A 60-Year-Old Cypress Forest for ₩1,000 — Seogwipo Healing Forest

Seogwipo Healing Forest is a city-run public forest retreat where ₩1,000 (about $0.70) buys you 15km of trails through hinoki cypress trees over 60 years old. Spread across 320–760m of elevation on Hallasan's southern slopes, one walk takes you from subtropical to subalpine vegetation — and it was named a 2024 Jeju Wellness Destination in the nature & forest healing category.

The key facts

• Location: Hogeun-dong, Seogwipo — Hallasan's southern foothills (320–760m elevation)
• Trails: 15km in total, with courses named in Jeju dialect — including a step-free boardwalk course usable by wheelchairs and strollers (a designated "Open Tourist Site" since 2020)
• Entry: ₩1,000 for adults, advance reservation required via the Seogwipo e-Ticket website (daily visitor cap)
• Rules to know: no sandals, Crocs, or heels — closed walking or hiking shoes only. Entry can close without notice in bad weather
• Programs: forest-healing sessions run by nationally certified forest therapy guides (separate fee, reservation)

What this means for divers and travelers

From the perspective of an instructor guiding Beomseom dives daily: this forest is the perfect land-day pairing for a Seogwipo dive trip. The sea (Beomseom) and the forest are both close to downtown Seogwipo — one day underwater, one day under the cypress canopy, and your Jeju wellness itinerary writes itself.

But if you dive, the order matters. The forest sits at 320–760m of elevation, and going to altitude right after diving raises decompression-sickness risk. So the safe sequence is "forest first, sea second" — walk the forest on arrival day or the day before you dive, and dive the next day. For the afternoon after a dive, stick to sea-level strolls in downtown Seogwipo (Cheonjiyeon Falls, Geolmae Eco Park) instead.

The day after your forest walk, come meet Beomseom's soft coral gardens — an underwater forest of their own. First-timers can start with a boat discover dive.