JEJU, SOUTH KOREA

TIM BROAD, ACCOUNT DIRECTOR The ‘mermaids’, the white sandy beaches, the volcano, the famous waterfalls, the secret to longevity, the manicured parks and vast green spaces – there are so many reasons why I’d love to visit Jeju – the ‘Hawaii of South Korea’. Even just getting myself to South Korea is long overdue, given that I’m married to a Korean, but whenever I’ve heard stories of the country, the one place that has forever fascinated me is the island of Jeju, some 170km south of the mainland. And when people talk of Jeju, they inevitably talk of the legendary haenyeo.

These female divers – often referred to as the ‘last mermaids’ – explore the island’s seabed for conch, octopus, seaweed and urchins, hitting depths of 20m without oxygen tanks. That is a feat enough, but then they have to haul up hefty bags of edible ocean treasures, and they aren’t all young women. Many are in their 60s, 70s and there are even some in their 80s. I believe the oldest is close to 90. I’ve always wanted to meet them and hear their stories and about how they manage to do what they do.

It’s also the way of life on this island that attracts me and how the people seem to have discovered the secret to longer life – they live on average 1.1 years longer than other Koreans.

I’ve no doubt that part of that is the quality of the food. As an isolated island, Jeju has developed its own flavours and their ways of cooking differ from the rest of Korea. Needless to say, I’ve already got a list of dishes I want to try. First is heuk-dwaeji, succulent grilled pork belly made from the native black pigs and, for this, I’m going to head to Heukdwaeji Geori, Black Pork Street. They love their pork so much in Jeju, they’ve got a whole area dedicated to it, with seemingly endless barbecue restaurants serving up their take on the local favourite.

Abalone is another, specifically as it’s served up in jeonbokjuk, which sees the prized shellfish take pride of place in a porridge made with rice. Hanchi mulhoe is third on my must-eat list – a cold, refreshing soup, packed with slivers of raw cuttlefish, vegetables, soybean and red pepper paste and vinegar. It just sounds too fascinating not to try at least once.

In fact, everything sounds fascinating about Jeju, from the early-blooming cherry blossoms to the three Unesco World Heritage sites, the teddy bear and tea museums and, even, its world-famous sex-themed sculpture park – for the Instagram moments alone, that has to be on my itinerary.