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I fell in love with Jeju Island without ever stepping foot on it. Instead of the usual tales about the machinations of wealthy Seoul families or one particularly famous show about various deadly games with squids, Our Blues features decidedly working-class, semi-rural characters who spend half their time onscreen cursing each other out, if not outright resorting to fisticuffs.
All this strife is set against a beguiling backdrop of an island brimming with abalone and dormant volcanoes. As someone who has visited Seoul on several occasions and who appreciates Korean food and culture more than almost any other in the world, I felt Jeju exercising a mysterious, nearly mythical pull on me.
I had to go. Jeju Island occupies a lot of real estate in the Korean mindset. Journeys between Jeju and Seoul comprise the world's busiest flight route. After three August days in Seoul, I was dripping with stress and sweat, and my family was ready to join the passengers at crowded Gimpo airport, almost all of whom seemed to be headed to the same place.
Jeju's history is also difficult to ignore. Jeju may resemble a tropical paradise, but that doesn't mean the 20th century treated it any less brutally than the rest of Korea. Beomseom Island, a. Today, though, Jeju has become a sophisticated global destination with exemplary food and culture while also serving as a much-needed escape valve from one of Asia's most stressful urban societies.
