The black columns
Basalt with five and six sides.
Yhnn0065 This photo was taken with Sony ILCE-6000 — CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0 · Bernard Gagnon — CC0
A sea cliff of tightly packed hexagonal basalt columns that look as if a sculptor had cut them one by one, on the Jungmun coast in the south of Jeju. It formed when lava from Hallasan flowed into the sea and cooled fast, cracking into regular columns with five or six sides. Its Korean name means «columnar joints», and it has been protected as a natural monument since 2005. The cliff stands about twenty metres high and runs along the shore, with waves striking the feet of the black columns and flying high on stormy days. You view it from a boardwalk and platforms above the cliff; there is no access down to the rocks themselves. The best time is when the sea is a little rough, since the sight of surf breaking on the columns is what people come for. On clear days the water shows blue-green between the rocks. The visit takes half an hour, and the boardwalk is level and easy. The cliff lies inside the Jungmun complex, near the three-tiered Cheonjeyeon falls and Jungmun beach, so all of them fit into half a day.
Basalt with five and six sides.
Best when the sea is rough.
Platforms above the shore.
Daepo-dong, Jungmun Tourist Complex, Seogwipo
Lava from Hallasan flowed into the sea and cooled quickly, cracking into regular basalt columns with five or six sides.
