by the owners as well.

If there is one beef that many might have, it’s the absence of a lift or elevator. We were on the third floor, and Mr. Kim lugged our luggage up the stairs when we arrived. It’s a good thing it weren’t much, else we’d have needed help bringing it down when we left.

But the place was clean and tidy, and it was easy to move around, at least for us small Asians. I can’t say the same for hulking tourists from the West with equally large luggage, though.

Our Room

I taught myself not to trust other reviews when it comes to the size of the room, especially when they say the room is small. I repeat, we are tiny Asians, so we are space-efficient, haha!

So we were actually very happy with the room. It was actually quite spacious, which I know won’t be the case for other tourists from other non-“small Asian” nationalities.

The Verdict:

If I come back to Jeju, I will definitely have no qualms about staying at Gudeok Guesthouse again.

In fact, there are only two reasons why I won’t stay here again:

One: if my itinerary reveals that it is more sensible (read: economical) to stay in an area other than Seogwipo. You see, on both my visits, we stayed around Seogwipo instead of Jeju City.

Two: if I get casted by tvN for Lee Hyori’s Bed and Breakfast. Mwahaha.