Humans of Jeju

Byungman Kim is a comedian known for KBS’s Gag Concert segment Master and SBS’s Law of the Jungle. He enjoys learning through direct experience and has taken on a range of challenges, including survival in the jungle, diving, flying, and working with wood. He continues to learn about flying, including weather, navigation, English radio communication, and making decisions in different situations. N...

Based in Sagye, Jeju, Minsu Cho runs SOLV Studio and teaches barre classes there. She first discovered barre while attending college in the United States, and after returning to Korea, she completed instructor training and certification and began teaching professionally. Through barre, which combines elements of ballet, Pilates, and strength training, she focuses not only on physical strength but...

Hana Jang has been living in Jeju since 2018, working in both art education and as a haenyeo. She teaches students at an art studio near the Global Education City, helping them develop their art portfolios and prepare for their future studies, while also working as a haenyeo in Daepo-dong for the third year. She studied Industrial Design at the Rhode Island School of Design and lived in the United...

Drawing on his experience as a photographer, Jisol Jung runs ODUJEJ, a Jeju-based design brand. The name ODUJEJ comes from spelling “JEJUDO” backwards, and the brand creates everyday objects and projects that offer a slightly unfamiliar view of familiar Jeju. Through subjects such as Jeju pottery, dongjaseok, and stone, ODUJEJ reinterprets the island’s objects and culture from a new perspective an...

In an old mill in Sehwa-ri, Gujwa-eup, Jeju, three generations — grandmother, aunt, and granddaughter — work together to make local Jeju food. The family mill, which has been running since 1982, has grown into today’s Sehwa Mill, while the wish to make tteok, or Korean rice cakes, easier to enjoy as everyday desserts became the starting point of RICE NICE. At RICE NICE, they make rice cakes for gi...

Based in Moseulpo, Jeju, Doyeon Park runs Sanhoyo and creates ceramic works using Jeju clay and seashells from the island’s sea. The discarded shells collected from haenyeo and local restaurants are washed, dried, and used as ceramic materials, giving new purpose to what was once thrown away. A story about leftover shells once being used to make buttons in Moseulpo became a point of connection bet...

After meeting in Paris and becoming a married couple, Misun Song and Ceng Hong Law moved to Jeju with their family, where they now run Jeju Bao Club. Misun studied natural language processing in Paris and worked as a project manager before launching and operating her own children’s play mat brand in Europe. Born and raised in Paris, Ceng Hong worked for a French luxury fashion brand for ten years...

Gavin and Jinha first met in Ireland, spent time between Ireland and Korea, and eventually settled in Jeju. Gavin studied anthropology and now runs an online English reading group, where people read books together and share conversations. Jinha worked in PR, marketing, and film photography in Seoul, and after moving to Jeju, she has mainly worked in accommodation content marketing. She is currentl...

Based in Jeju, Moon Singi works in illustration and design, while also expanding his practice through painting, writing, and travel. After studying Western painting, he has worked across publishing, illustration, and graphic design, and has also participated in guidebook projects on Okinawa and Spain. His experience of being born and raised in Jeju has led to his interest in islands and island peo...

Park Keun Ju works with photography in Jeju and is currently continuing a color-field abstract series on buildings under the theme of “reality and ideal.” He studied photography at university, and began his first personal project after a volunteer trip to Madagascar in 2008, which led him to pursue his path as an artist. Since moving to Jeju in 2017, he has photographed landscapes, buildings, and...

He is an experimental filmmaker working with 16mm film in Jeju. He runs Samguri Film Lab, an artist-run film lab in Seogwipo focused on analog film and darkroom processes. At the lab, he shares knowledge of film developing, alternative materials, and experimental 16mm techniques through workshops. His work is shaped by hands-on processes, chance discoveries, and the community around analog filmmak...

She founded and runs Dongbaek Small School, an alternative boarding school in Jeju. After working for nearly 20 years as a teacher and head teacher at Gandhi School, where she experienced the philosophy of alternative education and community life, she established a school in Jeju to create a smaller learning community. Dongbaek Small School values learning that helps students live as themselves, c...

He is a freediving instructor who runs Jeju Freediving School near Seopseom Island in Seogwipo and goes into the ocean every day. After working as a brand manager at a foreign pharmaceutical company for 11 years, a trip to Jeju led him to ask himself, “Am I happy?” and eventually change the direction of his life. Through freediving, he shares the experience of entering the sea on a single breath a...

Eunice and Caleb run The Flexible Baker, a small vegan bakery cafe near Sanbang Mountain. They first met while working for a non-profit organization in Southeast Asia where they supported North Korean refugees. They later moved to Korea in 2020. After living in Seoul, they visited Jeju and spent six weeks there, which led them to choose a life on the island surrounded by nature and community. At T...

Together with her husband, Bomi Jang runs Sohwa Bookstore and Miyudang Tea Room in Daeheul-ri, Jocheon-eup, Jeju. After spending time in New Zealand and Seoul, she returned to her hometown of Jeju and began creating her own space. Her experience of sharing tea with counseling clients led to Miyudang Tea Room, and her book recommendations later grew into Sohwa Bookstore. Today, she connects tea, bo...

Based in Sinheung-ri, Jeju, she runs Bium Yoga Ashram, sharing yoga and a mindful way of life. After working in drama production and at a dental implant company, she came to Jeju following a period of physical and mental burnout. She later studied yoga and Buddhist philosophy in Bali and India, which became the foundation of her practice and teaching. After seven years of running her studio in rur...

Originally from New York, Kylie came to Korea in 2012 as an English teacher and later moved to Jeju in 2016. While working in tourism and education on the island, she became interested in learning more about haenyeo culture and joined Hansupul Haenyeo School. In 2024, she officially began diving as a haenyeo in Yeongrak-ri. Although she initially struggled with the equipment and the Jeju dialect,...

After moving from New Zealand to Jeju, he now teaches English to a wide range of students, from children to adults. Together with his wife, Julia, he runs the Jeju English Club, creating a place where local residents can meet through English. His books include <The Treaty of Waitangi and the Control of Language> and <Justice as Attunement>.

Based in Daejeong-eup, Seogwipo-si, Jeju, Jeram is an independent art practitioner, artist, educator, and researcher who expands local specificities into a global context. Through various artistic mediums, such as publishing, exhibitions, performances, and documentaries, Jeram illuminates marginalised narratives in society, focusing particularly on migration and diversity through a multilingual ap...

After studying fine arts in Seoul and continuing her artistic practice for many years, she moved to Jeju to place happiness at the center of her life. She creates traditional Korean paintings on silk, publishes Instatoon comics about her life in Jeju, and teaches art to people of all ages, from children to seniors. Recently, she has also been working as an intern haenyeo in the Gonae Fishing Villa...

From Jeju is a local food curation platform that introduces seasonal food from Jeju and the stories of local farmers. Beyond online sales, she continues a wide range of activities connecting agriculture and people, including farm-to-table programs, farmer photo exhibitions, workshops, and collaborations with local brands. She values relationships between producers and consumers, and shares the val...

Singer-songwriter Yoon Young-ro is a musician who has continued his musical journey for many years under the name “Garam and Moe.” The name “Garam and Moe” means river and mountain, and reflects his intention to place stories of nature and everyday life into his songs. After making his debut in 1979, he stepped away from music for a time to live an ordinary life, then returned to the stage and has...

To celebrate Children’s Day, three children, Ian Mo, Lamu Nim, and Min Jae Shim, visited the studio. Their clear voices and bright energy brought a lively spirit to the program. Content creator Mark also joined them that day, adding to the fun of the moment. Together, they enjoyed solving quizzes about K POP, Jeju Island, and the Jeju language, filling the studio with laughter.

She began her career in travel in 2002, guiding honeymoon couples in Boracay, Philippines, and from that moment realized that meeting people and sharing stories was the path meant for her. After settling in Jeju, she has continued to run a guesthouse and travel company for international visitors, introducing the island’s culture and everyday life to those who come to explore it. Rather than simply...