[Jeju Playbook]Living with a Puppy
This time last year, I was assigned to work on Jeju Island. I arrived
with my puppy Yulmu, who was only a few months old, as a sizzling heat
was just beginning to replace an unusually long period of rain.
The life of a single office worker with a pet dog is pretty standard,
even when the office is on the fantastic island of Jeju. The only
difference is that when we take walks, we don’t stroll around
apartment complexes or city parks; instead, we visit the island’s olle
paths or tourist spots. When I come home from work, I have a brief yet
emotional reunion with Yulmu, left alone all day, and the two of us go
out for a walk immediately. The streets of Jeju are much darker at
night than in cities on the mainland, so we cannot waste any time.
Afterwards, I wash up and eat dinner before surfing Netflix and
writing in my journal, playing ball with Yulmu in between. Before I
know it, midnight comes. This is how I spend my days.
On weekends, I often venture out in search of someplace new to make
the most out of being on Jeju. It is surprising that while the island
has many restaurants and cafés that are open to customers with canine
friends, much of its nature is a pet-free zone. Pets are forbidden to
enter all the parks and forests managed by the provincial government
as well as Saryeoni Forest Path and Samdasoo Forest Road. Even at the
entrance of oreum (parasitic cones), I sometimes see signs banning
their entry. Therefore, if I want to go somewhere with Yulmu, I have
to research the place thoroughly before I leave. Before coming to
Jeju, I thought that I would be able to visit and experience nature
whenever I felt like it, but the distance between ideal life and
reality is truly wide.
Under these circumstances, the easiest way for me to enjoy Jeju with
my dog is by walking the olle paths, where animals aren’t banned. They
have fewer hills and staircases than the oreum, so little doggies can
come and go without any difficulty. The only problem is that many
parts of the olle paths are not shady, so it is best to avoid them at
midday and the height of summer. When I first came to Jeju, I liked to
go to cafés with my dog, but I don’t go as often now. As Yulmu has to
remain harnessed and sit on my lap most of the time, I’m afraid
spending time at a café is more boring and stifling than at home.
As I’ve never lived on Jeju, nor with a dog, I have had to learn and
adapt to so many things. Now that I have spent four seasons in Jeju
with Yulmu, I feel more or less comfortable. I have heard so much
about the autumnal beauty of the island, but last year I was too busy
adapting to my new life to appreciate it. This fall, I will go out
with Yulmu to see waves of silver grass and take many walks under the
fair blue skies. Summer is still high but I am already looking forward
to autumn.
Written by Senior Program Officer Im Ji-eun, Resource Management
Department