Jeju Island, southwest of the Korean peninsula, is Korea’s largest island. It is 73 kilometers from east to west and 41 kilometers from north to south.

It is also the site for the much loved telenovela, "Jewel in the Palace.".

The telenovela has so romanticized and popularized Korea that the government is willing to subsidize another movie-telenovela, the Legend.

The island is also the favorite honeymoon island for Koreans, long before many of them discovered Cebu and Boracay.

Of the island’s 5.5 million tourists last year, 5 million come from the mainland and only half a million are foreigners. The Japanese and the Chinese are the island’s largest foreign visitors.

Upon landing in Jeju from the Gimpo airport, the visitor will be struck with how rocky the island is. Black basalt rocks predominate the landscape.

The fields are even divided by black rock fences and houses are guarded by the dolhareubang, stone statues of ‘grandfather’ that guards residents from evil spirits.

The dolhareubang is likened to the statues found in the Easter Island.

Since Saturday, December 15, the Philippine Airlines has started its daily charter flights direct to Jeju. Jeju requires no visa for Filipinos and travelers can just book themselves online, go to the the Centennial airport and enjoy four days of great weather and fantastic accommodations.

Jeju has so much to offer, this month, tangerines are ripe for picking ang visitors can see the heavily fruit laden tangerine trees that dot the countryside.

The island which enjoys four seasons, offers specific delight for every season.

The group from the Philippines was hoping that they would see snow. The temperature was six degrees Centigrade at Seoul and it was likewise cold in Jeju, but there was no snow yet. "It is global warming," our guide Hiya, kept apologizing.

Ko, Kyeong Sil, director general of culture tourism and sports bureau of the Jeju special self governing province said that the PAL chartered flights will help increase tourism between the two countries.

As of November, he said Jeju had earned over two trillion won (P84 billion ) from tourism, with foreigners contributing 31 percent of the total. his year.

About 10 years ago, Jeju was catering to Japanese tourists. Now marketing has shifted to China. Ko said that the island is now trying new markets like East Asian countries of Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines.

Ko has a very interesting explanation for the Loveland Museum and Sex and Health Museum. He said that these two destinations are fast becoming popular as night tour packages.

He said the island province is trying to attract 10 million foreign tourists by 2011.

Ko is recommending three major spots in Jeju. These are the TV drama sets for the Legend, coming soon in Philippine TV next year, the site for the highly successful Jewel in the Palace, the Jeju Falk Museum and the Teddy Bear Museum located in Jungmun Tourist Complex, and Yeomiji.