Udo island

The island was named "Udo" or "Cow Island" as its contours look like a cow lying down on the ground. There are 8 scenic wonders of Udo: day and night(Judan-myeongwol and Yahang-eobeom), sky and earth (Cheonjin-gwansan and Jidu-cheongsa), front and back (Jeonpo-mangdo and Huhae-seokbyeok), and east and west (Dongan-gyeonggul and Seobin-baeksa)
The movie "In October" and "The mermaid" were shot at Cow Island, capitalizing on its picturesque scene of a fishing village and a lush, peaceful grassy field. The white sand beach facing the indigo and turquoise sea of Jeju is very impressive. It represents another eye-catcher along with Mt. Halla in Jeju.
People started settled down in Cow Island from the 9th year of the reign of Hyeon Jong. Some lived in Cow Island before that, but since the 23rd year of the reign of King Sunjo (1823), people frequently visited Cow Island for commercial purposes such as harvesting sea food and raising military horses on ranches.

From the 23rd year of the reign of King Sunjo (1823), Jeju people made requests to central government for the reclamation of Cow Island. This was finally approved in the 8th year of the reign of King Hyeon-jong. However, people did not go to Cow Island to clear the land until after the horses at the ranch was moved to other place.

Many people were born and raised on Cow Island. Since marrying someone from the same village was common in the past, the majority of the people have Oeoga (mother s maiden home), Cheoga (the house of wife s parent s), Chinjeong (the parent s home of a married woman) and Chinga (maiden home) in Cow Island. Because of this unique social bond, most of them choose to stay in Cow Island. Just look at the comments from some of the Cow Island people: "My ancestors have lived here for a long time." and "Our whole family was born and raised here." Personal and regional affiliation is really strong on Cow Island.

Kimhae Kim, Jeju Ko, Jeju Yang, Papyeong Yun, Gokbu Gong, Jinju Kang, Jinju Jeong are the predominant family names on Cow Island. Among them, Kimhae Kim, Jeju Ko in Joil-ri, Jeju Ko in Obong-ri are the most influential, making a family name-based small village. Interestingly, a distinctive social structure by affiliation cannot be seen.

The Cow Island lighthouse is located 132 m high on Someori oreum at the southernmost tip of Cow Island. Sea erosion is easily seen along the coast except for the southern coast and Takjinpo in the northeast. Except for Someori oreum, a secondary volcano of Mt. Halla, the entire island is a lava plateau with a vast and fertile plain. Sweet potatoes, barley, and garlic are the main products of Cow Island. Mackerel, cutlass fish, and abalone can be caught in the sea. Along with raising cows and pigs, it is well-known for the harvesting of sea product by women divers (Haenyeo).

by Benjamin Jeong