Jeju Island, South Korea

Jeju Island, 제주도, is South Korea's largest island of the southern coast.  The island became a separate province in 1946 and is the country's only Special Autonomous Province.

Jeju City is the capital and the island is home to about 605,000 people.

Volcanic activity formed the island about 2 million years ago.  The island is 1,848 km² (714 square miles).  Jeju is a popular destination for newlyweds.

The Jeju dialect is different from standard Korean.  It still retains many characteristics as it was spoken a few hundred years ago along with many Chinese and Japanese loanwords.  UNESCO has classified it as an endangered language.

The island is famous for its black pig which is a breed of domestic pig.  It is supposed to have a unique taste that is somewhat chewier.  Bring on the Korean BBQ!

Traffic between Jeju City (CJU) and Seoul Gimpo (GMP) airports is the world's busiest air route with more than 10 million passengers every year.

One thing to watch out for is that most ATMs on the island do not accept foreign debit cards.  Be sure to have enough cash on hand.